Classroom Grants

S T E M Classroom Grants


Sponsored by TVA and BVI

Classroom Funding

TVA Service Areas

Public & Private Schools

The TVA STEM Classroom Grant Program, sponsored by the Tennessee Valley Authority in partnership with Bicentennial Volunteers Incorporated (BVI, a TVA retiree organization), is designed to fund STEM learning projects in classrooms and schools in the TVA service area.


“The Tennessee Valley Authority understands that excellence in education is the key to our future,” said TVA STEM Education Manager Rachel Crickmar. “We want to work directly with teachers to support initiatives that advance STEM activities in the classroom to develop a talent pipeline for TVA and its customers."


About TVA

The Tennessee Valley Authority is a corporate agency of the United States that provides electricity for business customers and local power companies serving nearly 10 million people in parts of seven southeastern states. TVA provides flood control, navigation and land management for the Tennessee River system and assists local power companies and state and local governments with economic development and job creation.


Applications for the 2023/2024 program closed September 15, 2023.


Applications are now closed. 2023 Grant Winners

Resources and Supports


Application Processes

Applying


Eligible applicants are teachers or administrators in public or private schools, grades K-12. Schools must be located in the TVA service area and receive power from a TVA distributor. If a TVA service provider is misidentified in the application, that application will not be accepted. Please contact your school to verify the school's local power distributor. 


Applications are now accepted through Submittable.com. With Submittable, you can preview the application, save your work to complete later, and share your application to collaborate with other educators. Be sure to add @email.submittable.com to your safe senders list so that you receive all grant updates and communication.  Additionally, please be sure to download the Budget Template, which is necessary to complete your application.


Applications for the 2023/2024 program open August 1, 2023 and close September September 15, 2023.

Funding Guidelines


Funds may not be used for furniture, cash, gift cards, travel, salary, food, professional development, general office supplies not related to STEM activities, or sports (See more details below). 


TVA does not provide grants to individual fundraising efforts, sporting events, school trips or transportation, construction projects, renovation projects or capital campaigns, political organizations, labor organizations, fraternal organizations, religious organizations directly tied to a place of worship, chairs, endowments, or scholarships sponsored by academic or nonprofit institutions. 


NEW for 2023: All applications should be written and submitted by the teacher who will be performing the project. Although you may collaborate with others, the grant should not be written or submitted by a third party (such as a vendor or a district representative). 


Funding Priority Areas

  • Environment
  • Energy
  • Economic and Career Development
  • Community Problem Solving


(Examples of projects funded in each category below.)

Guidelines for Spending


All funds must be spent by June 1, 2024 and must be spent in the manner outlined in the approved grant proposal.


Everything purchased with the grant funds is to become property of the school or organization and must stay with the school or organization if the teacher who applied were to depart. 


A report on the completed project is due on or before June 30, 2024. Your Submittable account will have the form for your final report.


Grant changes and extensions may be requested via the change request form (see red link above).


Schools with previous TVA grants who have received extensions and not yet completed their project are not eligible for funding for this round.


Tips for Your Application

A high scoring application will:


  • Be a unique, innovative, and/or creative idea
  • Align to one or more of the TVA areas of focus
  • Incorporate design thinking
  • Promote 21st century skills
  • Enhance college and career readiness
  • Be collaborative or interdisciplinary across subjects and/or grades
  • Involve a community partner
  • Impact a high percentage of students
  • Expose traditionally underserved students to STEM learning

A well written application will:


  • Clearly communicate the project and anticipated results
  • Explain the anticipated student learning outcomes and how the project will deepen students’ understanding of STEM
  • Contain a description of how intended outcomes will be assessed

All applications should:


  • Contain a budget outline (using the provided template) for the full amount of funding requested
  • Not contain furniture, cash, gift cards, travel, salary, food, general office supplies not related to STEM activities, or sports
  • Be from a school that receives power from a TVA distributor
  • Be your own, unique work
  • Agree to all of the terms and conditions at the end of the application 

Examples of Previously Funded Projects for Each Focus Group

Project: No Dirt, No Problem! School-wide STEM Vertical Gardening

School: Spring Hill Elementary


For this project, students research, design, and launch a plan to grow crops without soil. Students help develop an edible school garden and utilize an automatic vertical hydroponic system. They work together to investigate, create, and communicate ideas related to the topic of food security for our community and state. Through an outdoor classroom, students learn about innovations and agricultural concepts that span across math, science, art, health, social studies, and technology. Throughout the project, students monitor, compare, measure, test, and alter the conditions to best support the plants. These new outdoor skills can be taken home to their families and they strengthen the relationship between the school and community. 

Project: Sequatchie River Water Study

School: Bledsoe County High School


This project provides the tools for the Bledsoe County High School’s Ecology class to conduct a semester-long study of the water quality in the Sequatchie River. Four sites are utilized along the river in Bledsoe County: two upstream and two downstream of the sewage treatment plant. Students test for nitrates, phosphates, silica and pH. Carbon dioxide, water hardness and dissolved oxygen are also studied, in addition to a test for bacterial (coliform) pollution.


The students also collect and identify micro and macro invertebrates in the river. This project allows students to discover the value of macro invertebrates as living indicators of water quality. The data collected is then analyzed by the students at the end of the semester, and the students create videos and presentations to showcase their testing and findings.


Project: Pedal Power!

School: Lookout Valley Middle School


This project is designed to motivate students to exercise while teaching them concepts in STEM. The project allows students to collaboratively build bicycles that can create and capture electricity into a usable power source. Lessons include electricity, sustainable energy sources, technology, engineering, design and various math concepts. The students are able to take a battery pack that is empty and, by riding the bicycles they built, produce electricity to recharge the battery. The project collaborates with teachers in subjects across the curriculum including P.E., science, math and physics.

Project: K-4 STEM @ Home Career Certification Kits

School: Prescott South Elementary


In an effort to provide motivated students additional learning opportunities regarding STEM Careers at home, Prescott South Elementary will develop STEM @ Home Career Kits. Each grade level supports one STEM Career area. Activities within the pack includes developmentally-appropriate literacy related to the career, information regarding education required for the career, information regarding potential geographic locations for employment, and engaging activities to develop an understanding of skills necessary for the career. Each grade level has five different packs. If all five projects are completed to a level of mastery, the student becomes Prescott-certified for that career strand. An evaluation rubric is included in each pack to promote goal setting and an understanding of the expectation for mastery.


Each grade level has developmentally-appropriate materials to research and gain a deeper understanding of the STEM Career grade-level focus area. The completed materials returned from home serves as evidence of learning. An evaluation rubric is included in each STEM at Home Project Pack. Students are verbally praised for effort regardless of mastery level.

FAQs


Do you have questions? We have answers.

  • Do I have to have the exact pricing for each item on my budget?

    No. We understand prices can change over time and vary by store. Just estimate as closely as possible. 

  • How do I know if my school is in a TVA service area and receives power from a TVA distributor?

    Grants are open to all teachers or school administrators in public and private schools, grades K through 12, that are located in the TVA service area and receive power from a TVA distributor. To check to see if your school is in a TVA service area and receives power, follow the links above on this page.

  • What projects are NOT eligible for a grant?

    Funds may not be used for furniture, cash, gift cards, travel, salary, food, general office supplies not related to STEM activities, or sports. Schools with previous TVA STEM Classroom grants who have received extensions and not yet completed their projects are not eligible for this grant cycle.

  • I can't get the form to work. Can I apply via email?

    We're sorry but all applications must come through the online form. If your school internet or computer blocks Submittable, please try applying with a different computer or on a wifi connection from home or a public place outside of your school building.

  • Can my school apply for more than one grant? Can I apply for more than one grant?

    Yes and yes! We cannot guarantee we will be able to fund multiple grants from one school or person, but you are more than welcome to apply with as many ideas as you would like.

  • A vendor or district representative wrote my application for me, is that ok?

    No. Your application should be your own, unique work and should be written and submitted by the educator who will be performing the project. You may collaborate on your proposal, but you the educator who will be performing the project must be the lead in writing and submitting it.  

  • When will I be notified? Will I be notified if I didn't win?

    All applicants will be notified, regardless of award status. Notifications will occur in mid-late November. Please add @email.submittable.com to your safe senders list to make sure you recieve future grant communication.


  • If my application is funded, when can I expect to receive funds?

    We expect for accepted grants to receive their funding in the early new year. Once an applicant receives notification of acceptance, we will email a request (through Submittable) for the applicant's District W9. After the successful successful submission of a W9, applicants can expect to receive a check to their district office within approximately 60 days.

  • Still have questions?

    We're here to support you.

    Email us at tsin@battelle.org.


This program is supported by assistance from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), a federal agency. Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and applicable TVA regulations at 18 C.F.R pts. 1302, 1307, 1309 and 1317, no person shall, on the grounds of race, color, national origin, age, sex or disability, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination under this program. In addition, no qualified person with a disability shall, on the basis of a disability, be subjected to discrimination in employment (including hiring) under the program. If you feel you have been subjected to discrimination as described above, you, personally or by a representative, have the right to file a written complaint with TVA not later than 180 days (for race, color, national origin, or sex) or 90 days (for age or disability) from the date of the alleged discrimination. The complaint should be sent to Tennessee Valley Authority, Federal Assistance Programs, 1101 Market Street, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37402-2801.

A copy of the applicable TVA regulations may be obtained on request by writing TVA at the address given above.

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