Our mission at Partnership for Extraordinary Minds (xMinds) is to improve the educational experiences and outcomes of the autistic students in Montgomery County, Maryland. To advance this mission, xMinds is offering grants to help motivated MoCo teachers, paraeducators, administrators, and related service providers purchase classroom materials to enable them to better support autistic students.
The xMinds Educator Support Committee will award individual grants of up to $100 for classroom and curricular materials and up to $250 for trainings on a rolling basis.
The Educator Support Committee will, in its sole discretion, determine which applications to grant, considering the Board’s assessment of both the quality of the training or materials requested and the applicant’s potential to make use of them to advance the mission of xMinds. The Committee may give priority to new applicants, but will consider every application, with a limit of one grant per individual during each funding campaign.
Application Process:
1) In the application below, provide a clear, detailed explanation of (i) what materials or training you wish to purchase with an xMinds grant, and (ii) how you will utilize those materials or training to improve the educational experiences and/or outcomes of students ON THE AUTISM SPECTRUM with whom you work.
2) You will be contacted by an xMinds volunteer who will have reviewed your application. The volunteer may request more information and will ultimately communicate to you whether your application has been approved.
3) If approved, you must send within 7 days of receiving notification, an email
to the xMinds Executive Director Melanie Carlos (mcarlos@xminds.org): (1) itemized receipt(s) showing proof of payment and (2) your payment preference between check or Venmo. 4) Any applicant who ultimately receives a grant will be REQUIRED to provide feedback to xMinds after they complete their training or receive curricular materials. xMinds will contact the grant recipient with a short survey to learn how he/she has been able to use the training or materials.
QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS PROCESS? Please contact Kim Hiller at
xmindsfunding@gmail.com