Superintendent Grant Announcement Newsletter: Communicating New Funding

Grant announcements are among the few pieces of unambiguously good news a superintendent gets to communicate. New funding expands what the district can do for students. Families are generally positive about their district receiving grants, especially when the purpose is clear and the impact is felt in schools they know.

Most grant announcement newsletters underperform because they are either too vague to be informative or too technical to be engaging. Here is how to do it well.

Why grant communication matters

Grant announcements build community confidence in district leadership in a specific way. They signal that the district is competitive, connected to the broader education funding ecosystem, and proactively pursuing resources beyond the regular budget. A superintendent who regularly secures grants and communicates about them clearly builds a track record of bringing value to the district.

Grant communication also creates accountability. When families know that a $800,000 reading intervention grant was received, they will ask about outcomes two years later. That accountability is good. It keeps program quality in focus and it creates community stakeholders in the program's success.

What to include

A grant announcement should answer six questions:

• Who awarded the grant. Federal agency, state department of education, private foundation. This matters because it signals the grant's credibility and competitiveness.
• How much. Total dollar amount and grant period. $200,000 for two years reads very differently than $200,000 for five years.
• What problem it addresses. The specific need or gap the grant is designed to close.
• How the money will be spent. Staff positions, curriculum materials, professional development, technology, community partnerships. Specific allocation signals thoughtful planning.
• Who benefits. Which schools, which students, which grades.
• What success will look like. The outcomes the district is committing to achieve with these funds. What will be measured and reported.

What to avoid

Do not make the grant announcement primarily about the district's success in winning competitive funding. The grant is not a trophy. It is resources for students. Lead with the student benefit, not the district's accomplishment.

Do not announce a grant without describing the sustainability plan. "We received a 3-year grant for the after-school program" immediately raises the question: what happens in year 4? Answer that question in the announcement, even if the answer is that you do not yet know and will plan for it in year 2.

Do not use the grant announcement to claim credit that belongs elsewhere. If a teacher wrote the grant application, say so. If a community organization served as a key partner, name them. Accurate credit-giving builds goodwill with the people who made the grant possible.

Tone and framing

Grant announcements should be clear and confident without being self-congratulatory. The district did something good by securing funding. Families appreciate that. Name it accurately and move quickly to what the funding will accomplish.

For large or particularly competitive grants, a brief explanation of what the process involved helps families understand the significance. "This grant was awarded to 12 districts out of 340 applicants nationally" means something. "We received a prestigious grant" does not.

Example announcement

"Northfield Unified has received a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Title IV Student Support and Academic Enrichment program. The grant runs for three years. It will fund the following: a full-time academic coach at each of our three lowest-performing elementary schools, updated science lab equipment at all nine district schools, and extended learning time for 400 students who are performing more than a grade level behind in reading or math. This grant was awarded to 23 districts out of 180 that applied nationally. It was written by our director of curriculum and instruction in partnership with our Title I coordinator. The first funded programs begin in September. We will report outcomes at the end of year one."

Daystage delivers grant announcements directly to families' inboxes at district scale. Positive news deserves the same delivery quality as critical communications.