WCF: School Program Grants

The Watertown Community Foundation offers grants of up to $2,500 for educational enrichment programs in collaboration with Watertown Public Schools. The foundation prioritizes projects that foster collaboration and extend beyond single classrooms, including after-school programs and district-wide initiatives. Preference is given to programs involving partnerships across multiple schools. Organizations with 501(c)(3) status can apply, while certain expenses like transportation and stipends for school employees are ineligible for funding.

Grant Amounts
Supporting the Educational Enrichment of Watertown’s Youth.
The Watertown Community Foundation offers grants to organizations for educational enrichment programs run in collaboration with the Watertown Public Schools.
We support projects for individual classrooms, grade-level initiatives, after school programs, school-wide efforts, and system-wide plans, with preference for programs and projects that extend beyond one classroom and invite partnership and collaboration.
Grant requests of up to $2,500 will be considered, though the average amount awarded will likely range from $500 to $1,000. Where partnerships of two or more schools or organizations are involved an award of up to $5,000 will be considered.
Programs and projects supported by School Program Grants in the past have included:
Supplemental materials or books (e.g., student book clubs, school gardens)Equipment (e.g., musical instruments, supplemental lab or engineering equipment)Special events and speakers (e.g., anti-discrimination or drug and alcohol prevention programs, author-in-residence)Student Programs (e.g., college readiness, student newspaper, art and science after school)Experimental School or District wide initiatives (e.g., the Buck Institute’s Project-based learning professional development for K-8 teachers, Picture-in-Writing materials and training for all three elementary schools)

Eligibility

To be eligible, your program must be:Run by a public entity, non-profit organization with 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. Organizations implementing programs with a Watertown Public School are welcome to apply. Approved by the school principal(s) before applying. Applications from teachers must be submitted in partnership with their school's leadership team. With program approval confirmed, applications for programs may be submitted in collaboration with a school's PTO or other fiscal agent.If the program brings people from outside the Watertown School Department into a school, the grant application must be submitted by the principal or a member of district leadership to ensure the proper steps are taken for security and clearance.

Ineligibility

We will be unable to fund transportation for field trips, snacks, furniture/desks, buses, teacher travel, individual professional development or stipends for anyone currently employed by the Watertown Public Schools.Organizations with a 501(c)(4) tax status are not eligible for support. Grants will not be provided to individuals.