Funding Request Form and Funding Guidelines for Teachers

If you are a teacher or community member who has a great idea for a project or item that would benefit Adaire students and the Adaire community but could use some help from FoA please take a look at our Funding Priorities and Guidelines below and fill out and submit the form below.  The responses will be reviewed by FoA Board Members only.  Thank you!
Friends of Adaire Funding Priorities and Funding Request Guidelines

In accordance with its Bylaws, Friends of Adaire (FoA) adopts the following Funding Priorities and Guidelines.

Funding Priorities
FoA responds to needs in the Adaire community proactively and strategically. Grants and financial support are focused on three areas:
  • Enhancing Educational Opportunities - Friends of Adaire’s primary mission is to enrich the educational experience and opportunities offered at Alexander Adaire School.  First priority will be given to programs, projects or items that can be used for this purpose and will reach the most number of students and have a lasting impact.
  • Improving or Increasing Extracurricular Opportunities - As part of FoA’s educational mission, it also seeks to improve and increase extracurricular offerings or activities offered to Adaire students.  This includes but is not limited to after-school clubs, sports, music, assemblies, and field trips
  • Build and Strengthen the Adaire Community- FoA is also dedicated to building and strengthening the community which makes up and surrounds Adaire through hosting fundraising and social events that introduce community members to each other and build awareness of the School’s near-term and long-term goals.  FoA is also committed to fostering partnerships between and among teachers and teachers and parents to strengthen the Adaire curriculum and community.​
Funding Request Guidelines
  • FoA will agree on an annual budget to be approved in accordance with the Bylaws.  The budget will set FoA’s funding goals for the coming academic year’s long-term projects, including any multi-year projects.  The budget will also set aside a percentage of funds raised in the school year to fund individual classroom or extracurricular projects or items.
  • FoA will consider and vote on individual funding applications that are submitted prior to the regularly scheduled board meeting.  Urgent requests may be considered on an ad hoc basis but are discouraged.  
  • Voting members, including Members at Large, of a quorum of the FoA are eligible to vote to approve funding requests.
  • Any teacher or community member may submit an application for funding so long as they use the FoA Funding Form.  Teachers are encouraged to register larger projects on DonorsChoose.org to increase community support (and number of projects FoA can fund in a given year). 
  • All teachers or individuals submitting a request must agree that, if funded, the project will be used solely for the benefit of the Adaire community or students.  Any physical equipment or items purchased will become property of the School upon termination of the project or the end of the teacher’s employment at Adaire.
  • FoA will approve submitted requests at the next regularly scheduled meeting after discussion and upon majority vote of voting eligible members.  There is no set number of projects that must be approved and no projects may be approved in a session or a request may be approved for a lesser amount than requested.  
  • FoA voting members are instructed to consider and give priority to projects that:
  1. Mission Alignment: most closely match FoA’s funding priorities;
  2. Impact/Duration: will have the greatest impact on the largest number of students, including projects that are submitted jointly by more than one teacher;
  3. Other sources of funding/community support: have funding from other sources and/or reflect the support and buy-in of parents and other community members aside from FoA; and
  4. First-time Funder: are submitted by those teachers or classrooms who have not previously received FoA funding in the last 2 funding cycles.
    1. If a sole requestor has previously received FoA funding in the last 2 funding cycles, his or her request will be considered after voting on all other submitted requests. Group or joint requests with at least one requestor who has not been previously funded in the last 2 cycles will be considered before sole requests by teachers who have previously received funding.
  • All approved requests must also submit a funding closing memo or thank you note that details how the funds were spent, what the project accomplished and must include at least 6 digital photos documenting the item’s use in School or activity.  Teachers may also be asked to post or share photos and thank you notes detailing project’s success/uses on Friends of Adaire’s Facebook page or other social media.  Any unused funds must be returned to FoA.  
  • Sample Closing Memo Form link is included here.
We will not fund:
  • Completed projects
  • Debt reduction
  • Programs or purposes that may be perceived as directly benefiting a School employee, FoA Board Member, or their family members for personal use (more than a de minimis amount)
  • Contributions to political or labor organizations, candidates, or causes
  • Proposals that would caused FoA to be in violation of its Bylaws or lose its 501(c)(3) status

​Other Instructions and Considerations to Teachers/Requestors:
  • FoA funding should be considered for special projects or larger funding requests that will have the greatest impact on your classes and the student community at large.  Since approval of a prior request may lower the priority of a subsequent request, consider saving an FoA funding request for bigger ticket items that parent-support alone cannot fill.  Similarly, if your project is for a smaller amount, consider reaching out to FoA earlier and avoiding DonorsChoose labor and fulfillment fees and suggested donation fees.  FoA may consider limiting a funding request to the actual item costs.
  • Since priority is given to requests that will have the widest impact, joint requests across classrooms is strongly encouraged.  This will also help foster the Adaire community by encouraging shared resources and inter-classroom curricular opportunities.  Joint requests where at least one requestor has not previously been approved for funding will be considered in the same priority as other requestors who have not previously received funding.  
  • Priority is also given to those projects that are not funded solely by FoA but have some parent or community support, including other donations made through DonorsChoose.org etc.
  • Fill out the FoA Funding Request form on our website or request a copy from [email protected] or [email protected].  Please include as much detail as possible and answer all required questions.
  • When planning a DonorsChoose campaign please consider FoA funding request schedule when setting your project deadlines.  FoA request may be used to request additional funds to complete a DonorsChoose campaign that is close to its funding goal and meets the funding priorities of FoA even if FoA has already provided an initial donation.  Similarly, FoA may approve an initial donation amount and an excess amount to be provided only if a project is close to meeting its goal and has not reached funding capacity.  You may also wish to request that FoA provide a “matching campaign” to increase donor support for your project.
  • By accepting FoA funds, you will agree that any items purchased belong to the School and to complete a short closing memo that details (along with receipts if not purchased by FoA or through DonorsChoose) where the funds went and providing a short description of how the project was successful, and digital photos that FoA may use on its website or social media  to promote the School.  This detail is similar to any DonorsChoose.org "Thank you note".  See sample here.
  • FoA funds set aside for teacher projects are limited and priority is given to teachers who have not previously received funding--please do not take denial of any request as a sign that your project is not worthy or valuable to the Adaire community or your students.  Denied requests may be re-submitted for consideration in the next funding cycle and if you have questions about how to improve your project or submission to better meet FoA guidelines and priorities please reach out to Sasha Best at [email protected] or [email protected].