TEACHER MINI-GRANT CRITERIA

The funds awarded by the Foundation will be targeted at projects that will:

• Relate directly to student learning and growth
• Strengthen the curriculum through the development of innovative programs
• Enhance the educational resources available to students

While the Foundation welcomes innovative ideas from all disciplines, priority will be given to grants aligned with the foundation’s specific subject matter interests as follows:

Social & Emotional Learning: e.g., mindfulness, emotional intelligence, impact of arts with social learning, community improvement, dealing with divisiveness

Creativity and the Arts: e.g., encouraging innovation, learning from outside experts

Interdisciplinary Learning: e.g., connecting common themes/concepts across subject matters

Science/Technology: e.g., increasing hands-on experiences, interaction with outside professionals, furthering programmatic logic and exploring robotics engineering and artificial intelligence

Math: e.g., using innovative reinforcement tools, promoting real-world contextualization

In addition to mapping out the pilot program recommendation, applicants are asked:

• How will success be measured?
• How scalable is it to expand to other classrooms — i.e., the feasibility and practicalities of expanding beyond the pilot phase?

Please avoid submitting project proposals that do not meet the above criteria.  Applications that will NOT be considered for grant award include:

• Proposals that have not been reviewed with your instructional supervisor. 
• Requests for equipment/supplies that are part of the regular school budget (i.e. materials that should be available through the district already).
• Professional development programs/activities (including membership fees to professional organizations).  
• Projects misaligned with current district curricular goals.
• Projects requiring facility upgrades.  

Please contact us with any questions

David Volain       dvolain@milfordedfoundation.org

DUE: Friday, December 4, 2026, 4:00 p.m.

The Milford Education Foundation (MEF or the Foundation) is a 501(c)(3) organization that fosters a love of learning by engaging our children with programs that focus on excellence, innovation, and creativity. The majority of the Foundation’s fundraising dollars are reinvested by awarding mini-grants to visionary educators who present the youth in our community with learning opportunities that build critical skills through innovative programming. As with previous years, we are seeking projects that will focus on areas of strategic interest to the Foundation and the Milford Public Schools while enhancing the opportunity to scale the grant awards across other classrooms over time.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Applicants must apply online or submit copies of the completed application form, together with any supporting documentation, to the Foundation by Friday, December 4, 2026. Review of applications will occur in a timely manner after the deadline and selected projects will be reviewed by MPS administration for final approval. Successful applicants will be notified on or before Monday, January 25, 2027. Grant requests shall not exceed $1,500 and must be expended within a reasonable period of time (not to exceed 12 months), or the remainder of the grant will be returned to the Foundation. Awarded projects may be suspended at any time if the applicant fails to comply with the criteria included within this application document. MEF may request a follow-up discussion with or additional information from the applicant.

Requests may be made for consideration of materials and/or other resources in addition to those already provided by the Milford Public School District. The Foundation recognizes that many innovative ideas incorporate personal technology devices, such as tablets, that have become increasingly available within the District. Please check with your school’s media supervisor before seeking mini-grant funds for technology items. Mini Grants should not be used as a basis to request such equipment. Additionally, projects that seek funding for professional development, classroom furnishings and transportation are generally discouraged. All materials and assets purchased through the Mini-Grant process will become BOE property and do not become personal items of the applicant.

PRICING AND PROCUREMENT

All applications must follow all MBOE rules and procedures regarding ordering, reimbursement and cash handling. Awards will be administered and distributed through the Office of the Assistant Superintendent for Milford Public Schools, which will also handle procurement. The Foundation strongly urges applicants to contact MPS Purchasing in order to obtain accurate pricing of proposed materials from approved vendors prior to submission. Additionally, the District requires extended care plans on certain technology purchases, a cost that must be budgeted in your proposal. Please allow ample time for pricing quotes in advance of the application deadline.

Purchasing Contacts:

Judith Berard jberard@milforded.org
Matthew Cavallaro mcavallaro@milforded.org

2026-2027 Process Timeline

Monday, November 9, 2026: Application Window Opens
Friday, December 4, 2026: Application Window Closes at 4pm
Monday, January 25, 2027: Notification of Educator Awards
Friday, May 14, 2027: Project Status Updates Due by 4pm

The Foundation may request that all grant awardees attend a breakfast in their honor where they will present information about their completed mini-grant to other educators, Foundation sponsors and supporters, and members of the community.

All grant recipients will also be required to share news of the grant with their student/parent mailing lists (and cc dvolain@milfordedfoundation.org) no later than May 21 with the following language:

The Milford Education Foundation (MEF) and Milford Public Schools would like you to know that your child’s classroom is the recipient of a Milford Education Foundation teacher mini-grant.  Since 2013, MEF has granted over $80,000 to teachers in our community to fund innovative educational experiences and pilot programs that would not otherwise be available to Milford Public School students. MEF is continually looking for volunteers and donors to keep its programs running. If you are interested in learning more about MEF programming, please visit www.milfordedfoundation.org or email info@milfordedfoundation.org. Please also consider supporting MEF during its fundraising efforts, such as The Great Give and in-person events around Milford, so that the foundation can maintain its programs, including teacher mini-grants, for the benefit of the Milford community and its students. 

Your child’s classroom mini grant is…[teacher to provide grant specific description of their mini-grant project.]

APPLICANT INFORMATION

PROJECT INFORMATION

FUNDING INFORMATION

{projectprogramTitle}

{primaryApplicant}

By signing below, the applicant(s) hereby (a) agrees to complete a brief post-project evaluation for the Foundation, (b) agrees to share news of the grant with their student/parent mailing lists (see above), (c) grants to the Foundation the right to use this application and the results of this project, if funded, for public information and to help other educators, and (d) understands that grant awards are subject to the rules and conditions of the Foundation.