Raleigh, N.C. —The Bright Ideas education grant program, which awards grants to North Carolina teachers for innovative classroom-based projects, is underway and North Carolina’s Touchstone Energy cooperatives, including North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation, have earmarked more than $580,000 to be distributed to deserving N.C. teachers. With the deadline quickly approaching, teachers are encouraged to beat the rush and apply early. Those teachers who submit Bright Ideas applications before August 17 will be entered into a drawing for a $500 Visa gift card.
The drawing will take place on September 1 and the winning teacher will be notified immediately. The winning teacher will also receive accolades on the Bright Ideas Web site, www.ncbrightideas.com, where the application as well as rules and regulations can be found.
Certified K-12 teachers in North Carolina are eligible to apply for Bright Ideas grants of up to $2,000 for creative projects that would otherwise go without funding. The Bright Ideas education grant program is currently the only program in the state exclusively for classroom educators.
“We understand that teachers go above and beyond the call of duty for our state’s youth, spending their spare time and money on their students” said Morgan Lashley, Communications Specialist for NCEMC. “In order to reward them for applying early and for their extra effort we are offering a $500 Visa gift card as an incentive this year.”
Since its inception in 1994, the Bright Ideas grant program has awarded more than $6.5 million in grant money to North Carolina’s teachers to sponsor more than 5,900 projects benefiting more than 1 million students.
The primary elements of the application process include an explanation of the project and how it will benefit students. A sample application is available on the Web site as well as the contact information for those teachers who have questions or require more information. The final deadline for applicants is September 18.
The Bright Ideas education grant program is part of the electric cooperatives’ ongoing commitment to North Carolina communities.North Carolina’s electric cooperatives serve more than 2.5 million people in 93 of the state’s 100 counties.