After a wonderful 2026 season, we are thrilled to see Cooler Communities climate fairs becoming annual traditions in a growing number of schools and districts. This momentum is possible because of the tremendous energy and commitment of participating teachers and students, and the equally committed financial support of the Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation. We are delighted that we can once again invite educators and schools to bring climate learning and action to their communities in the 2026/2027 school year.
Read on to learn about this year’s grant opportunities.
School and district climate learning grants for grades K–12
All elementary, middle, high schools and/or full districts are invited to apply for grants supporting one of the following:
1. Classroom learning and a public event
Students explore climate topics and solutions in the classroom and share their projects and discoveries with families and the wider community at a public event. Service providers and non-profits might present alongside students and visitors are asked to pledge climate action. As always, we encourage interdisciplinary collaborations!
2. Launching a new school sustainability initiative
Students work on a lasting improvement at their school, such as launching a composting system in the cafeteria, starting a pollinator garden, installing passive classroom cooling (see below!), or a clean-energy project such as a solar charging station.
Grants range from $500 to $5,000.
We especially welcome proposals that give students meaningful leadership roles, include a variety of subjects and grades, and actively engage families or the wider community. We also value projects that address issues of climate justice, include policy advocacy, student research and data collection, and ideas that other schools could adopt.
Of course, not every program needs to include all of these elements. You know best how to build a program that fits your students, your school, and your community, and to think creatively about what meaningful climate learning and action could look like.
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We very much look forward to receiving your applications, and are here to answer questions and support your project in every way we can.
Apply for a school or district climate grant.
Deadline for the application is Monday November 30, 2026.
Notifications of grants awarded will be sent out by December 15th.
3. $1000 To Cool Off Hot Classrooms With Passive Design – Heat Seekers
With generous funding from the Dorr Foundation, we are looking to expand our recent pilot program: Heat Seekers. This project addresses the growing issue of overheating classrooms through passive cooling methods.
Grants of $1000 are designed to help middle + high school teachers and their students investigate why classrooms overheat, experiment with climate-friendly ways to cool them, and implement solutions.
Middle and High School educators who are interested in running the Heat Seekers project in their classrooms can apply here.
You can find photos from our pilot and the ready-made lesson plans online. The hand-on classroom portion takes about 12 hours with no formal engineering background needed. Time requirements for full scale implementation varies widely depending on where your experimentation takes you!
Instead of reacting to the heat when it arrives, you can be ready for it.
Apply for a Heat Seekers grant
- Available in Massachusetts only.
- 6th-12th grade educators only – specialists welcome to apply.
- Application Deadline: October 16th, 2026. Then rolling applications will be considered after this date. Only five grants are available, so early applications at an advantage.
- Projects must be completed by May 2027.
4. The Youth Climate Solutions Challenge
In collaboration with MassEnergize, we are offering High School students in MA an opportunity to positively impact their community and gain experience designing and implementing a climate-focused program as part of this challenge.
Are there students in your high school ready to create impact?
This climate leadership, team-based competition challenges students to design and implement clean energy and climate solutions, stepping outside the classroom to lead real-world outreach campaigns.
To find out more about the $500 seed grant, the educational opportunities, and the competition, visit MassEnergize’s page here. To sign up for a webinar explaining all about the challenge, click here.
