FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
HOW THE BEN+STEM GRANT WORKS
The process is simple and straightforward! Proposal submissions may be made by teachers, educational leaders, parents, family members, caregivers, and community members that are ages 18 and over and reside in the United States.
Our advisory committee- a dedicated team of external educators- will review the school's information, Letter of Support, and proposal. Grant proposals that are strong contenders for awards will:
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1. Be creative
2. Describe how funding will impact a class or school.
3. Have goals clearly stated
4. Have a budget that is logical and feasible.
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Once selected as a grant awardee, Ben+STEM will notify the proposal submitter and school's contact identified in the proposal. Ben+STEM will send the grant award directly to the school.
APPLY
Apply for a Ben+STEM grant. Funding can be for STEM and non-STEM initiatives. A signed Letter of Support from a school administrator is required.
VALIDATE
AWARDED
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What are the eligibility requirements?Any stakeholder of a school is welcome to submit a proposal. Stakeholders may include, but are not limited to, the following: school and district leaders, teachers, support staff, parents, familiy members, caregivers, and community partners. Proposal submissions must be by individuals who at least 18 years of age and reside in the United States.
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How do you select the schools who are awarded the grant?An advisory board of educators meet at the end of each grant cycle to evaluate all grant proposals submitted during the grant cycle. Each proposal is read thoroughly by advisory board members and then proposals are put to a vote.
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The school I submitted a grant for did not receive a grant, can I receive feedback?"Feedback may be requested at contact@benplusstem.com
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Is my proposal automatically enrolled in the following month's grant pool?At this time, we do not offer automatic enrollment. If a proposal was not awarded grant funding for the month, then a proposal must be resubmitted to be eligible.
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What do I need to submit an application?Contact information of the school and a letter of support from a school leader. A school leader may be a superintent, principal, assistant principal, director, or someone of a leadership role at the school. Letter of support may not be signed by someone who is not a school leader.
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What is a School Letter of Support? Do I need one for every grant submission?A school letter of support is a document provided by a school leader (e.g., superintendent, principal, assistant principal, director). The letter of support states that the organization is supportive of a grant proposal submission to Ben + STEM. A letter of support is required for each grant submission.
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What makes a competitive grant proposal?The advisory committee is looking for creative ideas that impact PK-12 students! We would prefer to fund proposal ideas that: 1) impact a number of students (e.g, a class or a school) as opposed to an individual student 2) are clear and communicate the idea well to the advisory committee
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Do grant proposals have to be STEM-related?Grant proposals do not have to be STEM-related. Supporting schools is a multi-tiered mission and STEM is one part of a larger system!