The 2011-2012 Mini-Grant Program is now open for new applications.

Ojai Education Foundation (OEF) is pleased to announce its 13th annual Mini-Grants Award Program for academic year 2011-12. OEF is a non-profit community based organization established to support, enrich and supplement the instructional program in the Ojai Unified School District. OEF wishes to support strong programs initiated at school sites that will improve the learning environment, increase instructional effectiveness, and enhance the educational experience for students and teachers. 

Who May Apply:

Any school personnel who would like to address a need that will improve the academic program of students of the Ojai Unified School District may submit a mini-grant proposal (see MINI-GRANT APPLICATION FORMS below)..

Application Timeline:

This year, in addition to the standard Mini-Grants, OEF is offering a special mini-grant to honor the memory of Marty Fujita. Marty Fujita was a board member of the Ojai Education Foundation during a time of restructuring and growth for the organization.  She made major contributions to our organization and this grant is intended to honor her memory, and the work she did to enhance the education of Ojai students.

Marty Fujita held a doctorate from Harvard in evolutionary biology and spent a good deal of her career as the founder of the first nature conservancy in Indonesia.  She and Gavin Daws wrote a book titled Archipelago, The Islands of Indonesia, that is a wonderfully readable chronicle of the biology of Indonesia and a biography of Alfred Wallace, the founder of the theory of natural selection.  In her second life (as she called it) she lived in Ojai, where she and her husband raised twin daughters, and founded Food for Thought.  She was a promoter of global awareness, healthy foods, fresh locally grown produce, and the education of children about the importance of eating well.  She often said that the single most important thing we can do personally to affect global warming is to eat locally.  Any grant proposal that ties into any of these areas of her interests would be very appropriate for the Marty Fujita award.

Any teacher within the Ojai Unified School District can write for the Marty Fujita grant, which is for the purpose of teaching students to be more environmentally conscious.