Purpose: The Empowered to Excel grants are designed to encourage, facilitate, and reward innovative programs and activities that support district goals.

 

Eligibility: Any individual or team of individuals employed by HEB ISD are eligible to apply for grants. Grant awards will be announced in May 2025 for the 2025-2026 school year.

 

Grant Applications: Applications must be completed and submitted electronically through our online grant portal, which will open on this website on Friday, February 14, 2025. Applications should be concise but thorough.

 

Grant Description: Please describe any programs or initiatives with a full explanation of acronyms. If the grant requested is for funding of year one in a program, please describe on- going funding options and sustainability of the program.

 

While you are preparing your grant please keep in mind the following:

1. Is your grant unique and innovative?

2. Is it supported by research?

3. Does it support a unique approach to educating and help to create a motivating and engaging platform for learning?

4. Grant funds may not be used for teacher stipends, refreshments, or travel expenses.

Please see the sample Grant Scoring Sheet below.

 

Award of Funds:

• Grants of up to $1,500 will be awarded for a program or project initiated by a single individual.

• Grants of up to $5,000 will be awarded for a campus-initiated or district-initiated program or project.

• Grant funds may not be used for teacher stipends, travel expenses, or refreshments (e.g. transportation, hotel, parking).

• Furniture and technology requests must be approved by your district leadership in advance to ensure the District can support the request.

• All vendors you plan to use much be district-approved vendors prior to distribution of funds. Your campus secretary can help you with the approved vendor list.

• The number of awards will depend on the amount of funds available from the HEB ISD Education Foundation.

 

Due Date: The online grant application portal will open on Friday, February 14, 2025.  Applications must be received no later than 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 27, 2025. No late applications will be considered.

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EMPOWERED TO EXCEL GRANTS GUIDELINES

 

Signature Required: It is the responsibility of the grant requestor to obtain the campus principal’s or district administrator’s signature on the grant application before it is submitted. Without the electronic signature, the system will automatically mark the application as incomplete, and the application will be withdrawn.

 

Steps for Obtaining Electronic Signature: Upon completion of the grant application, use the save and return feature offered at the bottom of the application.

 

1. The system will save the application in progress and will provide you with a link in a pop-up window to retrieve the application on-line. Copy the link and save it in a location where you can retrieve it for future use or you can use the email feature and email it directly to your principal.

2. Send the link to your principal or administrator and request their signature on the last page.

3. Using the mouse or touchpad have them sign the grant. Once the grant is signed, they will need to save the grant. The grant will then be ready for submission.

4. The principal or administrator can submit the grant, or the grant requestor can access the completed grant using the link and submit from there. Please coordinate with your principal or administrator.

5. Grants submitted without that required signature will not be considered.

 

Applicants will be notified of grant award decisions in May 2025.

 

Grant Selection Process: Eligible grant applications will be reviewed by district leadership team members including Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education, Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education, Assistant Superintendent for Technology, Deputy Superintendent for Educational Operations, and Content Area Coordinators.

 

After review by district administrators, the grant applications will be evaluated by the Grant Application Review Committee composed of volunteers selected by the HEB ISD Education Foundation. All grant applications are redacted to ensure anonymity and no conflict of interest. There may be some grants that do not pass the first review by the HEB ISD administration. Reasons for this may include incomplete information, does not meet goals of the school district, or technology is unsupported. Awards will be determined by the Board of Directors of the HEB ISD Education Foundation based on the recommendations of the Grant Application Review Committee.

 

Responsibilities of Grant Recipients:

1. Use grant funds for stated purpose.

2. File receipts for expenses related to the grant with campus principal/district administrator.

3. Use district-approved vendors.

4. Capture 3 iconic photos of your grant in action and complete the Grant Evaluation Form. Send photos and complete evaluation form to the HEB ISD Education Foundation by email to admin@ hebisdedfoundation.org by May 15, 2026. If you use all grant funding and complete your project before then, we encourage you to submit your Evaluation Form early. The Grant Evaluation Form will be found at www.hebisdedfoundation.org under the Grants In Action tab.

 

If you have any questions regarding the grant application process, please contact Project Director, Leighanne Christon at admin@hebisdedfoundation.org.