WhAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A NEED GRANT AND A MINI-GRANT?
NEED grants are funded by money raised by NEED, typically cost $2,000-$5,000; require approval from the school administration to ensure equity and alignment to the district curriculum; and are granted on an annual cycle; and support curriculum enhancements. Mini-grants are funded via 'crowd-sourcing' (think GoFundMe or Donors Choose), typically cost less than $1,000; can be requested for any school-affiliated activities, clubs, or classrooms; and are updated monthly.
wHAT HAPPENS IF A MINI-GRANT ISN'T FULLY FUNDED?
If the mini-grant request does not meet its financial request, NEED will contact the requestor to adjust the request to fit within the funding received. For EXAMPLE: Mrs. Norton requests 3 widgets at $20 each (incl. shipping) for a total request of $60. The request goes live on Nov 1. By Nov 30, only $45 was donated. Mrs. Norton's school can purchase TWO widgets with $40. The remaining $5 will remain in NEED’s “Mini-Grant Fund” to cover donation processing fees, to potentially fund future “mini-grant” requests that don’t receive 100% funding by expiration, or to cover price fluctuations from the time a request was priced to the order date.