Welcome!

Grant Development for PPS lives within the Strategic Partnerships Department, which serves as a bridge between PPS and the philanthropic and business community. This team collaborates with stakeholders district wide to secure resources for programs, schools, teachers and students. We provide guidance to the PPS educational community for designing competitive applications to federal, state, foundation and corporate entities. 

Regarding Grants

Applying for and managing large grant awards is complicated and time consuming. Before an application is submitted it is important for key stakeholders to consider multiple factors including:

• is PPS eligible for the grant opportunity and would a PPS application be competitive?
• do the grant program and proposed activities align with the strategic plan?
• do schools and/or program teams have the capacity to implement the proposed project?
• will the grant-supported work be sustainable after the grant ends?

With adequate lead time, Strategic Partnerships can advise and collaborate with departments on preparing and submitting grant applications to federal and state agencies and private foundations. Many grant programs release a “request for applications” only a few weeks or a month before applications are due. It is best practice to research large grant opportunities on an ongoing basis and track when they are forecasted to be released. Strategic Partnerships assists with this “prospecting” function, and endeavors to have a minimum of six weeks, and preferably three months to support the development of large federal, state or foundation grants. Additionally, Budget and Grant Accounting, Research, Assessment and Accountability, and other departments that help with grant applications need adequate time to perform their important functions for grant applications.

Please note that it is the responsibility of program staff with specialized expertise to develop the substantive program design, detailed workplans, timelines and compelling narrative elements required by most federal agencies and national philanthropic entities. Strategic Partnerships plays a support role.  

Thinking of Applying for a Grant?

Small grants (under $10,000) based at a single school usually are placed in the Cash Contributions S Grant. If you have questions about grant applications to support a single school please contact Nailah Roque, School Partnerships Manager (nroque@pps.net).