student in class with wacom tablet

Education grant tips #2: Strengthening your proposal

By Wacom |
February 7, 2023

How to write winning education grant proposals — with Expert Matthew Waynee

ana carolina pereira headshot

Matthew Waynee is a Cinematic Arts Instructor & EdTech Consultant in Los Angeles Unifed School District. A produced screenwriter and teacher with 20 years of experience, he’s helped build the cinematic arts department at USC Media Arts & Engineering Magnet school from the ground up.

He has written more than $2 million in grants and set up partnerships with Nickelodeon, DreamWorks, NBCUniversal, and Warner Bros. In 2016, he was honored to be named the national Magnet Teacher of the Year. He’s also actively involved in establishing a new creative arts apprenticeship program with the California Department of Education.

This is the second in a series of five short videos where he gives quick and easy tips to get grant funding for your school, classroom, or program. Check out the video below, or read on for a summary!

Sign up for Wacom’s Education Newsletter for classroom inspiration, upcoming webinars, discounts on Wacom products, and much more!

Tip #2: It’s about more than your classroom

The grant you’re requesting will primarily benefit your classroom — but it’s not just about your classroom. Donors want to know it will have a bigger impact on the community.

Who else is impacted?

When tech is upgraded in your classroom, your students benefit — but so will their parents, siblings, and the school at large. Consider ways that others will also benefit from the opportunities students will get.

Benefits beyond the classroom

How else will students benefit beyond the experience in your classroom? They might be learning career skills and career training, for example, that will help them in future careers or landing internships or apprenticeships. Or they may discover passions that will carry them into college.

Impact on the community

By including key issues and partners in the community, you’ll also show that you’re thinking bigger and recognizing that your school, and your students, are part of a larger network — and the skills and experience they gain in your classroom can benefit their communities as well.

After surveying your students about issues in their community that they care about, framing your proposal around responding to and addressing these issues is a major plus to your grant application.

Untitled 1

Bringing it all together

Here’s an example: a class set of Wacom tablets, and a digital drawing project, will benefit students’ artistic skills. But pairing them with a community-oriented project, where students connect to peers, parents, and elders around their home culture, and then create an art piece around that, brings families together and celebrates culture. This impacts the student’s whole extended family.

Then, creating a community event with a student art showcase, where the digital art that was created for the project is printed and displayed, and inviting members of the community to attend, takes it to the next level.

Asking students to name and describe their piece, and print out a label as though it was in a real art gallery, and then having them on hand with a prepared statement describing their intentions for the piece and the process of creating it, gives them a host of real-world skills as well.

This is the kind of project a donor would go for, and is much more enticing than simply giving your classroom a set of tablets.

Wacom for Education

Stay tuned for more quick tips from Matthew Waynee on how to get grants for your classroom, coming soon. If you’re interested in more in-depth discussion from Waynee about education grants, check out the webinar he did with Wacom in 2022 here.

For more information about how Wacom supports education, and how Wacom products can elevate collaboration and engagement in classrooms across all grade levels and subject areas, check out the Wacom for Education site or the education section of this blog!

abeni jones headshot

About the author

Abeni Jones is a former graphic designer, illustrator, and educator, and current writer, who bought her first Wacom tablet in 1999. She’s passionate about video games, design, and the great outdoors.

Save on Cintiq Pro 24 Touch Pen Display

Related posts:

Wacom isn’t just for artists: streamlining daily business with a digital stylus

Wacom isn’t just for artists: streamlining daily business with a digital stylus

The complete guide to Adobe Photoshop brushes, Part 1: The toolbar

The complete guide to Adobe Photoshop brushes, Part 1: The toolbar

Educators: Building Your Wacom Skills to Take Full Advantage of Technology in the Classroom

Educators: Building Your Wacom Skills to Take Full Advantage of Technology in the Classroom

Fostering Success Together: Seven Ways to Engage Parents and Students in Digital Arts Career and Technical Education 

Fostering Success Together: Seven Ways to Engage Parents and Students in Digital Arts Career and Technical Education 

Connect with Wacom on social media

At @parasolisland , where innovation is key to provide professional excellence as a high end studio, the Cintiq Pro family stands out for its design & ergonomic excellence. 🚀

The Cintiq Pro’s adjustable design optimizes workspace, offering a productive workspace where professional creatives can improve their workflow . 🌟
Invest in the best tools for your team. 

Go to the link in bio to connect with our enterprise team.

#WacomCintiqPro #EfficientDesign #CreativeWorkspace
124 0
It’s not often that we find a poet making visual art. 

Enjoy this beautiful piece by the talented @mackboross

“Kids at Play”

We dance.
because we’re happy.
We dance because we’re free.
But when.
We dance together.
We are as happy.
As can be.

Follow @mackboross on Instagram to see more of this beautiful series and the rest of their work. 

#addictivescribbles #ArtistsOfInstagram #madewithwacom #WacomCintiq #madeinaffinity #Blender
165 9
We chat with @schmoedraws , a talented Visual development artist who has been working for the gaming industry in games like “A New Beginning” and the “Deponia” series at Daedalic Entertainment. 💡

Join us as Simone discusses her creative process and how Wacom products has been an indispensable tool for her work. Don’t miss this interview – it’s a must-watch! 🚀

#ArtistInterview #GameDevelopment #CharacterDesign
932 13
Let’s start the week with a creativity challenge 💡✍️

You have 5 minutes to draw something nature related 🍃

Time is ticking ⏰ Grab your Wacom One and see where it takes you!

#WacomOne #CreativeJourney #DrawingChallenge
691 10
Unbox your talent with your Wacom One 📦

Discover your passion and start your creative journey 💫

See where our display can take you in the link in bio!

#WacomOne #CreativeJourney
500 10
💡 Layers Hack: Customize your layer palette in @clipstudioofficial 

If you are more of a color person this tip may help you! Organize your layers in a funnier way. Did you know this tip? 👇

#Digitalarttips #creativeinspiration
323 7
💡New creative challenge unlocked: Let’s make an artwork together!

Only one rule: Draw something and pass the display to another person ✍️

Let’s see where the teamwork takes us 😉 Discover all about the Wacom One in our bio!

#MadewithWacom #CreativeChallenge #WacomOne
334 5
Today’s creativity challenge is… DRAWING STRANGERS IN THE PARK ✍️

Let us know in the comments where do you usually go to find inspiration or practice your drawing 👇

#CreativeChallenge #DrawingStrangers
391 27