Each year, the Foundation for Seminole County Public School awards grants to teachers to fund STEM, ELA, Arts, and newly added Character Development projects through our Grants for Great Ideas program. These projects go beyond normal classroom instruction and allow teachers to provide truly memorable experiences for their students. These hands-on projects help students observe, question, learn, and, most of all, achieve!
With generous support from our community, FSCPS distributes grants to teachers each year that impact thousands of students in Seminole county. Grant awards to classrooms, grade-level, and school-wide projects provide resource materials and equipment for learning activities the students will remember for a lifetime.
During the 2024-2025 Grant Cycles, The Foundation awarded over $65,000 for 47 STEM, ELA and Art projects at 31 schools that impacted over 19,800 students and 182 teachers.
Projects like these can make the difference between developing a good lesson plan and developing a great lesson plan that will make a meaningful impact on your students that they won’t forget. Check out this video of a beautiful butterfly and vegetable garden that was created at Lake Orienta!
For SCPS Educators
Grant applications open at the beginning of each school year. To receive funding early in the school year, teachers should submit requests by the September deadline. This allows time to order and receive materials and supplies, implement the projects, and measure the outcomes prior to deadlines.
Grant awards are up to $1,000 for classroom projects and up to $2,500 for grade-level or school-wide projects!
“There are no words to thank you enough for what you’ve brought to our students. We have uncovered hidden talents in many of our kids that even they didn’t know they had. This has been an amazing experience for both students and staff. We really appreciate the Foundation for recognizing and supporting the special work we do. I have always found the grant process easy to work with and the staff is such a huge help whenever we need them.” – SCPS Teacher and GFGI Recipient, Michele Oliver
Would you like to learn more about how to put your great idea into action this year? Check out the 2025-2026 Grants for Great Ideas Program Guidelines and Overview. For tips on how to present your great idea and a helpful template to draft your proposal, we recommend downloading the Grants for Great Ideas Application Template and Questions Resource and this year’s GFGI Budget Form. When you’ve perfected your proposal, use the templates to officially submit your application GFGI 2025-2026 Online Application.
Looking for inspiration? SCPS can access our Great Idea Guides created using valuable insight and helpful tips from successful past projects. Projects include Butterfly and Garden Club, ELA Classroom Transformations, Our Resource Team is Full STEAM Ahead, Hands on with Phonics, and Poppin Out for Pop Art.
Application Deadlines:
Cycle I: Sunday, September 14, 2025
Cycle II: Sunday, October 26, 2025
Cycle III: Monday, December, 2025
For more information, please contact our Program Manager at 407.320.0119 or mercadmz@scps.k12.fl.us.