Have budget cuts taken a toll on your school’s music and arts programs? A grant from California Casualty might help.  

The California Casualty Music and Arts Grant awards $300 to schools that need support for their programs. Applications are open now and will continue to be accepted until July 15. Applications received after July 15 will be considered for the next grant cycle.  

Educators will learn if their one-page applications were successful by November 30.  

Previous Idaho grant recipients include: 

• Boise Education Association member Ainsley Boan, who used the grant to purchase paint, brushes, canvases and quality watercolor paper for her art students – many of whom are refugees and English language learners – at Whitney Elementary School.  

• Lewiston Education Association member Melissa Syverson, who teaches at Lewiston High School, used the grant to cover the costs of costumes and storage for the LHS Bengal Drama Club. The extracurricular club does not receive funding from the school or district other than a coaching stipend.  

• Pocatello Education Association member Jessica Johnson, a fine arts teacher at Hawthorne Middle School, put the grant toward the school’s choir. Hawthorne, which includes a number of students whose families struggle financially, had experienced difficulty raising cash through fundraising.  

• Coeur d’Alene Education Association member Jim Phillips, instrumental music director at Coeur d’Alene High, used the grant to help pay for basic needs for the school’s orchestra. The orchestra had not had a budget for about five years. 

The California Casualty Music and Arts Grant was established to provide support for K-12 public schools negatively affected by budget restrictions. California Casualty serves a number of education associations, including the Idaho Education Association, by providing auto and home insurance with educator-specific benefits.  

To learn more and apply for the grant, click here.