What We Do

For the 2025-2026 academic year, the Cash For Classrooms grant application is open from Monday, May 19 – Monday, Sept. 15, 2026.

To be considered, applications must be approved and submitted by the principal or site leader where the grant would be implemented by 5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.

Essentially any school-time resource or experience that you think will enhance engagement or outcomes for your students — that can’t be funded through other sources. These grants are not available for extracurricular activities such as sports or clubs.

** Note that requests for books, supplementary materials, or technology requires pre-approval to comply with CUSD, state, and federal guidelines.

Visit this page for pre-approval: https://www.cusd80.com/teaching-learning/supplementary-materials-request-form.

Staff can apply for up to $3,000 per award. Most grant applications range from $500 to $1,500, but if you need something bigger, or for more students, we want to try to help! The number of awards available depends on how much is raised through the Cash For Classrooms fundraiser.

All CUSD educators are invited to apply. This includes pre-school teachers, librarians, school counselors, etc.

The simple application is available online through the CEF grant platform: https://www.grantinterface.com/Home/Logon?urlkey=cefscholarship

Applications close 5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.

Before you start, review the application instructions online: https://www.chandleredfoundation.org/what-we-do/grant-application-instructions.html

**Note that your Principal/Site leader must approve and submit your application by the deadline to be considered. You can grant them access in the system to review the contents of your application and officially submit it for review. Be sure to give them plenty of notice!

2025 grant winners will be notified Oct. 27 – Nov. 3 by CEF's Woohoo Patrol, which makes surprise visits to the winners’ classrooms.

Cash For Classrooms grants are funded by our annual Cash For Classrooms fundraiser. The more we raise, the more grants we can award!

DONATE at https://cefc4c.org

The 2025 Cash For Classrooms fundraiser runs Aug. 8 – Sept. 15. All donations are made online, and each school/site has a dedicated donation page for people to contribute.

Everyone who donates $100+ will receive a limited-edition CEF State Forty Eight shirt.

Work with your school to order the items indicated in your grant. Then have your school submit the receipts to CEF, and we will reimburse the amount.

You DO NOT have to pay out of your own pocket. But if you choose, you can order the items yourself and submit your receipt to CEF, and we will reimburse you.

Yes, thanks for asking! All CUSD staff who would like to contribute to Cash For Classrooms or the Student/Staff Emergency fund can sign up for Payroll Deduction to spread the cost over 14 paychecks.

You must enroll in payroll deduction during the fundraising campaign, Aug. 8 - Sept. 15, 2025.

Sign up at: https://www.chandleredfoundation.org/get-involved/cef-liaisons/cusd-payroll-deduction-info.html

All grants requesting books, supplementary materials, or technology must go through CUSD’s grant pre-approval process first. This is because of the laws surrounding school materials and parent rights.

Apply for pre-approval: https://www.cusd80.com/Domain/7886

All the Cash For Classrooms grant applications go through two evaluations. The first evaluation is by school leadership from across CUSD. The second evaluation is done by Chandler Education Foundation board and staff.

Applications are evaluated based on potential student impact, quality of application, equity across grant types, and district priorities.

Following the evaluations, all the application scores and feedback are reviewed by CEF and CUSD leaders to allocate awards based on available funding.