Durango Foundation for Educational Excellence

DFEE Grants Programs

The Durango Foundation for Educational Excellence awards grants to teachers, administrators, and staff for programs, materials and technology that enhance education for students of Durango School District 9-R. We enthusiastically encourage fresh ideas and serious efforts to realize excellence in the classrooms of our district. Our grants program is the primary reason for DFEE's existence.

Every school, every teacher and every department throughout the district is welcome to apply for a DFEE grant; however, all grants from within 9-R must have the appropriate school and district administration approval before DFEE will give them final consideration. (NOTE: The District check list calls for a 30 day review. This is their generic policy. DFEE grants will be reviewed in 10 days or less.)

Local community organizations offering programs that serve 9-R students may also apply. The main portion of our funding will continue to go directly to District 9-R needs, but we encourage community collaboration. Organizations must be have 501(c)3 non-profit status.

For 2013, we offer 3 grant streams:

Core Grants: We've rolled our former program, incentive and extraordinary grants into one "Core Grants" bundle to eliminate confusion. We’re especially enthusiastic about innovative and pilot programs, but within our criteria we will entertain applications for any important academic need or idea, regardless of focus. In previous years we allocated block grants to all the schools and emphasized specific subject areas; we are not doing that this year. These grants are funded only once (or twice*) per year.
Michael Crane Memorial Fund Grants: These support efforts in the visual and performing arts.
Student Competition Travel Fund Grants: These stipends assist academic teams with travel expenses for regional, state or national competitions. The funding limit is $500 per team per event.

One application form serves all three avenues for DFEE funding. The process is simple: Review the criteria (links below). Visit with us via phone, email or in person to see if you have a project idea or needs for materials or technology that might fit DFEE funding parameters. Complete the written application. Submit as indicated on the application.

Deadlines:

The Core Grants deadline is now May 1, 2013. *If funds are available in the fall, we will open a second Core Grants cycle in September.
Submit Crane and Student Competition applications by the 1st of any month during the school year for response usually within two weeks.

Click on names below to link to more information.

Bank of Colorado Award for Innovation Sweetens the 2013 Core Grants Program

The Bank of Colorado Award for Innovation may be given to one of the Core Grant applicants submitting for the May deadline. This award honors exemplary creativity and planning by a 9-R teacher and is intended to support the classroom innovation described in the application. No separate application is required.

The Bank of Colorado closely follows the progress of all their charitable projects and so the recipient should plan to present results in person to the Bank of Colorado charitable funding staff in addition to submitting the regular DFEE evaluation. DFEE is pleased to recognize the Bank of Colorado as a premier partner in bringing educational enhancements to the classrooms in District 9-R. For more about this award, click here.