TALK OF GREENWOOD
Dr. Jerry Goodwin
Featured Image. Students create planters for local businesses and senior citizens as part of Community Services Day for the BEST! Mentoring Program. BEST! is a community-based program for Building Extraordinary Success Today sponsored by the Cache Schools Educational Foundation. The foundation received a 2022 Boren Mentoring Initiative Start-Up Grant. Photo Provided
New and existing Oklahoma mentoring programs that serve students in grades K-12 can now apply for Boren Initiative Grants from the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence.
The foundation offers two types of grants. Organizations and programs in their first three years of operation can apply for start-up grants of $3,000, while existing mentoring programs are eligible for $1,500 opportunity grants to help fund programming, training, materials or other needs that advance excellence in mentoring. There will be two start-up grants and six opportunity grants available for the 2024 grant cycle.
To be eligible, programs must serve K-12 age children in Oklahoma. Preference is given to organizations that work in partnership with local public schools. Programs must also conduct background checks on all mentors, agree to report quantitative and qualitative outcomes, and provide proof of 501(c)3 status or proof of an agreement with a local public school district or other qualified 501(c)3 umbrella organization.
The deadline to submit applications is Jan. 15, 2024. Applications are available at OFE.org.
The Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence is a statewide nonprofit that recognizes and encourages excellence in Oklahoma’s public schools. The foundation’s David and Molly Boren Mentoring Initiative promotes the growth and development of quality mentoring programs in Oklahoma.
