Introducing IMAGINE Grants!

In this video and post, Co-Chairs of the CPSF Grants and Scholarships Committee, Emily Barton and Kevin Dougherty, introduce the 2021 IMAGINE Grants.

IMAGINE stands for Innovation, comMunity, Action, chanGe, Inclusivity, collaboratioN, and Engagement. IMAGINE grants encourage innovative ideas that advance equity and enhance students’ experiences in their school communities. We would like to encourage you to apply for these grants.

Who can apply? Any employee of the Corvallis school district can apply. Just be sure to check with your administration and gain their approval before you submit.

What are the guiding principles of the grant? The work of the Corvallis Public Schools Foundation is to align with and support our schools. That means you! Our grant initiatives align with the Corvallis School Board’s Goals 1-4: Student achievement, equitable systems, real-world learning, and health and wellness.

What kinds of projects will be selected? If you have a project, plan, or dream that you’ve been thinking of that will help students in your building, classroom, district, or virtual space, submit it. If you are thinking of ways to help students succeed or engage more effectively within their school community, your idea is a good fit. If it promotes equity, inclusivity, collaboration or positive change or action, it’s a good fit. Send your ideas our way. Say “yes” to your idea and that will give us the chance to say “yes” to you.

Are there priority projects? Yes! We would like to see projects that promote:
• Collaboration across classrooms and/or schools
• Promise to build community, academic rigor, and engagement
• Advancement of equity, diversity, and inclusion
• Alignment with board goals 1-4: Student achievement, equitable systems, real-world learning, and health and wellness and
• Potential for replication

What kinds of things will the grant pay for? The grant will pay for innovative methods, programs, projects and activities, and the specialty equipment, books, technology, food, and/or field trips needed to support those activities.

In the past, the foundation has supported projects such as the Welcome Center Multicultural Mural, Libros Para Todos, which expanded the Spanish book collection in our school libraries and Women of the Woods, an after-school woodworking class for middle school students for female identifying students. Another of my favorites was the Youth Migratory Bird Program, a cultural and scientific exchange between students at Lincoln and Garfield and students in Guanajuato, Mexico. How incredible to study shared migratory bird species across countries and cultures! These are just a few examples but if you want to learn and see more of our funded projects, visit our website at cpsfoundation.org. Click on Grants & Awards, IMAGINE Grants, and at the bottom of the page you will find a link to see previous awards.

How does one apply?

1. First you need your building administrator’s support, so share your proposal and see what they say.
2. Second, you need to be able to answer a few things about your project such as how much your project will cost and how many students will benefit. The answers to your questions will give us a chance to visualize and imagine your project.
3. To see the full list of application questions, again visit our website at cpsfoundation.org. Click on Grants & Awards, IMAGINE Grants, and then click Apply.

You can take a look at the application questions, work on them, paste your answers into the online fields, then click submit. It’s easy but feel free to let us know if you have any questions. We are indeed happy to help.

And remember, the Corvallis Public Schools Foundation is here to serve and support our schools and our students. That means you. We look forward to learning about the things you are excited to try to help our students succeed. Say “yes” to your idea and that will give us the chance to say “yes” to you. Thank you for applying.