GRANTS
Over 815 programs have been funded through Chelsea Education Foundation, including arts, music performances, field trips, physical and mental health initiatives, literacy development, and more.
2026-2027 Grant Applications
The grant application process opens soon.
2025-26 Funded Projects
During the 2025-26 school year, CEF awarded $62,500 in grants.
Teacher Grants funded the following programs:
North Creek Elementary
- Hands-on Growth: Enhancing Kindergarten and Young 5’s Fine Motor Skills Through Developmental Tools
- POG + Learning (SEL, Math, STEM/STEAM, Free-Play)
- Big Book Stand for ELA Materials
- Ceramics Monster Project
- Hands On Museum Field Trip
South Meadows Elementary
- Makerspace Materials
- South Meadows Drama Club
- Resource Room UMS concert event and Fun Run 2025 Community Run
Beach Middle School
- Supporting literacy throughout BMS
- Technology Class Supplies
- Washington, D.C. Trip
- Camp
- Where Everyone Belongs (WEB)
- Greenfield Village Field Trip
- Resource Room Community Outings
District Wide
- Authors in Chelsea Books
Chelsea High School
- CHS English – Contemporary Memoir Collection
- Read Unplugged – No Phones. Just Stories.
- Ceramics Monster Project
- 3D Printers for technology classes including CAD and CTE
- Ceramic Wheels
- Cameras for Photography
- Chelsea High School’s STEM Club
- Chelsea High School Theatre Guild
- CHS Music Department Trip to Toronto Financial Aid Scholarships
- Link Crew
- Field Trips for Art
- Upper Level Spanish and French – Detroit Institute of Arts Guided Tour + Jeux de la Francophonie
- Field Trip to MSU Hidden Lake Gardens, Tipton MI
- Community Collaboration Grant
2024-25 Funded Projects
During the 2024-25 school year, CEF awarded $62,422 in grants.
Teacher Grants funded the following programs:
District Wide
- Registration for EdLEader 21 Annual Conference
- Classroom and Media Center Books and Literacy Materials
- Grades 3-12 Resource Room Community Outings
North Creek Elementary
- White Boards
- Classroom Sensory Walk
- Special Education Behavior Intervention Classroom Store Supplies
- Special Education Sensory Support Tools
- Hands On Museum Field Trip
South Meadows Elementary
- South Meadows 5th Grade Drama
- Maker Space Supplies
- Authors In Chelsea
Beach Middle School
- Etienne Charles: Earth Tones Concert
- 8th Grade Orchestra Field Trip to the Detroit Symphony
- Beach Middle School Art
- WEB (Where Everyone Belongs)
- BMS Technology Class – Safety Saw
- Attend National Council for Social Studies Conference
- 8th Grade Washington, D.C. and Gettysburg Trip
Chelsea High School
- Murals
- Professional Development At Meadowbrook Theatre
- Free Choice Books / Book Tasting Program
- Art/Science Class Supplies
- Ceramics Program Materials
- Arbor Club – Recycling Bins
- Field Trips for Art
- Link Crew
- Link Crew Coordinator Training
- CHS Diversity & Social Club Awareness Club (DSAC) Activity Support
2023-24 Funded Projects
During the 2023-24 school year, CEF awarded $84,000 in grants.
Teacher Grants funded the following programs:
Early Childhood Center
- Math and Literacy Tools for Early Learners
North Creek Elementary
- 1st Grade Classroom Area Rug
- 2nd Grade Classroom Mailbox Bins
- Storage Bins for 1st Grade Classroom
- Lap Tray Desks for Flexible Seating
- 2nd Grade Camera and Organization
- Mailbox Bins for 2nd Gade Class
- Authors in Chelsea
- 1st Grade Hands On Museum Field Trip
- Kindergarten Multisensory Teaching Tools
South Meadows Elementary
- Emotion Regulation Resources
- Social Emotional Learning (SEL), 3rd and 4th-grade Drawing Class
- Portrait of a Graduate (POG), 3rd and 4th-grade Drawing Class
- Animal Themed Research Book Sets
- Grades 3-12 Resource Room Educational Experiences Beyond the Classroom
Beach Middle School
- Grades 3-12 Resource Room Educational Experiences Beyond the Classroom
- Beach Middle School Art Program
- Keys to Harmony: Supporting BMS Bands
- WEB (Where Everyone Belongs)
- 6th Grade Camp Scholarship
- 7th-Grade Design Project Field Trip
- 8th Grade Washington D.C. / Gettysburg Trip
- 8th Grade Greenfield Village Field Trip
Chelsea High School
- CHS Link Crew
- CHS Ceramics Program Glazes
- Grecian Sword Combat Workshop
- Book Tasting / Free Read Books
- Songs as Poetry Guest Teacher
- Diversity and Social Awareness Club
2022-23 Funded Projects
CEF had two teacher grant cycles for the 2022-23 school year
The first was held in September and the second cycle was held December — January.
During the combined grant cycles, CEF Awarded $45,446 in Teacher Grants to the following programs:
North Creek Elementary
- Classroom Reading Benches / Book Box Storage Benches
- Learning Through Dramatic Play
- First Grade classroom ‘Brain Bins’
- Authors in Chelsea
- A Conversation with Hamilton’s George Washington
- Classroom Mail Box Bins
- Collaboration and Organization
- First Grade classroom Morning Tubs
- Student Material Organization and Small Group Materials
- Special Education Classroom Bins
- Take Home Books for Intervention Students
- Teacher Kimmy Conn – Classroom Rug
- North Creek Literacy Program
- Classroom Books for Book Library
- Resource Room/Special Education
- North Creek Drama Club
South Meadows Elementary
- Authors in Chelsea
- A Conversation with Hamilton’s George Washington
- Native American Experience
- Media Center – Maker Space
- Social Studies Program
- Communication For Everyone – Playground Communication Board
- South Meadows Drama Club
- 4th Grade Reading
- Chelsea Chamber Players Performance for 5th Grade Music Students
- Wilson Reading System Organization Materials
- South Meadows PE
Early Childhood Center
- Early Childhood Special Education Classroom
- Early Literacy – Read To Me Book Bag Program
- Communication For Everyone – Playground Communication Board
- Vertical Building with STEM Based Materials
Beach Middle School
- BMS Psychologist and Social Worker – ‘Mindful Mornings’
- Beach Middle School Technology Classes
- 8th Grade US History – Civil War Re-enactor
- 8th Grade US History – ‘Personal Constitution’
- 6th Grade Camp
- Beach Middle School Resource Room Learning Activities
- 8th Grade Washington D.C. / Gettysburg Trip
- Beach Middle School Art Program
- WEB (Where Everyone Belongs)
- 8th Grade Zekelman Holocaust Center Visit
Chelsea High School
- CHS Link Crew
- Link Crew Advisor Training
- Field Trip Transportation for Hamlet in Stratford
- New Senior Math Elective, “Project Geometry”
- Independence Hall Cultural Performance
- CHS Room 303 (English, Spanish, ELL teacher)
- High School Art Show – Display Panels
2021-22 Funded Projects
CEF had two teacher grant cycles for the 2021-22 school year.
The first was held in September and the second cycle was held December — January.
During the combined grant cycles, CEF Awarded $32,732 in Teacher Grants to the following programs:
- Safety Town
- Preschool Flooring Mats
- Preschool Pull Behind Wagons and Road Signs
- Social/Emotional Activity Kits for ages 3-5
- Authors in Chelsea
- Young Fives Classroom Meeting Rug
- 1st Grade Social Studies Materials
- 1st Grade Classroom Storage Supplies
- 2nd Grade Classroom Rug
- Book in the Bag Reading Program
- Classroom Materials to Support Phonics Instruction
- Special Education Team – Sounds, Letters and Words
- “Old Favorite Books” program – Two Class Sets of Billy Goats Gruff
- Diverse and High Interest Books – Classroom Library Additions
- Reading (Literacy) – Classroom Library Additions
- Speech Therapy Bulletin Board
- Diane Alber’s Social Emotional Resources
- Decodable Readers
- Anti-Bullying Education: Be An Upstander!
- Maker Space (STEM)
- Who Was What Was – Nonfiction Book Additions to Media Center
- Books for Blossoming Readers – Classroom Library Additions
- Social Emotional Learning Lending Library
- 3rd Grade Native American Experience
- Series Books for Propel Readers – Reading Intervention Support
- Just Right Books for Just in Time Learning
- Lower Level Book Club Books
- Safety Communication Tool
- Beach Middle School Drama Performance
- 7th and 8th Grade Clocks – a STEAM Collaboration
- Resource Room – Vocational Educational Experiences/Trips
- WEB – Where Everybody Belongs
- 6th Grade Camp Scholarships
- 8th Grade Trip to Washington D.C. Scholarships
- Mindful Mornings
- Civil War Reenactor Visit
- Independence Hall Cultural Performances
- CHS Link Crew
- Upbeat Global – Student Leadership Workshop
2020-21 Funded Projects
We hope that by providing multiple opportunities, we will help Chelsea teachers and students move through the changing landscape of virtual and hybrid teacher-student interaction. We are please that all COVID hybrid and virtual adaptation-related requests were 100% funded for 2020-2021 needs.
During the 2020-21 grant cycle, CEF Awarded $27,700 in Teacher Grants to the following programs:
- #WhyYouMatter
- Vocational Training Support
- Chelsea Strength and Conditioning
- Equipment for Sensory Room
- 6th Grade Camp Trip Scholarships
- WEB (Where Everybody Belongs)
- Student White Boards
- Series Books Propel Readers
- Hands on Games for Cognitive Impaired
- AAC Core Word Books
- Culturally Diverse Books
- Developing Globally Conscious Students
- 1st Grade Phonics Manipulative Supplies
- 1st Grade Social Studies
- Magnetic Letters & Dry-Erase Boards
- Raz-Plus Leveled, Zoom Friendly Books
- Community Preschool Water Table
- Community Job Experiences
- CHS Link Crew
- Chelsea Speed Training
- Chelsea Strength and Conditioning
- 6th grade Classrooms iPens
- Construction Hats for Vowel Town
- Picture Book Boost
- Parent/Teacher Lending Library
- Classroom Library Extension
- Level M and Lower Books
- 5th Grade Ukulele Project
- Art Supply Kits
- Classroom Leveled Books
2019-20 Funded Projects
During the 2019-20 grant cycle, CEF Awarded $39,989 in Teacher Grants to the following programs:
- #Whyyoumatter
- Authors in Chelsea
- Summer Reading Initiative
- 8th Grade DC Trip Scholarships
- 6th Grade Camp
- 4th Grade Museum Trip
- CHS Link Crew
- 8th Grade Science Unit
- Native American Experience
- Science Olympiad
- 7th Grade DIA Field Trip
- Book A Day
- Bursting with Books
- Psychologist/Social Worker Space
- Mosaic Making
- Lucy Caulkins Books
- Arbor Club’s 50th Alumni Earth Day Celebration
- Hometown Holiday Concert Collaboration
- Quiz Bowl
- Empty Bowls
- Reading Workshop
- Independence Hall Cultural Experiences
- Moanin’ Frogs Saxophone Ensemble
- Civil War Re-enactor
- Strength, Speed, & Conditioning
- Bulbs for Alumni Arbor
- Media Center Entry Way
- Physical Education
- MakerSpace
- WEB Where Everybody Belongs
Our Story
Chelsea Education Foundation was founded in 1990 by then-superintendent Joe Piasecki with a simple but powerful goal: to strengthen Chelsea’s future by connecting schools, businesses, and the community.
Since then, CEF has helped fund a wide range of educational opportunities that benefit Chelsea students—from innovative teacher grants to college and trade school scholarships.
By serving as a bridge between generosity and opportunity, CEF helps make meaningful educational experiences possible across the district.