Eligibility

The Schwab Foundation’s primary focus is organizations and programs serving middle and high  school students in Allen County and the five contiguous counties of Noble, DeKalb, Adams, Wells,
Huntington, and Whitley. Applicants must be non-profit organizations or agencies, schools, and/or school districts.

Funding Priorities

The Foundation aims to support organizations in growing existing programs or new ideas. We  believe that a vital part of a healthy community is an underpinning of the entrepreneurial spirit— therefore, we prioritize cultivating this spirit in today’s students. Experiential learning is one of the  best ways to do this and increase career readiness opportunities. We prefer to fund grant  requests that include opportunities for students to have experiences and interactions as they  learn. These include but are not limited to internships, job shadows, after-school clubs/camps, or  other opportunities.  

Our goal is to identify, support, and fund programs that provide students from 6th to 12th grade  (or dual-credit education students) with the 21st-century skill sets and competencies they need to  be career-ready

The Foundation funds programs that:

    • Assess, increase awareness, or prepare students to be career-ready—and connect them to the world of work.
    • Include career-readiness education and building soft skills such as oral/written communication, punctuality, working in a team environment, and critical thinking.
    • Are well defined and will have an impact on the problems they address.
    • Use technology and learning techniques that connect with today’s students.
    • (For schools and school districts), are currently embedded or intend to be embedded in the current curriculum.
    • Engage not only the student but also their guardians. There should be a connection between education, students, and guardians.

Examples of allowable usage of funds include, but are not limited to:

    • Systematic use of career education and exploration materials (including software)
    • Career fairs, career shadowing, internships, post-secondary institution visits
    • Mentoring and guest speakers
    • Portfolio development, field trips and hands-on career exploration
    • Consultant fees, stipends for necessary program personnel, travel/transportation, and training