GOSA, along with the Innovation Fund Foundation (IFF), today announced five Community Partnership Grant award winners.  The Community Partnership Grant is a competitive grant program that provides funding to school districts, traditional public or charter schools, and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations to support students’ academic and nonacademic needs.

Community Partnership grants will provide each winner between $35,000 to $75,000 over one to two years to partner with schools, districts, and community, state, or national organizations to implement programs aligned with one of the IFF priority areas, including: coordinated community services, positive learning climate, elementary mathematics, and birth to age eight language and literacy development.  Each grantee will evaluate its program’s effectiveness and submit its findings to GOSA and the IFF.  The state will use these findings to showcase best practices in all four priority areas.

Funding for Community Partnership Grants is made available through donations to the Qualified Education Donation Tax Credit, pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 48-7-29.21.  This tax credit allows individuals and corporations to donate to the IFF and receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit (not just a deduction) on their state income taxes, subject to availability. The IFF can receive up to $5 million annually and will use these funds for grant programs, like the Community Partnership Grant, that improve student achievement.

The grant award winners and their respective programs are listed below. 

Board of Control for the Southern Regional
SREB/Columbus Regional Mathematics Collaborative Joint Project to Support Elementary Teachers of Mathematics
Elementary Mathematics Teaching and Learning

Boys and Girls Clubs of the CSRA - Thomson Club
GREAT Readers - Thomson Club
Birth to Age Eight Language and Literacy

DeKalb County School District - Stoneview Elementary School
Loving Literacy
Birth to Age Eight Language and Literacy

Charles R. Drew Charter School
Prepping for Success in Early Learning: Parent Engagement and Data Alignment
Birth to Age Eight Language and Literacy

University of West Georgia Foundation, Inc.
STEM Design: Design Thinking for Elementary Teachers and Students
Positive Learning Climate

Download this pdf file. Click here to read summaries of the winning proposals.

About the Innovation Fund Foundation

The Innovation Fund Foundation (IFF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that was developed to complement the work of the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement (GOSA) in supporting innovative education programs. The IFF is committed to improving student achievement in Georgia by funding innovative partnerships to redesign public education. The Foundation envisions that Georgia will be known as the state where innovators partner and invest to transform the educational experience so that all students have the opportunity to thrive as engaged citizens.