Category — Grants for author visits

Now my kids are in school and we are all done with travel for a while, I’m ready to swing my visiting author visit activities into high gear! I’m actively looking for schools to visit over the next couple of months – this is only day 2 of school back in session in our lovely state of NC and I’m already missing the kids. Since quitting the Day Job I don’t miss a lot of things about school, but I sure miss the children! And reading out loud. I really miss reading out loud!

That said, I have been meaning to write up a list of grants that North Carolina teachers, media specialists, and PTSA folks can apply for to get visiting authors, illustrators, and storytellers to come to their schools. I worked for 15 years in public schools in NC and elsewhere and I had a number of folks visit – all of which I paid using grant money. I literally cringe when people tell me they can’t afford to have an author visit their school. It simply isn’t true.  A couple of years ago I was working at a Title 1 school and I wrote grants for visitors that was roughly 2x my total library budget for the year.

Really, there’s no excuse.

Here are several grants that NC educators can apply for which should cover author visits. My particular visits are on the less-expensive side, so for sure you can afford me! But if you are looking to get someone uber-famous come you may have to combine grant-giving possiblities.

• Target Arts Grants. If you don’t have a Target in your town, contact them to make sure you’re in their giving area. I wrote a successful grant application to Target from a school about 50 miles from an actual store, so I’m confident they use pretty broad guidelines to determine geographical area. This is a very easy grant application to fill out and it’s for $2000. You have to do it in the spring, however, so put it on your calendar.
• Walmart Store Grants. At our local Walmart all you have to do to apply for this grant is to talk to the manager. Easy. The actual $ guidelines aren’t on the website but I know that a couple of years ago it was around $500.
• Donorschoose is an excellent source for grants for teachers/schools. If a teacher has already written and received several grants through Donorschoose he/she can write a grant proposal for something outside of the Donorschoose stores.
• Kiwanis clubs have literacy and reading for children as part of their mission. It’s possible that the local Kiwanis Club would sponsor an author visit.
• Bright Ideas Grants. You can’t be a teacher in North Carolina and not know about the Bright Ideas grants, sponsored through the local electric cooperatives. Every Bright Ideas Grant I applied for, I got. Not saying it’s an automatic thing, but they really want to give the money to worthwhile projects. Plus, they have a nice reception if you get the grant!
• NCETA Classroom Project Grants. I don’t know very much about this grant or if it could reasonably include author visits, but it seems as though an author visit would qualify as long as it was embedded in a larger project. Which actually is how it should be – authors are valuable visitors precisely b/c of what they bring to the curriculum, not just as pure entertainment. I welcome any feedback on this grant from those of you who’ve been there, done that
• Arts in Education Grants You need to apply for these grants in the spring, but they are specifically for author, illustrator, and other visiting artists, so I say: go for it!
• Artist Residency Grants This grant, alas, could not be used for a visit from me, since I am not on their artist roster – but wow! look at the amazing artists and writers who are!
• Barnes and Noble local Sponsorship program I’ve never applied for this, but it looks very promising. They seem to want to work with people who could do in-store events and school events. Makes sense, if you’re B+N!
• Local grant possibilities. There are many. Check with your local Arts Council for grant possibilities and look to civic groups and clubs. Your school’s PTSA is an obvious source for funds, as is your school’s Cultural Arts committee.

And finally, if you need more ideas of how to pay for author visits, please see this post: 13 ways to pay for school visits.

Ciao!

I’ve been talking to someone who wants me to come visit the South Carolina Lowcountry area ( Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton, and Jasper counties), probably in the fall. One cool thing about that section of SC is that I have relatives who live on Daufuskie, so as long as the school’s schedule jives with their schedule (they’re busy, traveling, retired grandparent types) I wouldn’t have to charge for a hotel stay.

The person who wants me to visit is not a school system employee, simply a friend of a friend, but she’s mentioned that she doesn’t think the school she’s connected to has any discretionary funds for an author visit.

This is what I’ve told her: in 15 years of working in schools, and many, many visits by authors and storytellers, I never used any school funds for an author visit! I always wrote grants to pay for visitors at my school. 

To help her out, I did a quick search for grant possibilities to fund author visits in Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton, and Jasper counties, SC. I found many possibilities: