Now in its 30th year, the annual SPARK! program awards grants up to $1,000 to K-12 educators across Oregon; More than $250,000 awarded in the past five years
(SPRINGFIELD, Ore.) — SELCO Community Credit Union is calling for Oregon K-12 educators to apply for a 2023 SPARK! Creative Learning Grant. Now in its 30th year, the annual program awards as much as $1,000 to each recipient to fund innovative, educational, and impactful classroom projects across the 27 Oregon counties SELCO serves.
In 2022, SELCO awarded more than $54,000 to 60 educators across 55 Oregon schools. Funded projects included a library book overhaul at Cesar E. Chavez Elementary School in Eugene to replace aging books with new, engaging nonfiction (see the SELCO Spotlight Video on Chavez Elementary library books here). Other projects funded in 2022 included an “Electrathon” race team that built a single-passenger electric vehicle (Cottage Grove High School) and a program exploring the wonders of chemistry through art (Waldorf School of Bend).
“Now with 30 years of evidence, the SPARK! program shows what incredibly passionate educators we have throughout the state, and how their seemingly endless source of creativity can inspire a lifetime love of learning in their students,” said Craig Carpenter, SELCO’s senior vice president of lending and business banking. “As a credit union founded by teachers nearly 90 years ago, supporting education is part of our DNA. We’re honored to be able to help remove the financial obstacle for bringing these big classroom ideas to life, year after year.”
The application window will remain open from Aug. 15 to Sept. 30.
The SELCO SPARK! committee reviews applications based on project originality, proposal clarity, number of students affected, skill development, and diversity and impact of projects.
For more information about SELCO’s SPARK! Creative Learning Grants, to view past recipients, or to apply, visit www.selco.org/spark. For questions, please email stepsup@selco.org.
About SELCO Community Credit Union:
Founded 87 years ago by a group of fiscally minded teachers, Springfield-based SELCO Community Credit Union today serves more than 150,000 members as one of the largest and longstanding Oregon-based credit unions. A not-for-profit, federally insured, member-driven financial cooperative with more than $2.6 billion in assets, SELCO provides its member-owners with exceptional rates and low fees on a full range of financial products and services, including banking, mortgages, personal and business loans, investments, and insurance. Membership is available to anyone who lives or works in one of the 27 Oregon or eight Washington counties SELCO serves. For more information or to become a member today, stop by one of SELCO’s 15 branches, visit selco.org, or call 800-445-4483.
Contacts
Jacob Berns, SELCO, 541-338-3841, jberns@selco.org
Zack Hall, DVA Advertising & PR, 775-338-0745, zack@dvaadv.com