Radnor foundation opens fall grant cycle, Sept. 18 deadline

Teachers, parents and students in the Radnor Township School District have until Friday, Sept. 18, to apply for grants from the Radnor Educational Foundation.

The fall grant cycle, announced Monday, Aug. 31, funds curriculum initiatives, guest speakers, specialized equipment and outside services across all five district schools. Administrators and community members may also apply.

The foundation, a nonprofit founded in 1994, has awarded more than $1.5 million in grants to district students and teachers over its three-decade history. It runs three grant cycles each academic year: fall, winter and spring. Individual awards range from hundreds to thousands of dollars, reviewed by the foundation's grants committee and board members.

Last year's fall cycle offers a sense of scale. The foundation approved 12 grants totaling more than $48,000 in fall 2025. Those grants funded pottery wheels for Radnor High School's ceramics program at $7,260, college-placement speaker Jeffrey Selingo for grades 8 through 12 at $7,500, an instructional book collection for all five schools at $11,145 and SMART Music Series instruments at Wayne Elementary for $2,030.

Demand was high. The foundation said it received almost as many grant requests in that single fall cycle as it awarded in the entire 2024-2025 school year. A winter 2025 cycle added seven more grants totaling $19,644, bringing the 2025-26 school year total to 19 grants.

One student-led project also won fall funding. Casseroles for a Cause, a Radnor High School club focused on hunger relief in Philadelphia, received $950.

Erin Dunkel, the foundation's executive director, has described the organization's mission as "investing in our students and schools." She made the comment in a February statement about a separate fundraiser.

The foundation serves almost 3,600 students and more than 330 teachers across Radnor High School, Radnor Middle School, Radnor Elementary School, Wayne Elementary School and Ithan Elementary School.

Applicants must submit the online form at radnoreducationalfoundation.org with supporting documentation and a budget.