Early bird deadline for Bright Ideas grant

Time is running out for teachers with creative ideas for hands-on classroom projects to apply for a Bright Ideas grant from North Carolina’s electric cooperatives. The final deadline to apply is in September; however all teachers who meet the early-bird, Aug. 16 deadline will be entered to win a $500 Visa gift card. Interested teachers can find the application, grant-writing tips and more information on the Bright Ideas website at ncbrightideas.com.

“Since 1994, the Bright Ideas education grant program has provided more than $8.5 million for 8,300 projects benefitting more than 1.5 million students in North Carolina,” said Lindsey Listrom of the North Carolina Association of Electric Cooperatives. “We are committed to local communities, and we believe there’s no better way to contribute than by investing in the education of our youth.”

North Carolina’s electric cooperatives have allocated more than $600,000 to give to educators across the state during the 2013-2014 school year. The grants will be awarded in November for projects in all grade levels and all disciplines, including math, science, art, language, English and history.

The Bright Ideas grant application requires an outline of the proposed project, a detailed budget and a description of the benefit to students. Applicants are encouraged to highlight the innovative, creative elements of the project and to proofread carefully.