2023-24 Education Grants for Books, Author Visits, School Programs, Professional Development & More

Updated 2023

I love visiting schools and meeting librarians, teachers, and students. But many schools can’t afford author visits. In fact, many schools don’t have the budget for new books, enrichment programs, or professional development. That’s why I scoured resources and compiled this mega list of grants for schools and classrooms. There are plenty more than what you’ll find here, of course, but this is a good place to start.

If any links on this page are broken, search the web with keywords. Also, please note that any specified grant amounts and details are subject to change.

Grants for Education

(Where a Texas organization is mentioned, search your own state’s equivalent source)
Download a PDF version of this article

Some General Grant Sources:

Your local arts commission
Your state library association
Cooperative grant sites
Public library disaster relief funds
Corporate philanthropy (check local and national organizations)
Writing-related and literacy organizations
Sponsorships from community businesses
School district grants (often funded by a separate foundation)

Select List of Specific Grants:

Aldi Cares Community Grants
Amazon’s Future Engineer Grants
American Association of School Librarians Innovative Reading Grant. Assists school librarians with programs that motivate students to read
Honda grants
Adoptaclassroom.org — $1,000 grants
Association of American Educators Foundation Classroom Grant
Barnes & Noble
Bayer Foundation grants (primarily focused on areas local to their employees)
Bureau of Indian Education (grants for tribal education)
The Laura Bush Foundation
Captain Planet Foundation (STEM and environmental focus)
Children’s Book Project (For rural and tribal libraries)
City of Austin Cultural Arts Division
Crayola Cares
Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation
Dell Computers (There are a bazillion Dell grants, so also widen your online search)
Dollar General Literacy Foundation. Grants to help establish a summer reading program.
Donors Choose
Exxon/Mobil (especially for STEM)
Fender Music Foundation grants
First Book (They also provide a book for each participating child.)
First (STEM and Robotics)
Fund for Teachers Fellowships
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
GetEdFunding – grant finding resource
Google for Education — (various grants)
Grant Watch by state (ie: Texas Grant Watch)
Grants.gov — U.S. Department of Education (multiple grant options)
Grants for Teachers
Maureen Hayes Author/Illustrator Award from AASL and funded by Simon & Shuster—$4,000 school visit grant
HEB Education grants
HigherEd Grants
Impact Austin
Innovative Reading Grant from AASL, sponsored by Capstone
International Association of School Librarianship grants
International Literacy Association grants
The Library of Congress Surplus Book Program
Junior Library Guild compilation of grant opportunities
Lockheed Martin
National Education Association — multiple grant options
National Endowment for the Arts
Office Depot grants
Pets in the Classroom — Financial support to purchase and support classroom pets
Pilfrow Foundation grant for rural and tribal communities
ProLiteracy — includes a variety of grants
Reading Rock Stars Program — Texas Book Festival grant. They provide a book for each participating child, too.
Reflex Educator Grant Program
Samsung Solve for Tomorrow,
SCBWI’s Amber Brown Grant
Scholastic
Shell Corporation
Snapdragon Book Foundation — Grants to help provide books for school libraries for disadvantaged students
Sony
Sprint Character Education grant
Starbucks grants
Target
TD Charitable Foundation (Canada)
Texas Commission on the Arts
Texas Education Agency grants
Texas Grant Watch — list of grant opportunities
The Texas Library Association sponsors grants
Trader Joe’s grants
Voya Unsung Heroes by Scholarship America—Each year, they give $2,000 to 50 schools to support education
Walmart Local Community Grants— $250-$5,000 for schools in need, to fund educational projects or purchase classroom resources
Wells Fargo
Worlds of Words grants —$1,000 for literacy communities to explore the use of global literature and world languages to build intercultural understanding
Writer’s League of Texas’ Project Wise facilitates one-hour author visits at no cost to participating Austin-area schools