Funding & Budgets

As maker learning opportunities in your school expand, funding and budgeting become increasing vital in maintaining the sustainability of your program.

Where do your funding and budgeting practices fall on the Maker Learning Maturity Matrix? See the complete matrix here.

Crowdfunding to Support Making in Schools
This toolkit – a collaboration between the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, Kickstarter, and Maker Ed – guides the crowd-funding campaign development process.

Donors Choose
The premiere education crowd-funding website. Get the tools and supplies you need to create maker learning experiences for all students.

Educational Grant Opportunities: STEM, STEAM & Maker Spaces
TeacherGeek, a maker learning solutions provider, culls and curates available grants at the U.S. federal, U.S. state, and Canadian federal levels.

San Mateo County Office of Education STEAM Lending Library

SMCOE has created a STEAM lending library, with tools and equipment to support making in schools. At no cost, materials can be borrowed from the central repository. This model can serve as a way to maximize district-level funds with minimal impact on individual school budgets.