Fund for Teachers Fellowship Grant

Fund for Teachers Fellowship Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Fund For Teachers
Last Updated: March 29, 2026

Summary

The Fund for Teachers Fellowship empowers educators to design personalized learning experiences that enhance their professional skills and student engagement. With over 20 years of experience, this initiative has supported more than 10,000 teachers, enabling them to transform their classrooms through unique fellowship opportunities. Eligible applicants include full-time teachers in the U.S. who have at least three years of teaching experience and plan to return to the classroom after their fellowship. This fellowship fosters innovative teaching practices and collaborative growth.

Overview

About Us Fund for Teachers supports educators' efforts to develop skills, knowledge, and confidence that impact student achievement. By trusting teachers to design unique fellowships, Fund for Teachers grants validate teachers' professionalism and leadership. Fund for Teachers trusts that teachers know what’s working with their students, in their classrooms, in their school communities better than anyone else. So, we go straight to these first responders and fund their pursuits to make learning more effective in their spheres of influence. Individually, approximately 10,225 teachers have leveraged $39 million Fund for Teachers grants into growth (their students’ and their own) since 2001. These grant recipients (or FFT Fellows) constitute a national corps of empowered and validated educators, sought after in their communities and nationally as leaders, innovators, and change-makers: Who make learning relevant, meaningful and empowering for their students; Who inspire and lead professional growth of their colleagues; Who collaborate in sharing best practices, collective visioning, and solving shared problems; Whose input helps close the gap between sound policy and best practice. Our Commitment to Culturally Sustaining Teacher Leadership At Fund for Teachers, we seek teacher leaders, who envision and enact change in their classrooms and communities, grounded in their students’ assets and needs. For more than 20 years, we have trusted teachers to design their own professional learning because teachers can and should be charged with knowing their students deeply and responding with empathy and expertise. Every teacher has gaps in their instructional practice, and these gaps are highly individualized, so it makes sense that teachers should engage in learning that meets their needs. At the same time, every classroom is filled with unique students who come with their own lived experiences, underscoring the need for teachers to embark on even more individualized learning experiences to better show up for and serve their students. In addition to the skills and content learned during their Fund for Teachers experience, we believe that planning for, enacting and reflecting on personalized professional learning acts as a catalyst for teachers’ deep internal reflection and awareness. The self-work that results from a Fellowship prompts positive changes in teachers’ relationships and work with students, their curriculum, their pedagogy, their school community, and their partnerships with families and community.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Full-time teachers in the continental US, Hawaii, and Alaska in public, private and charter schools are eligible to apply if they meet the following requirements: Spend at least 50% of their time directly providing instruction to students. Intend to return to a classroom or teaching environment the year following their fellowship and demonstrate the ability to incorporate what they learn into their teaching. Have at least three years of experience as a preK-12th grade teacher at the end of the school year.  If the applicant has three years’ experience by the time of their fellowship, Fund for Teachers considers them eligible.

Ineligibility

Student and substitute teaching do not count towards the three-year requirement.Previous recipients must wait for five years before reapplying.