What are the eligibility requirements for application?

Applications must be submitted by a teacher, principal, school staff member, or member of the PTA; parents are not eligible to apply unless they are members of the PTA.

The school applying must be a public or private K-12 school and be located in one of the following areas: Pittsylvania County, Caswell County, City of Danville, Halifax County, City of Martinsville, or Henry County. The School must also either have a URW Branch or participate in one of URW Financial Literacy Programs.

The school must have a minimum of 30% of students eligible for free/reduced lunch or equivalent. For private schools, the school must have a minimum of 30% of students attending on a full financial scholarship.

All grant requests must fall into one of three categories: Financial Literacy, Environmental Sustainability and Technology Tools to enhance learning in the core subjects of reading, writing, math, science and the arts. Any grants falling outside of these categories or grants that do not directly enhance the learning of the students are ineligible.

1. Financial Literacy: Financial Education enhances a student’s understanding of basic money management, budgeting, goal setting and the importance of good credit and how credit works. The grant can be for materials needed to enhance this learning, or programs like Junior Achievements program for Finance Park, and possible events like a financial education night for parents and students, etc.
2. Environmental Sustainability: Environmental Learning would be programs or education that enhances the students learning of sustainability or environmental impacts, conservation, etc.
3. Technology Tools to enhance learning: Technology Tools such as electronic dictionaries, library smart board audio books for classroom, math calculators, microscopes and graphing calculators, weather station, document cameras, etc.