Rural Education Partnership Program

***WE ARE NOW ACCEPTING LETTERS OF INQUIRY***

The Nathan Yip Foundation supports schools, teachers, and students in Colorado's rural communities through its Rural Education Partnership Program.

Since our founding in 2002, we have focused our efforts where we can uniquely add value so we can generate the most positive impact. Rural communities have been at the heart of our foundation's work worldwide, and now we're making a difference here in Colorado. The Nathan Yip Foundation specializes in providing funding, materials, expertise, and access to strategic partnerships to help develop programs to improve the quality of education to schools and communities that can’t otherwise afford the time or resources. This focus enables us to take advantage of our strengths and vast network, and reflects the foundation’s ongoing commitment to providing equal and quality access to education all over the world.

Each partnership request is carefully evaluated by a committee of various community leaders and volunteers to determine alignment with the foundation's mission and resources. After initial internal review, we will select a few finalists to host a small group of foundation representatives for a site visit and listening tour. Finalists will then go through one more round of internal review before notifications are sent out and funds are distributed.

We invite you to dream with us and submit your letter of inquiry for support in the 2018-2019 school year! We love unique and innovative projects, as well as requests for basic but highly needed resources and materials that will have an immediate and direct impact on your classroom, school, or community. You know your community best, and we look forward to learning more about your vision. 

PLEASE NOTE:

• Only requests from rural schools and school districts in Colorado will be considered
• Grants typically range from $1,000 to $10,000 USD
• Our funding priority is to K-12 schools, districts, teachers, and classrooms
• The Nathan Yip Foundation does not fund:
  • Capital requests
  • Salaries and compensation
  • Scholarships and tuition support
  • Support for individuals (i.e. individual conference registration)
  • Non-rural organizations/schools/entities (i.e. 3rd party private or non-profit service/program providers)
  • Special events or fundraisers
  • Legislative action
  • Endowments or loan requests

Guidelines and Process:

• We have changed our application process this year!
  • We will only be requiring a one-page Letter of Inquiry to submit interest in funding support (think of this as your cover letter)
    • Tell us a little about yourself and your school/community
    • Include an overview of your project
    • Specify how much you will be requesting for support
    • Tell us how will this impact your school/community for the better and why is this project/funding so important (including how this fits in to your school's overall funding priorities)
  • Our committee will review all letters and invite semi-finalists to submit a full grant application
    • You will ONLY complete the full grant application if invited, after submitting your LOI
  • Once grant applications have been submitted, our committee will review again and select finalists for site visits
    • We love to see you in action and walk a day in your shoes, so this site visit is key in helping us understand your community
  • Our committee will present funding recommendations to the NYF Board of Directors for final approval
  • Grant recipients will be notified in November 

2018 Deadlines and Dates:

• August 1: Letter of Inquiry due (open to all)
• September 15: Full grant application due (by invitation only)
• October: Site visits
• November: Final funding decisions made

To Apply:

1. Mail or email Letter of Inquiry to tarika@nathanyipfoundation.org
2. If invited, submit a full grant application (click the button below to preview and/or download the Grant Application Form)
3. Follow the instructions in the Grant Application Form to complete your application
4. Mail or email your completed application to:

Nathan Yip Foundation
6295 Greenwood Plaza Blvd, Suite 100
Greenwood Village, CO 80111

tarika@nathanyipfoundation.org

If you have any questions regarding eligibility or specifics of your application, contact Executive Director, Tarika Cefkin, at (303)817-8400 or tarika@nathanyipfoundation.org.

We encourage you to learn more about our current grants.

Lastly, join our email list to receive information and notifications regarding future funding opportunities.