A to Z Fund

FUELING THE JOY OF DISCOVERY FOR STUDENTS. FROM ASPIRING ASTRONAUTS TO ZOOLOGISTS, AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN.

The DPS Foundation’s A to Z Fund provides materials, resources and opportunities that fall outside classroom budgets, but have a lasting impact on students. From aspiring Astronauts to Zoologists. And everything in between! This year, A to Z Fund has awarded more than $2.5 Million to schools since its inception in 2006!

Applications for the 2023-2024 school year are available

FIRST CYCLE: Applications due September 19, 2023 at 5:00 p.m. MT

Award decisions will be announced by Wednesday, October 4th

Resources and How to Apply:

2023-24 A to Z Fund Grant Guidelines (read BEFORE applying)

Preview the Application Questions

Submit Your Application Here

need help with the new online system?

Check out these resources and then email atozfund@dpsfoundation.org for additional questions.

Applicant Written Tutorial

Applicant Video Tutorial

For 2023-24 Grants:

• All funds expended by: Friday, May 31, 2024
  
• All final reports due by: Friday, June 7, 2024

Watch how an A to Z Fund recipient used the grant funds to provide hands-on, investigative science activities for her students.

Since 2006, the DPS Foundation has awarded more than 1,500 A to Z Fund classroom grants totaling more than $2.5 million.

The A to Z Fund provides grants to individual schools for programs and activities that go beyond the limits of schools’ budgets. Through this program, the DPS Foundation provides grants to schools for educational materials, athletic equipment, enrichment classes, competition fees, field trip expenses and more. These grants are available to any DPS school to enhance classroom learning and the fund helps to provide equal opportunities for students district-wide to participate in enrichment opportunities.

What your support will do:

Educators often report spending their own money – sometimes as much as several hundred dollars in a year– to purchase educational materials or subsidize field trips because they want their students to excel. While this is generous and demonstrates the commitment of our educators, it isn’t a sustainable solution to help all students have access to these opportunities. The A to Z Fund promotes equity by offering funding to all schools, and helps lessen the burden on our educators. With your help – especially in light of tight classroom budgets – the A to Z Fund can put resources directly into the hands of teachers, allowing them to create exceptional learning environments for every student. Ten percent of each A to Z Fund designated donation goes towards program sustainability, which allows DPS Foundation to support schools and educators in the application process, as well as grant evaluation and reporting.  Learn more about how your support will make a difference.

Why our educators and students need this fund:

There is an ongoing, growing need for schools to find private sources of funding to build the quality of their students’ school experience. Despite receiving hundreds of highly qualified applications, the DPS Foundation only has funding to fulfill approximately two-thirds of all grant requests. With your help, we can expand the A to Z Fund and further empower our teachers to be able to provide their students the opportunities, resources and experiences they need to reach their highest potential.

A few highlights of projects that have been powered by this fund include:

• DCIS at Ford Elementary received $500 to purchase equipment such as tricycles, traffic signs and helmets to enhance gross motor development for ECE students

• Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. High School received $2,000 to purchase additional DSLR cameras to supplement the digital photography class

• Maxwell Elementary received $1,600 for students to participate in weekly Young Rembrandts drawing class

• North High School Engagement Center received $2,000 to purchase science equipment additional science experiments