Grants for Opportunities in Active Learning Application Opens

August 1, 2023 – The G.O.A.L. Program Application is now open for the 2023/24 School Year. The grant application opened on August 1, 2023, and will close on October 13. This blog post contains important information for grant applicants about the process, grant determination questions, and more!

Formerly known as the Extracurricular Opportunity Program, the Grants for Opportunities in Active Learning Program (G.O.A.L.) provides an opportunity for after-school, academic clubs and organizations like Model United Nations, H.O.S.A., Robotics, and more to reduce the cost of participation for its students.

This year, nine (9) $500 grants will be distributed to eligible Michigan student groups to support academic after-school programs. Recipients may use grant money to reduce the cost of student participation for;

• Conference/Registration/Participation Fees
• Transportation costs
• Hotel accommodations
• Other normal expenses associated with the activity

The application takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. Once you submit your application, you should receive an email copy of your submission. On October 13, you will receive another email updating the status of your application, and grant decisions will be released to all applicants on October 20.

The application’s first four (4) sections consist of basic information about the applicant, school, student organization, and extracurricular activity. The grant determination questions help the review committee evaluate each grant for the determination criteria. Below are each of the questions and sample responses!

Grant Determination Questions:

Q1: Do you receive any financial support or funding? Yes or No (Does your after-school activity receive financial assistance from your school/school district, local foundations, businesses, etc., to help cover participation costs?)

Q2: If you answered “Yes” to the question above, please describe who you receive funding or financial support from, the approximate amount, and the purpose. The Dragon’s Debate Club receives support from a local business for $1,500 to cover transportation-related costs and club t-shirts for each student participant.

Q3: Please describe your organization’s financial need for this event. Students must pay out of pocket to attend the annual science conference. Additionally, most students participating in this conference qualify for free and reduced lunch and need additional financial assistance to cover all costs. Overall participation in this event remains low due to the cost barrier students and their families are faced with.

Q4: Please describe the benefits to the students attending this event, including the overall student learning experience, opportunities, and relevance to the student organization’s purpose. Students attending this tournament have the opportunity to make friends with students across the state, learn from different educators, and access in-person college scholarships. This tournament encourages growth, creates opportunities, and fosters excellence by supporting and advocating for our students in Michigan.

Q5: Please describe the proposed use of grant funds. The use of grant funds, if awarded, will serve two purposes. The first will be to secure funding for any student who cannot pay to participate and help support the need for travel at any point during the season. The second purpose of the grant funds will be to ensure students can purchase building supplies to create a bridge of their design. This would include the need for physical building materials such as wood, metal, or acrylic. It could also include the need for technology support, such as updated computer programming to help code their robot to complete a task or mission. 

Q6: How many students would benefit from this grant? 25

Q7: Additional information for consideration. Although there may only be 8 students that attend the competition, the knowledge they bring back and share with the entire organization (100+ students) is invaluable. All students participate in the district community service events, and those attending the competition present what they learned on behalf of our chapter.