Best Grants for K-12 Schools in Washington

K–12 schools and local agencies in Washington seeking to improve student and community safety through walking and biking infrastructure can apply for the Pedestrian & Bicyclist Program, which offers up to US $49,380,000. Washington State Department of Transportation supports projects like sidewalks, buffered bike lanes, crossings, and speed management that enhance active transportation trips.

K-12 education nonprofits in Washington serving underserved, school-aged youth can seek multi-year or general operating support for long-term, transformative programs. Focused on mentoring, academic intervention, and college and career preparation, Silver Family Foundation offers US $15,000 - US $50,000 to organizations based in Washington, Oregon, or Idaho after completing an LOI process.

New Seasons Market offers donation requests to 501c3 nonprofit organizations addressing food insecurity through equitable systems and immediate relief. Please allow 4 weeks for processing, as only approved requests will receive responses. Donations are typically provided in the form of gift cards to support community efforts. This initiative emphasizes collaboration with partners focused on policy advocacy and the underlying causes of hunger.

K-12 schools and 501(c)(3) nonprofits in Washington can apply for $2,500 - $10,000 in youth and education funding from the Albertsons Companies Foundation. Focus areas include K-12 academic success, health and human services, hunger, veterans, and inclusion, with priority for programs serving communities near Safeway and Albertsons stores.

K-12 schools and local entities in Washington seeking to improve walking and biking safety near campuses can apply for infrastructure and safety projects within two miles of primary, middle, and high schools. Washington State Department of Transportation provides up to US $56,950,000 statewide to enhance student mobility, reduce traffic, and cut pollution around schools.

K-12 public schools and partners in Washington can seek funding for outdoor educational experiences, with awards ranging from US $10,000 - US $175,000. Grants from Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office help support experiential outdoor learning, STEAM activities, habitat restoration, field studies, and leadership and mentorship opportunities that enhance student engagement and academic success.

K-12 schools, libraries, colleges, and 501(c)(3) nonprofits in Washington can receive up to US $10,000 for family literacy programs that include adult education, children’s education, and parent-child learning time. The Dollar General Literacy Foundation supports organizations within 15 miles of a Dollar General store that are listed in the National Literacy Directory.

Washington K-12 education nonprofits and youth-serving organizations can seek funding for academic achievement, civic involvement, financial literacy, and students’ physical and emotional development. Banner Bank provides support for programs in Washington, with priority for low- and moderate-income populations, and also considers related efforts in housing stability, economic development, and financial education for youth and adults.

BIPOC-led nonprofit organizations serving youth ages 6–18 in Washington can seek funding for athletics, culture, and education programs, including general operating support. Charlotte Martin Foundation prioritizes rural communities and initiatives that expand STEAM learning, cultural expression, college awareness, and access to diverse sports opportunities for K–12-age students in its five-state Western region.

About Serve Washington

Serve Washington advances national service, volunteerism, and civic engagement to improve lives, expand opportunity to meet the local critical needs of residents of Washington, and strengthen community capacity while creating healthy and resilient communities.

AmeriCorps Planning Grant

AmeriCorps Planning Grants provide initial funding to support current staff or to hire additional staff who can plan a proposed AmeriCorps program and develop systems for successful implementation of an AmeriCorps operational grant application. This is a great place to start if you are new to AmeriCorps! 

AmeriCorps Focus Areas

The National and Community Service Act of 1990, as amended by the Serve America Act, emphasizes measuring the impact of service and focusing on a core set of issue areas. To carry out Congress’s intent, maximize the impact of investment in national service, and achieve the goals laid out in the Strategic Plan (2022-2026), AmeriCorps has the following Focus Areas:

• Disaster Services: Helping individuals and communities prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of disasters and increase community resiliency.
• Economic Opportunity: Improving the economic well-being and security of underserved individuals.
• Education: Improving educational outcomes for underserved people, especially children. AmeriCorps is particularly interested in program designs that support youth engagement and service learning as strategies to achieve high educational outcomes.
• Environmental Stewardship: Supporting communities to become more resilient through measures that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, conserve land and water, increase renewable energy use and improve at-risk ecosystems, especially in underserved households and communities.
• Healthy Futures: Support for health needs within communities, including mitigating the impacts of COVID-19 and other public health crises, access to care, aging in place, and addressing childhood obesity, especially in underserved communities.
• Veterans and Military Families: Improving the quality of life of veterans, military families, caregivers, and survivors. 

Funding

Awards for planning grants may not exceed $75,000

Existing AmeriCorps-funded education and youth programs in Washington can seek continuation funding to support ongoing K-12 and related community services. Serve Washington supports currently funded operational grants in years two or three of a three-year cycle; this opportunity is only for continuation grants, not new or recompeting applicants.

With a mission to improve education and workforce outcomes, KeyBank Foundation provides Washington K-12 schools and education-focused nonprofits with grants of US $10,000 - US $25,000. Funding can support academic success, college and career preparation, financial literacy, and related programs that help students achieve strong educational and future employment outcomes.

Nonprofits, schools, and public agencies in Washington ready to run an AmeriCorps program can seek operational funding to support service projects in areas like K-12 education, economic opportunity, disaster services, and healthy futures. Serve Washington’s New & Recompete AmeriCorps Operational Grant supports new programs or those renewing after a completed three-year cycle.

Ellison Education Grants

The Ellison Education Grants were created to empower and support Washington State’s most effective, innovative and inspirational K- 12 public school teachers. This is done by providing support to educators who design academic enrichment curriculum for students and or professional learning experiences for their current practice. The Ellison Foundation acknowledges a classroom teacher's expertise in understanding their own professional learning needs and the needs of their students. Since 2017 the Ellison Foundation has awarded 163 grants and over $800,000 to public-school educators in Washington State.

The Ellison Foundation wishes to award multiple grants in the Spring of 2027 for the 2027 – 2028 school year. Grant amounts range between $1,000 and $10,000.

About School's Out Washington

High-quality expanded learning programs meet young people where they’re at—physically, academically, socially, and emotionally—to help them build the relationships, competencies, and confidence they need to thrive. These fundamental opportunities for growth must be integrated into and aligned with other systems of support that young people navigate.

As an intermediary, School’s Out Washington does not provide direct services to children and young people. Instead we help increase access and improve quality and equity within summer and after school programs. We do this work as part of a larger ecosystem of partners and community.

Washington state is one of 41 states receiving RSI funds from the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). Funds are issued to Washington’s Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance (ORIA), which contracts with School’s Out Washington to administer the Refugee School Impact Program.

School’s Out Washington seeks to support local school systems impacted by significant numbers of refugee children and youth, ages five to 18, who have been in the country less than five years.

Refugee School Impact Program

The Refugee School Impact Program (RSIP) is a federal grant administered by SOWA that provides funding and support to school districts serving refugee populations in Washington.

RSIP fosters partnerships between community organizations and school districts to better serve refugee students.

Program outcomes

The Washington state Refugee School Impact Program focuses on the following goals:

• Ensuring refugee students’ academic support and successful school integration
• Strengthening the skills, knowledge, and competence of parents, schools and community-based organizations to support refugee students

Program activities

School’s Out Washington’s Refugee School Impact responsibilities include:

• Supporting district-community partnerships in the implementation of their RSI projects
• Providing technical assistance and training on program-related issues
• Offering district-community partnerships opportunities for training, professional development, and additional materials and/or resources to enhance RSI service delivery

K-12 education nonprofits in Washington and other eligible BECU service areas can apply for BECU Foundation’s People Helping People Awards, with grants up to Up to US $50,000 for community-focused programs. Funding supports work such as advancing education, basic needs, health, economic opportunity, and strengthening local communities, including school-based and youth-serving initiatives.

K-12 education nonprofits and school-related organizations in Washington can seek grants over US $2,500 for educational programs and student support. First Interstate Bank provides funding through the First Interstate BancSystem Foundation for 501(c)(3) entities, qualifying public organizations, or government units recommended by local branches, with awards based on community benefit and organizational strength.

Indoor Air Quality Assessment Grant

The Indoor Air Quality Assessment Grant grant will fund technical assistance from various state and local entities, as well as commercial experts, to help schools improve their HVAC and smart building systems. 

This grant will support technical assistance from state funded entities, such as OSPI, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of Health. It will also provide funding for technical assistance from other entities, such as local health jurisdiction school safety programs, the Smart Building Center’s K-12 ventilation and the indoor air quality resource team. Additionally, the grant will help cover the cost of hiring commercial experts who know how to troubleshoot modern HVAC or smart building systems. 

Healthy Kids-Healthy Schools Grants

Funds for this grant are available in two categories: physical education/physical activity and nutrition. The nutrition category includes but is not limited to, renovations or repairs, new purchases and improvements to cafeteria and kitchen equipment, and spaces, water bottle filling stations, garden-related structures, and greenhouses. Garden related and greenhouse projects must provide students access to fresh produce. The physical education and physical activity category includes, but is not limited to, physical education renovation, indoor or outdoor physical education equipment, playground equipment, covered play areas, related structures and renovations. Prior to applying, districts must consider their ability to sustain improvements over time. Districts receiving funding must also demonstrate a consistent commitment to addressing school facilities’ needs. Grants will be awarded on a competitive basis. No single district may receive more than $200,000.

Grant Process Key Points

• There is no district leveraged or matching funds requirement.
• Grants are for procurement of equipment, repair, and renovation of existing equipment or facilities, or design and construction of new facility space and infrastructure related to the categories listed above.
• In-house labor costs will not be reimbursed.
• For more information including scoring criteria, see Form Package 505.

Hungry for Music

The Hungry for Music story began in 1992, when Founder and Director Jeff Campbell (in photo) organized a street musician concert to benefit the homeless. Within three years, he formed a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, dedicated to expanding opportunities in music for children.

Since then, Hungry for Music has placed more than 27,000 instruments into the hands of aspiring musicians. Children whose trajectory has been altered by the uplifting and life-changing gift of music.

We've delivered everything from guitars and trombones to violins and xylophones to kids in 50 states and 35 countries.

We collect and redistribute more than 2,000 instruments annually and, in our 31-year journey, we've become a full-time force for good in the musical community.

Request an Instrument

Hungry for Music collects and distributes instruments including brass, woodwinds, strings, electric keyboards, drums and other percussion, as well as amps and accessories.

Who Hungry for Music Helps

• Music teachers at Title One schools who identify children who cannot participate because of lack of funding.
• Music directors at innovative after-school music programs.
• Social workers who have young clients who would benefit from music therapy.

We only accept requests from public school music teachers, administrators, after-school/summer music program directors, and social workers. 

In our history, we have supported music programs in 40 different countries through stateside sponsors (i.e. business, school, church). We do not accept requests directly from international programs.

Title One School Music Teachers

Our music instrument donation program for Title One public schools is designed to support teachers who have a few students who cannot participate in class because of financial need. We do not outfit entire music programs. 

The Luther Halsey Gulick Award, presented by SHAPE America, recognizes individuals with over ten years of membership who have made outstanding contributions to health and physical education. This prestigious honor is awarded annually to a candidate selected for their exemplary leadership and service in the field. Nominations are carefully evaluated based on the candidate's impact on the profession and their ability to inspire future generations to lead healthy, active lives.

The NIH Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) fosters innovative educational initiatives aimed at pre-college students, promoting their interest in STEM fields, especially in biomedical and behavioral sciences. This program supports both classroom projects and informal science education activities, such as after-school programs and library events. Emphasizing the development of quantitative and computational skills, SEPA seeks to inspire the next generation of scientists and thinkers through engaging educational experiences.

The Measurement and Evaluation Graduate Student Award, offered by SHAPE America, aims to support graduate students specializing in psychomotor measurement and evaluation. This scholarship assists with professional expenses, ensuring candidates can focus on their studies. Eligible applicants must be current SHAPE America members and pursuing relevant master's or doctoral degrees. The award prioritizes those who have completed their first year of study, promoting excellence in health and physical education across the U.S.

The Measurement and Evaluation Honor Award recognizes exceptional contributions by a SHAPE America professional towards the Measurement and Evaluation SIG's mission. This prestigious accolade celebrates those who advance health and physical education practices, inspiring educators to enhance student well-being. Eligibility requires current membership in SHAPE America and the Measurement and Evaluation SIG, ensuring that only dedicated professionals are honored. This award embodies the commitment to fostering excellence in educational environments, ultimately aiming to prepare all children to lead active, healthy lives.

The Christina Sue Lilja Resource Grants support agricultural literacy by providing funds for educators to purchase resources from the Ag Foundation store. In 2025, 100 educators will receive $100 in store credits, selected randomly if applications exceed this number. This initiative, backed by the CSL Foundation, honors Christy Lilja's legacy of advocating for agricultural education. The grants aim to enhance classroom resources and improve students' understanding of agriculture, ensuring access to accurate information.

Nonprofit organizations providing K-12 education for Native American children living on reservations can apply for approximately US $77,000 in program funding, including those serving Washington. The Ruth Danley and William Enoch Moore Fund supports year-round, direct-service educational programs with demonstrated impact, measurable outcomes, collaboration, and strong financial accountability in select regions across several U.S. states.

The SHAPE America: Mentor of the Year Award recognizes an exemplary role model committed to fostering student engagement in professional activities. Candidates must have a minimum of three years of membership in SHAPE America and serve as full-time faculty at a higher education institution. This award emphasizes mentorship through professional behavior, involvement in student projects, and providing academic guidance, ensuring that students are well-prepared for their future careers.