ScholarShare 529, California’s official 529 college savings plan, is now accepting entries for its Scholar Dollars grant program. All of California’s public and charter schools serving grades K-8 are eligible for the program, but they must register online by the March 7 deadline.
The grants are intended to help schools pay for critical and underfunded class materials, extracurricular activities and after-school programs. Last year, 20 schools were awarded grants ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 for a wide range of school needs including science lab equipment, chromebooks and a new athletic track. For 2018, the program has increased the largest grant to $30,000.
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Winners are chosen through an online voting system; categories are based on enrollment size. Once schools register by the March 7 deadline, voting begins on March 12. Members of each school’s community who are over the age 18, including parents, relatives, friends, faculty and school officials, will have the opportunity to vote for their school once per day. Last year, more than 411,000 votes were cast statewide for nearly 400 schools.
CSBA is proud to partner with the Scholar Dollars program again this year. School board members are encouraged to make sure their schools are registered by the March 7 deadline and then spread the word about voting to their school communities. ScholarShare has created a multi-faceted media toolkit to help with publicity.
For more information about the Scholar Dollars grant program, visit www.myscholardollars.com.
