Find a way to
fund the experience.

Best fit: Class or grade community-building days, participation costs, and transportation.

Who starts: Principal, teacher, and PTA/PTO treasurer.

Adventurelore school partners have used PTA money and shared school/family funding to make larger SEL programs possible. Request a whole-grade contribution or help with one clear cost, such as the bus.

If your school permits family contributions, arrange confidential school or donor support for families who cannot pay. Do not make access to required educational or IEP services depend on family payment.

Next step: Bring a quote, student count, educational goals, and a plan for full participation to the next PTA/PTO meeting.

Best fit: Experiential SEL, transitions, peer connection, and new school enrichment projects.

Who starts: Teacher or school team, using its own foundation’s process.

Rye Education Foundation lists a $2,895 Spring 2022 award for a seventh-grade Adventurelore SEL trip. This is a documented past example, not a current award offer or a fund open to every district.

Next step: Ask your principal which education foundation serves your school and when its next teacher-grant round opens.

Best fit: A defined program expense, class sponsorship, or a participation fund managed by the school.

Who starts: School or eligible PTA/PTO/education foundation.

Consider a local Rotary, Kiwanis, or Lions club, an employer with school ties, or families who already support your education foundation. These are local requests, not a single national grant. Ask about a specific gap and a clear number of students served.

For donor-advised gifts, the donor’s sponsoring organization must approve the recipient. Have the school or eligible charity manage the gift and purchasing; do not describe a payment to Adventurelore as a tax-deductible charitable donation.

Next step: Ask an existing school contact for an introduction. Use the short sponsor request below.

Best fit: Planned school-climate, relationship-building, and mental-health supports; potentially Spark or an SEL series.

Who starts: District federal-programs coordinator or business office.

This federal funding supports safe and healthy students. Ask whether the proposed work fits the district’s needs assessment, approved plan, and available allocation. A standalone recreational trip is not enough; show the learning goals, follow-up, and how progress will be reviewed.

Confirm evidence requirements, qualified providers, procurement, and supplement-not-supplant rules. Confirm transportation costs separately with your district and Maine DOE before including them in a budget.

Next step: Ask: “Could this planned SEL or therapeutic service fit our Title IV-A safe-and-healthy-students plan?”

Best fit: Spark or counseling services required for a student to benefit from special education; individualized ESY when necessary.

Who starts: Special education director and the student’s IEP team.

IDEA related services can include counseling, social work, therapeutic recreation, and transportation when needed for special education. The IEP team determines the student’s needs; the district decides the appropriate provider and funding arrangement.

ESY is an individualized IEP decision. A summer camp or whole-grade SEL day does not qualify automatically. Required services are provided at no cost to the family.

Next step: Discuss educational goals, service frequency, staff qualifications, progress reporting, and district approval before scheduling.

Best fit: Counseling or engagement supports addressing documented barriers to learning.

Who starts: District Title I coordinator.

Title I schoolwide plans can include counseling and school-climate supports linked to identified needs and academic achievement. Targeted-assistance programs have narrower student and service requirements. Neither is a general field-trip fund.

Next step: Ask the Title I coordinator whether the specific students, educational need, and proposed service are allowable under the school’s plan.

Best fit: Afterschool or summer enrichment incorporating teamwork, youth development, or appropriate counseling.

Who starts: School’s 21st CCLC director or an existing community grantee.

This federal program primarily supports learning during non-school hours, especially for students attending high-poverty and low-performing schools. Adventurelore could be considered as a contracted activity within a grantee’s approved program. A regular school-day trip is not the usual route.

Next step: Find out whether your school already participates and ask about approved partner services, transportation, and budget availability.

Best fit: School-based SEL, youth wellness, or community-building programs.

Who starts: Public school, municipality, or registered tax-exempt nonprofit.

Education and youth wellness are stated priorities. The benefit must reach communities served by the bank in Rockingham and Strafford Counties, NH, or southern York County, ME.

Requests are reviewed year-round. Scholarships and trips outside the bank’s operating area are excluded. Confirm your school and proposed program location before applying; no standard award amount is promised.

Next step: Submit a school program request with the student need, quote, and local benefit. Verify any proposed Danville trip with the bank first.

Best fit: Ongoing, school-based therapeutic support or facilitation within a broader student-support plan in Massachusetts.

Who starts: Massachusetts public districts, charter schools, or educational collaboratives.

Base requests may be up to $50,000. The grant allows community-based contracted services and prioritizes coordinated student supports, evidence-based strategies, and lasting impact.

Location and format matter: out-of-state travel and costs associated with school/district events are excluded. Consider this for a service series delivered in Massachusetts, subject to appropriate provider credentials and DESE approval—not a Danville field trip or one-day event.

Next step: Have the district grants lead review the proposed service with DESE and complete all required GEM$ approvals before the deadline.

Best fit: Youth-development, school enrichment, and participation support through an eligible local charity.

Who starts: A 501(c)(3) PTA/PTO, education foundation, or other eligible charity.

Serves listed communities including Amesbury, Newburyport, Salisbury, Ipswich, Beverly, and surrounding towns. Its published 2026 awards include $3,000 to Beverly Middle School PTO for Nature’s Classroom support—a relevant precedent for experiential learning, not an Adventurelore award.

Deadlines are the first Friday of March, June, September, and December. No general award range is stated.

Next step: Check the full town list and applicant eligibility, then use the foundation’s online request process.

Best fit: A new SEL or youth-wellness project with student/family input and meaningful community partnerships.

Who starts: Maine public school or another eligible Maine organization.

The published 2026 program offered up to $10,000. Schools could apply for new project funding, not general operating support. Projects must be in their first two years, have a total budget no greater than $100,000, and meet the foundation’s community-building criteria.

The 2026 deadline was February 17; do not treat that round as open. Expenses must follow the award date. Scholarships are excluded, so request a defined school project rather than individual scholarships. Confirm the next cycle and any out-of-state vendor/travel costs with county staff.

Next step: Contact the foundation’s county representative before drafting a new project proposal.

Best fit: A modest local school-program request, such as participation or transportation support, subject to approval.

Who starts: Eligible public, charter, or nonprofit private school; or an eligible charity.

Awards range from $250 to $5,000. Apply to a facility serving your community through a Spark Good account verified by Deed; schools need an NCES number or 501(c)(3) status. Local managers consider community need and expected impact.

Walmart Spark Good is unrelated to Adventurelore’s Spark therapy groups.

Next step: Complete verification early and request a specific, itemized local benefit.

Best fit: Educator-led experiential learning that develops communication, collaboration, and problem-solving.

Who starts: Eligible public-school educator or support professional who is an active NEA member; administrators cannot apply.

Grants of up to $5,000 support 12-month projects. Educational experiences and transportation are allowed; salaries, indirect costs, and grant administration are not. Build a learning project with preparation and follow-up, and confirm how any contracted program fee should be budgeted.

Next step: Identify an eligible educator and check the next application window before planning around an award.

Best fit: A sustained youth-development or mental-health partnership with measurable outcomes.

Who starts: An eligible 501(c)(3) education foundation, PTA/PTO, or community nonprofit.

Education and health/wellness are stated priorities. The foundation lists $2,000–$5,000 requests with January 1/July 1 deadlines, and $5,001–$25,000 requests with April 1/October 1 deadlines.

Use only when an eligible nonprofit genuinely leads the project. Scholarships, salaries, and event-style requests are generally excluded; this is a better match for a planned partnership than a standalone field trip. Confirm current deadlines and allowable contracted services with foundation staff.

Next step: Ask the nonprofit partner to discuss program fit with the foundation before investing in an application.