Help Us Help Foundation Offers Tech Grants to Schools

Posted by on July 12, 2002

*** Help Us Help Foundation Offers Tech Grants to Schools and Youth Organizations ***

With support from the Oracle Corporation, the nonprofit Help Us Help Foundation (http://www.helpushelp.org) assists K-12 public schools and youth organizations in economically challenged communities to obtain information technology tools through a series of grants.

Grants of computer equipment and software are available to schools and youth organizations that provide educational programs in low-income communities. The foundation program will donate new Internet appliances and laser printers as well as all the ancillary equipment necessary to connect the devices, including network hubs, cables, and electrical surge protectors.

The foundation uses a number of criteria to determine applicants’ eligibility. These are listed below. In addition, they evaluate applications based on the quality of the narrative and documentation provided by the grant seeker.

* U.S. K-12 public and public charter schools are eligible if a significant number of students qualify for the subsidized lunch program (roughly 50% for elementary and 35% for middle and high schools) or can otherwise be documented as low-income.

* U.S. community-based organizations are eligible if they have 501(c)(3) or 7871 Tribal Government status, and provide educational services to youth who lack access to technology. Additionally, low-income youth must make up at least 50% of the total population the organization serves annually.

* The foundation does not make grants outside the U.S. at present. In the future, the foundation plans to accept applications from educational institutions and non-governmental organizations outside the U.S. that serve low-income youth and provide technology education.

The deadlines for this round of grants are August 31, 2002 and February 28, 2003. For complete guidelines and online application forms, see the Help Us Help Foundation Web site at http://www.helpushelp.org/pages/grant_index.html.