Schools Fund Grantmaking for Educators

The Berkeley Public Schools Fund has been giving grants to educators for over 40 years.

As a long-time seed-funder of innovation in Berkeley’s public schools, the Schools Fund honors the perspectives, solutions and actions of our educators and leaders. Through the two grant programs below and within 6 distinct priority funding areas, we invest in ideas on the leading edge and support educators in bringing their ideas to scale.

Connected to the three core tenets in our Theory of Change, Basic Needs, Safety & Belonging, and Love of Learning, our grants lift up the vitality of Berkeley public schools to ensure that every student can thrive. The Berkeley Public Schools Fund believes that every student and every family benefit deeply from equitable public schools.

Read more about the Schools Fund’s Commitment to Equitable Public Schools.

Priority Funding Areas

Equity Grant proposals will be prioritized where they clearly support at least 1 of the Schools Fund’s priority funding areas:

LEADING for Equity

LEADING for Equity

LEADING for Equity grants are designed to support equity-explicit, district-wide (or multi-school) collaborations. They can receive a maximum of $15,000.

LEARNING for Equity

LEARNING for Equity

LEARNING for Equity grants are designed to support educator teams (usually though not exclusively at a single school). They can receive a maximum of $10,000.

Got questions?

Educators with questions about a grant proposal can attend Schools Fund Grants Office Hours (during grants seasons) or contact Jissel Poblete —jisselpoblete@schoolsfund.berkeley.net

Community members interested in supporting our grantmaking can donate here or contact Executive Director, Duffy Ross duffyross@schoolsfund.berkeley.net