Educational Leadership Grant

These grants are made in response to requests of up to $250,000, matched at least 1:1.

Starting in 2008, the Foundation dedicated one of its three annual grant-making cycles to the Educational Leadership Grant program— larger grants to fewer schools— that was initially by invitation only. Beginning with the 2018 agenda, the Foundation allowed schools to pursue placement on an Educational Leadership Grant Agenda without first being invited to do so. The Foundation Board wants these Educational Leadership Grants to be generative.

We seek proposals that: 

  • Promise a significant impact on the practice and thinking in the independent school community throughout the country

  • Are innovative and replicable

  • Have a “ripple” effect where the benefits of the successful pursuit of an idea will not be limited to a single school

  • Encourage bold, new ideas that address challenges faced by independent schools

  • Represent original thinking and can conceivably catalyze change

  • Inspire creative problem-solving and incubate novel approaches

  • Involve partnerships outside of the immediate school community when appropriate

Furthermore, Educational Leadership Grants are awarded based on the quality of the proposal and other considerations in terms of the school's operation, but it does not favor certain areas of independent school work.

You can seek guidance as to what sort of proposals have been funded in the past but schools should identify their own greatest institutional need that they think the Foundation can help address.

Open Agenda:

“Agenda” is the term we use for our three annual grant cycles.

November 2026 Agenda

Educational Leadership Grant

Preliminary Proposal Due: May 1, 2026

Final Proposal Due: October 1, 2026

Step-by-Step Application Process:

1) Request Agenda Placement — Please fill out this form to tell us a bit more about your school and to help us determine if your school is eligible for EE Ford funding. Typically, schools that apply for Educational Leadership Grants have already been part of a Traditional Grant Agenda, though not always.

2) Agenda Placement Call — If your school is eligible to be placed on an Agenda, we will schedule a phone call between your Head of School and the Executive Director of the EE Ford Foundation. This phone call will serve as an informal introduction and it will determine if Agenda placement is right for your school. No proposal can be considered from schools that have not reserved a place on an upcoming Agenda. If your school is placed on an Educational Leadership Grant Agenda, you will receive further instruction via email.

3) Preliminary Proposal —You should only begin your preliminary Leadership Grant proposal if you have been placed on an Agenda. The deadline for submission of the preliminary proposal is May 1. If your proposal is selected to move on to the finalist round, we will notify you by approximately June 10. The following two steps only apply to schools that are selected as finalists.

4) School Visit — Our Foundation office will make arrangements for the Executive Director to visit and tour your school. *

5) Final Submission —

  • Online Application Form : September 1
  • Project Proposal and Financials: October 1

Required Materials:

(click below to expand)

 

Preliminary Proposal — due May 1

The EE Ford Foundation embarked on this Educational Leadership Grant program because we wanted to encourage bold, new, more ambitious ideas as we address some of the challenges we see in the world of independent schools. We are interested in promoting original proposals that hold the promise of catalyzing change. We want to inspire creative problem-solving and incubate new thinking.

For Educational Leadership Grants, the Foundation is most interested in schools that have demonstrated capacity for "generative thinking."

In general, we seek proposals that are innovative and replicable. We believe all requests, if funded, should have a ripple effect where the benefits of the successful pursuit of an idea will not be limited to a single school.

The Board invites schools to submit a request for funds that meets the requirements of the program as envisioned above. The standard request and grant has been $250,000 with a minimum match of 1:1. Some schools in past years have pursued projects that required matches of 1:2 or more. The Foundation expects schools to secure matching funds at a level that is appropriate to the program proposed and represents a reasonable challenge to complete in a time frame that extends two years from the date of notification of a successful proposal. The Foundation's funds are intended for research and program operational expenses, and may not be placed in endowments, though some or all of the school's matching funds may be directed to endowment to provide continuing support for the program funded by the Foundation's grant.

Once your school is placed on an Educational Leadership Grant Agenda, you will need to submit a 3-page, double-spaced document in which you describe your proposal, by May 1. While a detailed budget is NOT required of preliminary proposals, a reader should get some idea of how the EE Ford $250,000 and the matching funds would be spent if the proposal is successful.

We will notify you by approximately June 10 if your proposal makes it to the finalist round.

For Finalist Candidates

Online Application Form — due September 1

Project Proposal & Financials — due October 1

1. Project Proposal — Combine the following 5 components (and ONLY these) into a single PDF:

  • Proposal Narrative: Must not exceed 5 double-spaced pages, 1” margins, 12pt font. While we permit use of hyperlinks in these proposals, they should be used sparingly. Please include the following:
    • A brief history of the school – please limit to one paragraph
    • Needs of the school for which the grant is requested
    • The amount requested
    • The proposed match and how the school plans to raise the match
    • Your proposal should focus on the 9th–12th grade division of the school
  • Grant Budget: Describe how the school plans to use the grant and the match to meet the proposal needs. Please include a general budget that outlines, at least in broad categories, how the funds would be spent. Please limit to ONE page.
  • Comparative School Operating Budget: Include the current year’s operating budget, the last school year’s operating budget and the last school year’s actual budget results. Please limit to ONE page.
  • Statement of Activity & Statement of Financial Condition: Please DO NOT include the full audit. This section should consist of approximately 2-4 pages.
  • School Profile: This is typically the document sent to colleges with student applications.

2. Full Audit for the most recent full school year

3. Internal Revenue Code Forms 501(c)(3) and 509a — For first time applicants only. If you have submitted a proposal to EE Ford in the past, you do not need to include these forms.