Innovation Grants

Austin Ed Fund believes that transformational educational ideas often come from teachers, students, and administrators within the district. Innovation Grants are open exclusively for AISD educators and encourage new and creative ideas for classroom learning.

Geographic Scope: Austin Independent School District (AISD), Austin, Texas

Contact Information:

• Phone: 512-414-1700 EXT. 51687
• Email: austinedfund@austinisd.org
• Address: 4000 S IH35 Frontage Road, Austin, TX 78704

Background: Since fall 2015, Austin Ed Fund has awarded $440,000 to 99 creative teacher-generated projects across AISD.

Eligibility

• Individuals or teams employed by Austin ISD involved in instruction of students or related support services
• Student input encouraged but project must be led and submitted by AISD staff member
• Consecutive year restriction: Applicants not eligible for awards in consecutive school years (schools are eligible in consecutive years)
• Past awardees eligible to apply the school year following their completed project implementation year
• Past Student Opportunity Fund awardees eligible if final report completed before application window

Priority Content Areas

• Whole Child Every Child (Fine arts & creative learning, cultural proficiency, health & wellness, Social and Emotional Learning)
• STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math)
• Literacy

Award Categories

Idea Grants: Up to $2,000 for individual classrooms

Incubator Grants: Up to $10,000 for campus, multi-classroom and/or department projects with replication/sustainability potential

Multi-Year Grants: Up to $10,000 over 2 years (discretionary; applicants must have completed reports and be in good standing)

What Will NOT Be Funded

• Salaries
• Facility maintenance or construction costs

Selection Criteria

• Enriching: Enhances student academic performance
• Innovative: Creative approach or proven best practice new to campus
• Demonstrated need: Supports district/campus goals and addresses area of need supported by data
• Alignment: Within priority content areas
• Evaluation: Has measurable outcomes to be reported upon completion
• Logical: Well-written, clear, transparent proposal with specificity of goals, clarity of methods, clarity of fund usage, and alignment between goals and evaluation

Incubator-level projects more competitive if they include:

• Sustainable outcomes with medium- or long-term impact potential
• Systemic potential for replication
• Real-world applications
• Collaborative partnerships across departments, disciplines, schools, or community organizations

Recipient Responsibilities

• Use awards for intended purposes
• Fully implement projects and spend funds by end of spring semester following award notification (unless multi-year)
• Submit phone interview and final report including fund usage by end of school year
• Share lessons learned with colleagues in staff development sessions
• Keep Austin Ed Fund updated if lead applicant changes
• Return any unused grant money to Austin Ed Fund

How to Apply

1. Check website for application window opening (currently closed as of April 2026)
2. Review guidelines and eligibility requirements
3. Prepare project proposal including:
   • Clearly stated goal
   • Related activities to support goal achievement
   • Budget outlining how requested materials align with project outcomes
   • Measurable outcomes for evaluation
4. Submit application during open window
5. If selected, complete phone interview with Austin Ed Fund
6. Upon project completion, submit final report by end of school year

Required Materials

• Project proposal with clear goals and objectives
• Description of instructional procedures/methods
• Budget with realistic fund allocation
• Evaluation plan with measurable outcomes
• Evidence of district/campus need (data-supported)
• For Incubator grants: demonstration of sustainability, replication, or collaborative potential

Note: COVID-19 Impact (historical): The 2020 Innovation Grants application was postponed indefinitely in response to COVID-19. Applicants were encouraged to consider the Student Opportunity Fund program.