Great Ideas Mini-Grants

For over 20 consecutive years the Beaver County
Educational Trust has encouraged the best and the
brightest teachers from our Beaver County schools;
public, parochial and private; to apply for mini grants
through our “Great Ideas” program. The thinking
was, and is, that we have many gifted teachers in
our school systems whose potential impact on their
students is sometimes limited by the rigid boundaries
of operating budgets.

The results of this initiative have been impressive.
Since the inception of this program in 1992, the
Beaver County Educational Trust has awarded 496
grants to Beaver County teachers worth a total of
$285,000 for projects ranging from after school math
programs to musicals based on American history and
from internet safety to a peace camp. Throughout
our 20 years the projects involved over 70,541
students.

• Now Accepting 2021-22 Great Idea Mini-Grant Applications (10/5/2021) - The 2021 Great Idea Mini-Grant application is live. Go to  http://bc-et.org/bcet-educational-grants/mini-grants/grant-application/ to apply for your $500 or $1000 grant from the Beaver County Educational Trust today! Applicants must be teachers or administrators associated with a school located in Beaver County, PA. See form for complete details. Submission deadline is 10/18/2021 midnight. The Great Idea Mini-Grants are made possible due to a […]
• 2019 Great Idea Mini-Grants Awarded (2/19/2020) - 2019-20 Great Idea Mini-Grant awardees are now posted to the BCET website. Of the 63 submissions, the BCET was able to fund 37 of them in large part thanks to Lincoln Learning Solutions. In all, over $25,000 in mini-grant money has been awarded for great ideas for the 2019-20 school year.
• NOW ACCEPTING – Great Idea Mini-Grant Applications for 2019-20 (9/27/2019) - The 2019 Great Idea Mini-Grant application is live. Go to  http://www.beavercountyeducationaltrust.org/bcet-educational-grants/mini-grants/grant-application/ to apply for your $500 or $1000 grant from the Beaver County Educational Trust today! Applicants must be teachers or administrators associated with a school located in Beaver County, PA. See form for complete details. Submission deadline is 10/26/2019 midnight.
• Apply NOW for 2018 Great Idea Mini-Grant (10/12/2018) - The 2018 Great Idea Mini-Grant application is live. Go to https://goo.gl/forms/BQwpSEqRt16NufYo1 to apply for your $500 or $1000 grant from the Beaver County Educational Trust today! Applicants must be teachers or administrators associated with a school located in Beaver County, PA. See form for complete details. Submission deadline is 10/19/2018 midnight.
• Back To School – Special Projects (9/10/2018) - The BCET gives out Great Idea Mini-Grants to the teachers of Beaver County every year to the tune of around $25,000. However, funds are limited and sometimes teachers need a little bit more than the BCET can award. With the new school year under way, Donors Choose.org is a great way for the public to […]
• ‘Breakouts’ Occur at Highland Middle School (4/24/2018) - Ambridge Area School District’s k-6 STEAM educator, Nicole Darroch, was awarded a Great Ideas Mini-Grant for $500 that allowed her to purchase four ‘Breakout’ EDU kits for use in her classroom. The students work together to figure out how to open the ‘breakout’ box and discover the information inside. With each success comes a small […]
• Beaver County Educational Trust awards Teacher of the Year – Entertainment & Life – The Times – Beaver, PA (12/22/2017) - For more than 20 years, Beaver County Educational Trust has awarded mini-grants to area teachers to launch innovative classroom projects or expand curriculum that otherwise might not develop because of limited school budgets. This year, however, is the first for its Teacher of the Year award that honors a teacher whose project grant application scored […]
• 2017 Great Idea Mini-Grant Applications Being Accepted NOW! (9/15/2017) - Let the BCET help fund your next adventure in educating the next generation. If you are a teacher in Beaver County and in need of resources to make your next classroom project come to life, apply now for a Great Ideas Mini-Grant. Got a bigger school wide idea, the BCET will double the funds available. […]
• Wellness Wagon Rolls on to Good Health (9/5/2017) - Hopewell school nurses, Tamara Kross and Leah Meehan, received a Great Ideas Mini-Grant from the BCET for a “Wellness Wagon”. The Wellness Wagon contained a variety of engaging hands-on activities that promoted health and wellness to the 793 Hopewell Area School District students in grades kindergarten through grade 4 during the months of February, March, […]
• Ambridge STEAM Takes Flight (8/26/2017) - Thanks to a Mini-Grant from the BCET, Ambridge students got in touch with their inner pilot.
• Lincoln Learning Solutions Gives Boost to BCET Mini-Grants for 2017-2018 (8/6/2017) - Lincoln Learning Solutions donated $25,000 to the Beaver County Educational Trust’s Great Ideas Mini-Grant program in July. The funds will be dispersed to Beaver County teachers that apply for a Mini-Grant for the 2017-2018 school year. Deadline for Great Idea Mini-grant applications is October 1, 2017.
• Western Beaver Goes to the Club (6/15/2017) - English teacher and media specialist, Kate Katkich, used her Great Ideas Mini-Grant to start a Communication and Technology Club at Western Beaver. Eleven students initially took part in the Comm/Tech Club project and all of these students completed this project throughout the end of the year. The club met once a month to organize and […]
• Economy Goes Buggy for Reading (6/8/2017) - First grade teacher, Carrie Malinich, implemented a uniquely entomological reading tool to help teach her students to read. Each student created a “Buggy Reading Wallet” to keep track of their book bucks, books, reading level card, login card, reward tickets and book club card. BCET Great Idea Mini-Grant funds were used to purchase the books […]
• Hopewell – Exploration Station @ the Library (5/25/2017) - Mini-grant funds were used to create a student exploration station and resource center in the Hopewell High School library. Students now have centralized access to supplemental learning materials from the following categories: technology, learning games, and the arts. Students visit the Exploration Station during their study halls and lunch periods. While the materials are housed […]
• Hopewell Mini-Grant Aeroponics Tower Garden (5/22/2017) - Hopewell teacher, Michele Grandovic, was able to give her students firsthand experience in growing their own produce. Over the last few weeks the students built and maintained an aeroponics garden tower in the classroom.  “Aeroponics is the process of growing plants in an air or mist environment without the use of soil or an aggregate […]
• Central Valley Winter Carnival (5/18/2017) - The Central Valley Middle School Community Service Club and Student Council co- sponsored a Winter Carnival Lock-In on Friday, February 24, 2017 from 3-6 pm in the Middle School gym. Using money from a BCET grant, students created carnival games from purchased materials such as plywood, paint, nails, boards, etc. Some images of the games […]
• Hopewell Mini-Grant for “Battle of the Books” (5/12/2017) - The Beaver County Battle of the Books was held at the Beaver Valley Intermediate Unit on May 9, 2017. Over 120 fifth and sixth grade students participated from seven districts across the county, including Ambridge, Beaver, Rochester, Central Valley, Hopewell, Riverside, and South Side Beaver. This event is a collaborative effort organized by school librarians […]
• Mini-Grant Application Deadline Looming (10/11/2016) - The Beaver County Educational Trust is still accepting Mini-Grant applications. The deadline is this Friday, October 14, 2016. The application has been converted into an on-line application via Google Docs to facilitate the process. Mini-Grant Application
• 1st Chairless Classroom for BASD (3/4/2016) - Beaver Area School District has implemented an innovative new idea: the chairless classroom. Thanks to a “Great Ideas” mini-grant from the BCET, the chairless classroom uses exercise balls instead of chairs for the children to rest on while attending class. Assistant superintendent Dr. Carrie Rowe is looking forward to measuring what hopefully will be a positive […]
• BCET Releases Details on 2015-2016 Mini-Grants (2/22/2016) -
• BCET Event to Thank Donors (1/30/2016) - The BCET held an event at the Log Cabin in Beaver to thank the many corporate and individual donors of the organization. The event was held on Tuesday, September 22, 2015. Outgoing President, Mark Breedlove, personally thanked representatives from Highmark for the $20k donation to the STEM Walk program and the continued support for 2016. […]