Good Idea Grants

As of March 2026, the Good Idea Grants have been renamed the John Forkenbrock Education Innovation Grants, in honor of the late NAFIS Executive Director. John led NAFIS for 27 years with extraordinary knowledge, dedication, and commitment to Impact Aid and the communities it serves, dedicating his career to advancing educational opportunities for federally connected students across the country. Be on the lookout for additional information about this announcement soon.

FISEF Good Idea Grants support federally impacted PreK-12 teachers and schools in their efforts to address students’ academic needs and social/emotional wellness. Grants of up to $5,000 are awarded to NAFIS-member school district applicants that strive to increase outcomes in these areas. These grants typically go to teachers with great ideas whose projects would otherwise go unfunded due to budgetary restraints in the district.

Eligible projects:

• Provide students the opportunity to grow and become creative, innovative and critical thinkers.
• Are sustainable – they can be replicated in other classrooms, schools and school districts.
• Allow students to apply classroom knowledge to real-life applications.

FISEF Good Idea Grants have funded a wide range of projects, including preschool preparedness, robotics, after school reading programs, outdoor classrooms, a digital history of a Native American tribe, efforts to strengthen community relations between military members and citizens and more.

Applications are closed for the 2025/2026 Good Idea Grants. Be on the lookout for a grantee announcement in February.

Congratulations to the recipients of the 2024/2025 FISEF Good Idea Grants!

• Choctaw-Nicoma Park Public Schools (Choctaw, OK), to engage K-2 students in STEM using children’s literature, Legos, and coding robots to teach scientific, engineering, and computational concepts
• Randolph Field ISD (Universal City, TX), to create an interactive outdoor classroom to foster elementary students’ creativity and self-discovery, including spaces for science, art and gardening, as well as a unique setting for counseling support.
• Waynesville R-VI School District (Waynesville, MO), to the Happy Helpers service-learning program, empowering students to aid the local animal shelter through supply drives, donations, on-site visits, and public outreach
• Umoⁿhoⁿ Nation Public Schools (Macy, NE), to expand access to the White Eagle Club’s “Regalia Renaissance,” providing materials so all interested students can create handmade regalia and participate in traditional Omaha performances and ceremonies, celebrating their cultural heritage and fostering identity and community connection

As part of grant reporting, recipients are required to submit a video on their project, which is shown at the NAFIS Spring Conference. See how a Good Idea Grant supported teachers in integrating picture books into STEM lessons in Choctaw-Nicoma Park Public Schools (Oklahoma).

See how a Good Idea Grant supports “Brewing Independence” for students with disabilities in Lemont Township High School District 210 (Illinois).

Questions about Good Idea Grants? Contact Anne O’Brien, FISEF Activities Director and NAFIS Director of Communications, at anne@nafisdc.org.