IPEI Made 108 Grants Last Year!!

IPEI Awards 108 Grants in 2013-14 School Year

 

At the beginning of the 2014-15 Ithaca City School District (ICSD) year, the Ithaca Public Education Initiative (IPEI) announced the grand totals for all its grant programs during the previous year. IPEI is a nonprofit organization committed to making community connections that encourage innovative teaching and enhanced educational experiences for all ICSD students.

 During 2013-14, IPEI awarded 108 grants totaling $83,845, including 24 Teacher Grants ($33,310), 80 Red and Gold Grants ($34,835), and two Community Collaboration Grants ($6,000). In addition, the Fine Arts Booster Group (FABG), an IPEI affiliate, awarded 21 mini-grants totaling $9,045; and IPEI allocated $49,536 for the Kids Discover the Trail! Ithaca program.

IPEI’s grant and program funds originate as donations from generous individuals, businesses, organizations, and foundations. In addition to Annual Fund gifts, IPEI has received financial support through its capital campaign, “Our Children * Our Schools * Our Future,” completed in 2012. Expanding grants and programs for emerging opportunities was one of the campaign’s three priorities. From these funds IPEI has recently introduced another grant program, Connecting Classrooms Grants, designed to encourage collaboration and innovation within the ICSD while positively engaging students.

Reports of the 108 grant projects that occurred this past year have been submitted by the recipients. In addition to being used to evaluate the impact of IPEI grants on student engagement, the reports and stories are relayed to supporters and to the public through the IPEI website, www.ipei.org. Follow IPEI on Facebook and Twitter @IthacaPEI, and consider signing up for its e-newsletter, IPEI Connections, and blog at http://ipeiblog.blogspot.com/.

Pat Tempesta, chair of IPEI’s Grants Committee, reports that data collected by last year’s grant recipients indicate that student engagement again rose following IPEI grant-funded activities. "It is encouraging to see a second year of assessment data confirming that our grants consistently lead to an increase in active student involvement in their learning. Kudos to our teachers who encourage this kind of student engagement by taking the time to create great, innovative projects!"

For more information, see www.ipei.org or contact 256-IPEI (4734) or ipei@ipei.org.