Contacts:
Sheree Wichard, 718-788-9585, swichard@aol.com
Donel Young, 732-295-2406, donelyoung2@aol.com
Ezra Jack Keats Foundation Minigrant Program Puts Funding Directly in
Hands of Teachers and Librarians at Public Schools and Libraries
Minigrants Have Funded Such Programs as the Longest Running Snowy Day Celebration, Haiku Graffiti, and African-American Shadow Plays
New Online Application Process Fast and Easy
NEW YORK—January 11, 2012—This year marks the 24th annual call for Minigrant proposals by the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation, with approximately 70 $500 grants to be given to qualifying teachers and librarians at public schools and libraries across the United States. The deadline for grant submissions is March 15th, and decisions will be emailed to all applicants beginning May 16th allowing educators to plan for the next academic year accordingly.
“We are very proud to be able to maintain our level of granting at a time when public libraries and schools across the country are experiencing unprecedented budget cuts,” says Deborah Pope, Executive Director of the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation.
“What’s more, our Minigrants put funding directly into the hands of those who interact most with students—teachers and librarians,” adds Pope. “If these educators have an idea for a special program that challenges students in new and creative ways—a mural, pen pal group, theatre production…their imagination is the limit—we encourage them to go through the application process, which takes under an hour.”
Since 1987, the Foundation, founded by the late Caldecott award-winning children’s book author and illustrator Ezra Jack Keats, has provided more than half a million dollars in support of programs spanning the 50 states and U.S. commonwealths. To learn more about the Ezra Jack Keats Minigrant program and to apply, visit ejkf.org/section/ezra-jack-keats-mini-grant-program-for-public-libraries-public-schools.
Featured on the Foundation’s website is a gallery of past outstanding Minigrant recipients, including these programs:
About The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation
The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation is a non-profit that exists solely to bring the joy of reading and learning to all children. In addition to the Minigrant program, the Foundation has given the Ezra Jack Keats Book Award annually since 1985 to an outstanding new writer and new illustrator of children’s picture books that portray the universal qualities of childhood, a strong and supportive family, and the multicultural nature of our world. The Foundation also sponsors the Ezra Jack Keats/New York Department of Education Bookmaking Competition for grades 3-12, among others. For information about the Foundation, please visit ejkf.org.