Since most art teachers serve a large and diverse population of students, fundraising can feel like a rollercoaster. Especially because we have to get creative about the direction of the instruction we give to our students. For instance, if we don’t have scissors, we tear paper. If we can’t buy paper, we use old newspapers. I definitely believe in teaching students how to reuse materials. However, limited funds can inhibit instruction and lead to fewer opportunities for growth. 

By trial and error, I have been able to find success funding the art program at my school. There is a local grant funding agency, the Association of Excellence in Education, that funds proposals for teachers in my school district. I’ve successfully written funding proposals to local businesses for small amounts. In addition, I have also written successful proposals to Lowe’s Toolbox for Education, Donor’s Choose, Adopt­a­Classroom, and Art Room Aid. 

One proposal that stands out in my mind as being highly successful was funded by Donor’s Choose. It was called, simply, “Frida Kahlo Arts-Integrated Project.” I chose Frida Kahlo as the artist to study for this project for two reasons. First, Frida Kahlo was in our fifth grade curriculum. Second, her self-portraits are full of symbolism. Symbolism is also a feature of understanding literature. That made the project arts-integrated. Frida chose symbols that were meaningful to her. I wanted my students to create self-portraits with crayons and markers while incorporating symbols that were meaningful to them. This made their work more personal and engaging. They could connect and share in a non-threatening way. They were able to create a self-portrait that spoke to who they were at the time and told their story. They used symbolism to establish theme. It gave them the opportunity to make connections across content areas.

I want to share what I’ve found to be the most powerful words to use in grant writing. Hopefully, as you explore funding agencies and business partners, you will also find a high level of success at funding your art programs.

Here are my Top 7 Most Powerful Words for Arts Grant Writing:

Self­-Efficacy:

the feeling students have that they can be agents of their own learning and can make positive change in their own lives. 

Arts Integration or Arts-Integrated:

an approach to teaching that uses the arts as a pathway for learning in other academic areas (The Kennedy Center has published an excellent, more detailed definition.) 

Hands-­on:

indicates that students will be physically involved with the funds. 

Real-­life:

indicates to funders that student learning can be carried over into their lives outside of school AND carried with them into adulthood. 

Engagement:

directly related to dropout rates, increases long­term retention of skills, makes learning joyful and fun.

Investment:

include a statement that breaks the total request into an investment per student, for instance: “$4,000 is an investment of $6.67 in each of my 600 students.”

Collaboration:

shows you have established a relationship with other stakeholders OR that your students are working together to accomplish a task. 

Make NO MISTAKE! I believe in and advocate for using school funding avenues to support arts programs. I do not believe teachers should have to write grants and beg to fund their classrooms. However, in today’s current education climate, grant-writing and requesting funds has become a skill most teachers need to acquire. While we continue to advocate for better funding for our arts programs in schools, we find other ways to get the job done. Here’s to your success!

What other words would you add? Have you had success writing grants to fund your programs? Let me know in the comments.

Interested in additional resources on grant writing for schools, administrators, teachers and districts? Here are a few books that I’ve found helpful over the years.

Affiliate Disclosure: Party in the Art Room is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on this site, a commission may be earned.