Source: OU Day School Affordability Grants
The Orthodox Union’s Challenge Grant has been designed to encourage innovative approaches to address Day School affordability through increasing revenue from non-traditional sources, reducing costs, or creating affordable models for day school education. Each grant is for up to three years to allow for successful implementation. Grants will be awarded ranging from $50,000 to $150,000 during the grant period. The OU is encouraging communities or groups to obtain matching funds from local Federations, local foundations, and local philanthropists.
The OU will consider funding initiatives that have broad communal support and represent an innovative approach to addressing day school affordability. Collaboration among community members, including synagogue and day school leadership is encouraged. Grants will be awarded to the most promising ideas that can be implemented and likely replicated in other communities. Cognizant of the need to think “out of the box,” the OU will consider innovative educational models, which have broad communal support, including the establishment of distance-learning schools among other creative initiatives.
The Orthodox Union will provide grant funding for programs achieving one or more of the following goals:
- The program provides increased revenue to schools and leads to increased scholarship support and/or reduced tuition.
- The program provides a new educational model that reduces the cost of education.
- The program brings non-traditional funding into day schools.
- The program garners broad communal support.
- The program attracts matching funding from local Federation, Foundations or other philanthropic sources.
All applicants must be part of a 501c3 organization, funding will not be awarded to individuals.
Grant seekers must complete the application form and submit it to the OU by October 28th, 2011.