Apply for ​a DEY Mini Grant

Grants to fund early childhood educators focused on play-based learning.

Defending the Early Years is excited to offer our mini-grant initiative to help foster your good work in your community as related to DEY’s three principle goals:

  1. To advocate at the grassroots, local, state, regional, and federal levels for education policies based on child development theory and research.
  2. To mobilize the early childhood community to speak up for age-appropriate standards, assessments, and classroom practices that are based on research.
  3. To promote appropriate practices in early childhood classrooms and to support educators in counteracting policies and practices that undermine whole child health and optimal learning.
We offer grants in the range of $200 to $500 per application.

We accept applications four times a year.

Deadlines are: Sept. 1, Dec. 1, Mar. 1, and June 1.

Applications will be reviewed and up to 12 awards will be granted per year (depending on grant sizes). Applicants can apply for a mini grant once per year.

Possible actions include, but are not limited to:

  • Hosting a parent information meeting
  • Organizing a “Call Your Legislator Day”
  • Spearheading a letter-writing campaign to politicians
  • Organizing a “Play-In” at the local school board
  • Publicizing an “Opt Out” campaign
  • Hosting a viewing and conversation of an appropriate video
  • Holding an Open Forum for community members and stake-holders
  • Whatever else you may think of…

Other resources to help with your advocacy include,

  1. Our activist toolkit.  This toolkit is intended to help parents and teachers alike to develop their own advocacy program within their school and community.
  2. Our Six Principles to Guide Policy is to help share with school administrators, school boards, superintendents as well as state policymakers on what policies should be in place for early childhood classrooms.

Mini-Grant Recipients.

Application for DEY’s Mini-Grant

Please click on this link to complete the DEY Mini-Grant application.

DEY’s Mission:

To inform parents, administrators, and educators about how children develop and learn best, and to advocate for the active, playful, experiential approaches to learning supported by child development theory and research.

DEY’s Three Principle Goals:
  • To mobilize the early childhood community to speak out against inappropriate standards, assessments, and classroom practices.
  • To advocate at the grassroots, local, state, regional, and federal levels for education policies based on child development theory and research.
  • To promote appropriate practices in early childhood classrooms and to support educators in counteracting policies and practices that undermine whole child health and optimal learning.