This course was developed in response to the needs expressed by:

• Rural schools in NYS seeking a variety of supports to obtain external funding,

• Cornell students seeking engaged learning experiences and instruction in identifying, match-making, and applying for grant funds,  

• The Rural Schools Association of NYS seeking to build value for its members,

• Engaged initiative at Cornell University seeking to build courses where “…teams of faculty, staff, students and community members address global issues and help build a more sustainable, just and collaborative future” (https://oei.cornell.edu/resources/community-engaged-learning/ )

The goals for this course are for students and school teams to learn:

• How to find and apply for large and small grants in support of local district priorities and initiatives;

• How political, economic, cultural forces define, shape and constrain rural communities and schools, and how these impact community capacity to serve youth;

• How Cornell graduates can continue to engage in community partnerships across rural communities.

• How to prepare successful applications for two grants to support programming at participating rural districts.