Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must meet all of the following criteria.

Team Members

A team is composed of three to six members, with preference given to teams of at least four members.

  • At least three of the team members must be full-time classroom teachers (defined by spending at least 60% of time in the classroom).
  • Specialists, TOSA’s, and/or instructional coaches may be included on a team. There needs to be a minimum of three full-time classroom teachers on the team and an explanation of why the role of the additional member(s) is essential to the success of the project.
  • Teacher’s aides and part-time teachers are not eligible.
  • Administrators may not be team members unless the project cannot happen without their participation.
  • One team member must be identified as the Team Contact; the Team Contact must spend a portion of their time in the classroom.
  • Current LIGHT Award grantees are not eligible.

Experience

By the project start date, each team member must be at minimum in their third year of teaching, TK-12 classroom teaching experience, not including student teaching.

Location & Type of School(s)

  • Elementary, middle, high schools and cross-school projects are eligible.
  • Applications from teachers at brand-new schools (in their first year of operation) will not be considered.
  • Team members must teach in traditional public or charter schools OR in private schools that serve a majority (50% or above) free-and-reduced lunch qualifying students. While applications from all schools are encouraged, Intrepid Philanthropy Foundation prioritizes support for under-resourced schools.
  • Eligibility is limited to the following California counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Napa, Sacramento, San Benito, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma, and Yolo.

Vicinity

Team members all teach at the same school in the same or varying grades/subjects OR team members can be at different schools but share a grade-level or subject-area commonality.

 

Endorsement

Project has support from the principal from each participating school. If invited to submit an application, teams will be required to provide a letter from each principal explaining the support the principal is able to provide, such as providing feedback, fostering leadership within teams, providing release time, and remaining open to benefits of teacher-driven innovation at your school.

Important Dates

Oct 5 – Nov 14, 2023 LOIs Accepted for 2024 Grant Cycle (rolling submissions)
By mid-Dec 2023 Invitations to Apply Extended to Selected LOI Submissions
Spring 2024 LIGHT Awards Grants Made

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