Enhancing Education for Our Students
About EAEF Grants
Since our inception in 1988, the East Aurora Educational Foundation has awarded over $1.3 million in grants to fund educational opportunities beyond the scope of the District’s annual operating budget. In 2025 alone, our not-for-profit awarded $146,337 to enhance the educational experience for all students. The foundation relies solely on private donations and community support to achieve milestones like these.
Past grant awards have ranged from $150 to $118,000 — no project is too small or too big to be considered! Each project we fund bolsters the opportunities East Aurora teachers can give their students and increases access to innovative, cutting-edge resources and programs in our schools. From athletics to STEAM, our grants have financed initiatives spanning virtually every area of learning and development.
How to Apply
Any teacher or school administrator with a unique idea or distinct need can submit a grant proposal. Once your proposal has been reviewed with your school principal and submitted to EAEF, you’ll be asked to make a short presentation to the foundation board.
If approved, we’ll work with you to ensure your project receives prompt funding to allow implementation as soon as possible. After one year, you’ll be asked to report on the status of your project, and we love to come visit our District schools to see the new grants in action!
Past Grant Examples
STEAM Labs in All District Schools
Through the efforts of the “Imagine the Possibilities” Campaign Committee, $100,000 was used to equip STEAM labs at Parkdale Elementary, EAMS, and EAHS.
Students now have access to cutting-edge tools to help expand their perspectives, knowledge, and critical thinking skills. A STEAM-based approach to learning provides students with multiple methods to seek answers to a problem and helps prepare them for the fields of tomorrow.
Some of the purchases made possible by this grant include: 3D Doodler Pens, MakerBot replicators, 3D Printers, interactive monitors and computer labs, laser engravers, a large-scale CNC router, plasma cutter, wood mill, and laser engraver.
Sustainable Agriculture Program
The Sustainable Agriculture Program lets students work on a one-acre farm at EAHS, educating and empowering them to support local food production that works within natural systems and yields environmental and economic benefits. This groundbreaking program aims to create lifelong advocates, producers, and consumers of local food that’s healthy and sustainable. Besides growing plants and crops, students have tended chickens, turkeys, cows, bees, and sold eggs, chicken, and honey from the farm.
This course takes core ideas from earth science, biology, chemistry, and physics and has students apply them in a real-world agricultural setting. Students have to design and build their own experiments and make them work, constantly learning and adjusting to changing conditions and circumstances.
Where Everyone Belongs (W.E.B.)
This year-long program pairs 5th grade students starting at East Aurora Middle School with trained 8th grade mentors, helping them feel cared for and supported during the transition. The W.E.B. program aligns with the District’s “Respectful Relationships” value as well as several NYS Social Emotional Learning Standards, helping to further foster an inclusive, connected school culture. Additionally, peer mentors are able to build build leadership, collaboration, and presentation skills.
Playful Possibilities: A Playground for All Ages and Abilities
The brand-new Pre-K and students with disabilities playground at Parkdale Elementary will be designed to foster inclusivity, growth, and fun for every child. This transformative space will be where love and laughter know no bounds. Our entire community can experience the joy of an inclusive playground that caters to the diverse needs of the Parkdale student population. Construction is slated to begin in September 2026.
East Aurora Educational Foundation
430 Main Street, East Aurora, NY 14052
The East Aurora Educational Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) organization.
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