How FFA Grants Can Provide New Learning Opportunities for Your Students

HOW FFA GRANTS CAN PROVIDE NEW LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUR STUDENTS

BY: KASEY NAYLOR SAM RAYBURN - IVANHOE HIGH SCHOOL AGRICULTURE SCIENCE TEACHER

Do you have a great idea for classroom learning that will benefit your students? Do you have an awesome service-learning or community service idea that would benefit your community or your school district?

In 2019, some of my students in my Agriculture Leadership classes completed the Agriculture Literacy Continuum curriculum on the National FFA website. Through this, they learned they could write grants and potentially provide new opportunities for our chapter.

National FFA Living to Serve (LTS) Grants are offered three different ways: (1) A year-long grant for up to $3.000; (2) A semester-long grant for up to $1,200 that is offered in the spring and fall; (3) A $400 Day of Service mini- grant.

Fast forward to this year, one of those students came to me with the idea of our chapter raising laying hens that would allow us to provide eggs to our school cafeteria. Together, we completed the application and were awarded a semester-long National FFA Living to Serve Grant. Now we’re in the laying hen business! This project has sparked interest with our students and throughout most of my school days I hear “can I go get the eggs?”

These grant opportunities are not limited to one area of study. We have used grants for many different projects from raised garden beds (pictured), to a makeshift greenhouse, and raising cattle. The sky is the limit!

TYPES OF GRANTS

Yearlong grant applications are normally due in mid-June. The fall semester-long grant applications are due the first of September with the spring semester-long grant applications due the first of February. Lastly, the Day of Service Mini-Grant grants applications is due the first of each month.

National FFA’s Grants for Growing is another opportunity that might benefit your chapter. Applications must identify how the funds will be utilized to grow the classroom, grow the FFA chapter, or grow ag awareness. In the past, our chapter has submitted projects such as raised garden beds, building makeshift greenhouses, and now this year raising cattle. These applications are due in May each year.

GRANT APPLICATIONS

You might think writing these grants is difficult, but in reality, they are actually very easy to complete. Most of the grant applications offered by National FFA simply want you to provide a short overview of the project. They want to know who the grant benefits, where the project will be hosted if your chapter will have other funding resources to support the project, and how the project will be infused into your classroom. In addition, they want to know some numbers that will go along with the project. For instance, if you’re doing a raised garden bed project to give back to your community, how much food will be donated?

The final part of most National FFA grant applications is the budget. As ag teachers, we like to make a penny go a mile. but this is not the time to be conservative about money. If you know you will need something that’s going to cost a little more, go for it. I promise the judges of the grant applications will understand. Also, make sure your monetary numbers are rounded up. If a line item actually costs $25.63 you should round up to $26. Moreover, keep in mind you’ll have taxes and potential shipping costs as well, so build those into your budget.

Over the years, these grants have taught numerous students about many different aspects of agriculture. National FFA grants are a simple way to help fund a project which might not be possible otherwise. I encourage you to visit the National FFA website and check out all of the aforementioned grant applications, and many more. They are a great way to help your chapter and fund activities that your students are wanting to accomplish.