2025-26 Heart of Teaching: Elevating Extracurricular Excellence

The Dallas Education Foundation is excited to announce its third-annual Heart of Teaching Grant: Elevating Extracurricular Excellence

The 2025-2026 Heart of Teaching grants program will create opportunities for educators to support, enhance, and expand extracurricular activities on campuses. This initiative supports innovative projects that foster student engagement, leadership, and enrichment beyond the classroom. The maximum grant award will be up to $2,500 per project and must be used in the 2025-2026 school year.

From March 31 through April 22, 2025, the Dallas Education Foundation (DEF) is accepting applications from Dallas ISD campus staff, administrators, and teachers seeking to develop or enhance extracurricular activities. Grant applications may focus on launching new student organizations, strengthening existing programs, or introducing innovative initiatives that support student involvement. 

The application is open to all campus staff who serve students, including but not limited to, teachers, administrators, librarians, and support staff.
 

Key Dates:

• March 31 - Application opens
• April 22 - Application deadline
• May 15 - Awardees announced
• August 1 - September 30 - Grant disbursement

ABOUT THE DALLAS EDUCATION FOUNDATION

The Dallas Education Foundation (DEF) serves as Dallas ISD’s direct and designated philanthropic partner. Our mission is to inspire community investment to accelerate student success. We align with the district’s strategic initiatives and partner with our city’s business leaders, residents, and philanthropic community to raise funds for programs that enrich the lives of our students. In 2024, DEF disbursed $2.75 million to Dallas ISD to support our students, teachers, and schools. To learn more, visit DEF at https://dallasedfound.org and follow us on social media (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and YouTube) at @dallasedfound. 

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2025 HEART OF TEACHING GRANT GUIDELINES

Guidelines:

• Grant proposals must serve Dallas ISD students by enhancing or establishing extracurricular activities.
• Grant requests cannot exceed $2,500.
• Stipends are not funded by this grant.
• Projects are funded via reimbursement for verified expenditures. Receipts should be collected and submitted for one lump sum payment. Please see this document for information on how reimbursement will work through the Dallas Education Foundation.
• Awardees must execute the grant in the 2025-2026 school year. Multi-year grants will not be awarded. 
• One Dallas ISD employee must be identified as the primary contact for the grant application. 
• All applications must have prior approval of the campus principal or department head.
• Application Submission Deadline: Friday, April 22, 2025, 5:00 p.m. CDT  

Grantee Commitments:

• Projects must be approved by the campus principal. 
• Awardees must be a Dallas ISD employee in the 2025-2026 school year to receive the funds. Awardees who separate from the district forfeit their opportunity to execute the grant.
• Awardees will receive grant funds via reimbursement, pending approval of receipts submitted to Dallas Education Foundation.
• Project expenses must not already be covered by Dallas ISD budgeted funds.
• Projects containing a technology component must demonstrate compliance with district E-Rate policy.
• Projects containing any type of permanent installation or alteration to a classroom or campus must demonstrate approval from Dallas ISD Facilities Department prior to submission.
• Products and services purchased with grant funds become property of Dallas ISD. Dallas ISD accepts ownership, responsibility for implementation, operation, overhead, indirect cost, and any ongoing maintenance.
• Awardees must expend funds and request reimbursement by September 30; unexpended funds will revert to the Dallas Education Foundation general funds.
• Grantees must document their project's implementation, expenditures, and impact according to established timelines. Grantees must also work with DEF in acknowledging support of originating donors to DEF.
• Awardees are responsible for reporting on the success of the project by May 15, 2026. 
• Awardees may be asked to participate in interviews, photo/video shoots, classroom visits, and external/internal communications about this project.
   

Submission:

All applications must be submitted through this online system. We strongly urge you to download a copy of the application (linked here) and draft your application before entering it into the online form.