About GAR

Educator Initiative Grants

GAR’s Educator Initiative Grant (EIG) Program is an annual program separate and distinct from the Foundation’s regular grant-making in the area of education. GAR’s Educator Initiative Grant Program offers grants of $1,000 to $15,000 to teams of educators from kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) who work together to develop, implement, and assess instructional strategies that fulfill the goal of the EIG program. The goal of EIG is "to support teacher-initiated, classroom-based projects and methods that demonstrably impact student academic achievement."

Teams of educators from public, non-profit private or parochial schools in Summit County are eligible to apply. A team must consist of at least two K-12 classroom teachers. Administrators may also be team members, but should submit applications only as part of a group of educators who will share responsibility for implementing the proposed project.

Grant-preparation workshops are conducted for interested educators to describe the application process, explain the decision criteria, and answer questions. Application deadlines are in February for grants to be used in the next school year. Decisions are announced in May.

Before applying, all K-12 educators/teams seeking funds to supplement, reinforce, or otherwise enhance educational achievement of K-12 students should review our EIG application Guidelines. Applications are completed by using our online application form.


2013 Grant Award Allowances

  • Grants of $1,000 to $5,000 for projects in one or more classrooms
  • Grants of $10,000 for a project or program involving a department project for grades 7 through 12
  • Grants up to $15,000 for projects designed to have school-wide impact

For questions about the EIG Program, contact:

Jolene Reinhart, EIG Program Manager, jdgreinhart@gmail.com or 330.815.0116

2013 EIG Deadline and Online Application

The application deadline for the 2013-14 EIG Program has passed. Our annual application period will reopen again by September 15, 2013 for the 2014-15 academic year. Application deadline will be February 21, 2014. Congratulations to our current grant recipients who will implement projects in 2013-14. 

For more detailed guidance about how to apply, please download our Guidelines for 2013, which includes Principal and Superintendent endorsement forms required as part of your EIG application.

Click on EIG grants awarded for a list of winning projects from 2012.  Newly awarded projects will be posted here in June.