The Muskegon Area Intermediate School District and the Community Foundation for Muskegon County are excited to offer a mini-grant opportunity to educators in the public, private, and charter elementary schools in Muskegon County that are participating in the Kickstart to Career program. The KickStart to Career Program is the child savings account program designed to help students promote their career pathways. The goal of the KickStart Ambassador to increase student and family awareness of the KickStart to Career program. The mini-grants are available on a first-come, first-served basis to all educators in grades K-4 who would like to become “KickStart Ambassadors.” Learn more about KickStart to Career here https://ktcmuskegon.org/

Who
All educators serving grades K-4 in Muskegon County districts participating in KickStart to Career. You can view participating districts here.

What
Grants of $250 will be paid directly to educators to be used for any classroom needs. Grants will be paid after completion of the KickStart Ambassador requirements. Requirements include:
Attend a KickStart Ambassador orientation (25 minutes) – host via zoom weekly throughout February and March, at various times.
Agree to integrate KickStart to Career into the curriculum and/or culture of your classroom. Some ways to do this include: incorporate in lesson plans that integrate career exploration/financial literacy or PBIS, host a family deposit day, foster a future-focused mindset, or integrate a new idea – Creativity welcome!
Agree to complete a brief report on how you integrated KickStart to Career in your classroom, including any lesson plans, worksheet, or other developed documents. These documents will be compiled into a toolkit to share with other childhood savings account programs, so your good ideas will be shared!
Agree to be an ongoing KickStart Ambassador: talk about KickStart to Career with students and families, continue to integrate conversations about KickStart to Career in your classroom moving forward – help us achieve our goal of greater awareness and understanding of the program!

When
KickStart Ambassador applications are open now. The application is super simple – apply today! Grants are first-come, first-served, and we can support up to 100 Muskegon County educators. The application will close on February 28, 2023 or when funds are depleted. Reports on KickStart to Career integration will be due by May 1, 2023.

How
Applications should be submitted using this website: https://www.grantinterface.com/Home/Logon?urlkey=cfmusk
The same website will be used to submit the report sharing how KickStart to Career was integrated into your classroom. After completing the requirements of the KickStart Ambassador program, a check in the amount of $250 will be awarded to you to invest in your classroom as you see fit!

Questions?
Kickstart Ambassadors or Kickstart to Career questions – contact Kari Wiersema kickstart@muskegonfoundation.org
Mini-grant application or award questions contact Janelle Mair janelle@muskegonfoundation.org