Funding Author Visits (and Skypes)

Last Friday I attended the Virginia Association of School Librarians (VaASL), conference here in Roanoke. Along with a group of fellow SCBWI authors, I had the pleasure to speak with middle and high school librarians about author visits, both in person and through Skype/Google Hangout. (And yes I told them about our Spooky Skypes). One issue that came up over and over again was cost. Most schools, particularly in my part of the state, have very limited budgets.  Some of my fellow authors were more knowledgeable about grants available to schools, so I decided to do a little digging. Here’s what I found (so far).

Title I funding

• If your school qualifies, you may be able to apply Title I funding to author visits:  https://www2.ed.gov/programs/titleiparta/index.html

Grants/Awards

• Amber Brown Grant – SCBWI offers a yearly grant to a school. (Apply Nov 1- April 15) https://www.scbwi.org/awards/grants/amber-brown-grant/
• ALSC Maureen Hayes Author/Illustrator Award — http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/profawards/hayesaward
• Dollar General Literacy Grants –  https://www.dgliteracy.org/grant-programs/
• Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature – https://www.csmcl.org/about1-c14kq
• Target Foundation Community Grants –  https://corporate.target.com/corporate-responsibility/philanthropy
• Barnes & Noble –  https://www.barnesandnobleinc.com/about-bn/sponsorships-charitable-donations/
• State Arts Agencies – https://nasaa-arts.org/state-arts-agencies/saa-directory/
• NEA – https://www.arts.gov/grants/apply-for-a-grant
• NEH –  https://www.neh.gov/grants/listing

Lists/Databases of Grants and Funding Sources

• Scholastic — https://www.scholastic.com/librarians/programs/grants.htm
• Booking Biz —  https://thebookingbiz.com/2016/08/21-ways-to-fund-author-visits/

Crowdfunding

• Donors Choose — https://www.donorschoose.org/
• Adopt a Classroom — https://www.adoptaclassroom.org/mission/
• First Book — https://firstbook.org/

I know this quick list just scratches the surface. If you know of other sources or want to share your experience, please do so in the comments!