Innovation & Leadership Grants

Through its Innovation and Leadership Grants program Foundations in Education promotes excellence in the Diocese of Bridgeport Catholic Schools by providing educators with grant opportunities that fund innovation in classroom teaching and provide support for professional development and leadership formation.

The Innovation Grants Program promotes innovation in Catholic school education by supporting a teacher’s creative project or initiative for the classroom or school. Grants through this program are intended for innovative projects or initiatives that benefit multiple grade levels and have a long-term impact.

The Leadership Grants Program promotes continuing education and leadership formation for current faculty in the form of grants for professional development.

All teachers and administrators working in Diocese of Bridgeport Catholic Schools are eligible to apply. Principal approval of the grant request is required prior to submission.

In the event of a collaborative request by administrators or multiple schools, the Superintendent must also approve the grant request prior to submission.

Previous grantees must wait one year before being eligible to submit another grant proposal.

Eligibility Criteria:

Teachers or Administrators who teach in a Diocesan-sponsored Catholic Elementary, Middle or High Schools in Fairfield County are eligible to apply for a grant.  Applicants must:

1. Complete an application and submit it prior to the deadline for that grant cycle.
2. Provide the metrics and measures that will be used to evaluate a “successful” grant.
3. Garner the appropriate approval of their supervisor.
4. Provide applicable supporting documents (i.e. budget/cost estimates for innovation grants [inclusive of those requiring multi-year funding] and tuition or conference costs for leadership grants).
5. Identify other available funding sources for the project.
6. Agree to a release of personal image and information for advertising and marketing purposes.
7. Agree to present on the outcomes of his/her grant in Diocese wide faculty development forum or other suitable venue.

Complete and submit the online grant application form. Proposals must be reviewed and approved by School Principals prior to submission. Deadline to submit a grant application is October 31, 2018.

A Grants Committee reviews and evaluates each proposal and submits recommendations to the Foundations in Education Board of Trustees for approval. All applicants will be notified by Foundations in Education beginning early January. Grant funding will be effective July 1.

Priority may be given to unique and innovative approaches to teaching that will maximize the impact on learning for our students.

Grants may range in size up to $15,000 and may be made in one year or over several years if the project so requires.

Parameters for the size of the annual grant may include the following:

1. Size of grants will be recommended by the Innovation and Leadership Grants Committee and approved by the Foundations in Education Board.
2. May, at the discretion of the committee, be made to maximize impact in Innovation and Leadership.
3. May, at the discretion of the committee, be coupled to assist the Diocese of Bridgeport in meeting priorities of the Diocese.
4. May, at the discretion of the committee, be considered for multi-year program development.
5. May, at the discretion of the committee, be focused in a given year to specific priorities set forth by the Diocese and/or by the Innovation and Leadership Grants Committee (i.e. – focus on curriculum improvement, Mathematics, STEM, Arts, Robotics, Coding etc)