Selco Still Taking Applications for Creative Educator Grants and Classroom Makeovers

Educators have about three weeks to apply for more than $125,000 in support through SELCO Community Credit Union’s Regional Classroom Makeovers and Creative Educator Grants. The application deadline for the two flagship SELCO Steps Up educator support programs is Wednesday, Sept. 30.

SELCO’s Regional Classroom Makeovers fund three projects for up to $15,000 each. In addition, SELCO will award dozens of Creative Educator Grants, each worth up to $2,500 and designed to bring imaginative classroom projects to life. The programs are designed to help teachers who too often pay out of pocket for classroom-related expenses.

The programs are part of SELCO Steps Up, the credit union’s community outreach initiative, which aims to foster meaningful, lasting change through nonprofit sponsorships, volunteerism, and funding for students and educators.

SELCO Steps Up first launched Classroom Makeovers and vastly expanded Creative Educator Grants in 2024. Since, the programs have supported an array of projects with nearly $250,000 in funding: From a makeover that helped launch a Career and Technical Education program at a Redmond middle school to grants that supported projects like a community water testing lab at Junction City High School,

“We want to make sure that every educator with an innovative project or classroom need has the opportunity to apply before the Sept. 30 deadline,” said Olivia Sorensen, SELCO’s Community Development Supervisor. “These two programs have been enormously successful over the last few years, and we encourage educators to take advantage of them.”

More about SELCO’s educator support programs:

Classroom Makeovers: Three K-12 classrooms will receive makeovers worth up to $15,000 each. “Classroom” is loosely defined as any school learning space, including traditional classrooms, libraries, playgrounds, and gymnasiums. A SELCO Steps Up committee selects finalists in each of the three regions that SELCO serves: the Willamette Valley, Central and Eastern Oregon, and Northern Oregon. Then, through an online voting process held Nov. 1-7, SELCO members and the public at large select one winner from each region.
Creative Educator Grants: Designed for K-12 educators with creative classroom ideas but lacking funds to get those projects off the ground. The program received a significant boost in 2024, increasing the value of each grant to as much as $2,500 per recipient (up from $1,000) to support larger and more impactful projects. A selection panel reviews applications based on project originality, proposal clarity, number of students affected, potential for skill development, and diversity and impact of projects.

For more information about SELCO Steps Up Classroom Makeovers or Creative Educator Grants, to view past recipients, or to apply, visit selco.org/steps-up/student-and-educator-support/. For questions, please email stepsup@selco.org.

This story is based on submitted information and has not been verified by our news team.