STEM & subject-area classroom grants

If you teach science, math, or anything STEM, you have your own lane — these programs are designed for teacher-built projects, and several award real money. You do not need to be a researcher; you need a clear classroom project.

Toshiba is the most flexible

Toshiba America Foundation is the one to learn first, because it has a deadline almost every quarter:

• K–5: up to $1,000, once a year, due October 1.
• Grades 6–12 under $5,000: rolling, with deadlines March 1, June 1, September 1, and December 1 — so there’s almost always one coming up.
• Grades 6–12 over $5,000: larger projects, due May 1 and November 1.

Toshiba is actively funding, too — it announced $194,250 to 43 STEM classroom projects in 2026.

Deeper research and subject associations

• Society for Science funds teachers running authentic student research — up to $5,000, or a $1,000 equipment kit (one or the other). It typically opens in the fall; check the funder page for this year’s exact dates.
• NCTM’s Mathematics Education Trust runs a whole portfolio for math teachers, from about $1,500 to $24,000, on May and November cycles. Most require NCTM membership.
• NSTA gives awards rather than project grants — the Shell Science Teaching Award is $10,000. Its cycle typically opens in the fall; the most recent round closed in December, so watch for the next one.

Toshiba's $194,250-to-43-projects figure: Toshiba newsroom, 2026 (accessed 2026-07-04). Society for Science and NSTA next-cycle dates weren't posted at our last check — we'll update when they are.

Not sure a program is still real? Some famous STEM grants have quietly ended — Toyota’s TAPESTRY program, for one. See programs that no longer exist.