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California Serves Grant Program 2025-26

Grantor:
CA Department of Education
Portal ID:
144297
Status:
Forecasted
Opportunity Type:
  • Grant
Last Updated:

Details

Purpose:

Funding for the annual grant program is intended to support expanding access for high school graduates to the State Seal of Civic Engagement through high quality service-learning programs. Emphasis shall be on programs that demonstrate rich civic engagement and learning in pursuit of a State Seal of Civic Engagement specifically through service-learning.

Description:

The California Department of Education invites eligible local educational agencies, which include school districts, county offices of education, or charter schools to apply for a California Serves Grant to be used for the purpose of promoting access to effective service-learning with the goal of expanding access for high school graduates in obtaining a State Seal of Civic Engagement through service-learning.

This grant will be used for planning time, professional development, purchase of instructional materials, participation costs, and/or personnel costs that support expanded access to the State Seal of Civic Engagement through high-quality service-learning.

Grant funding can be used for a wide range of purposes that promote access to effective service-learning for students in grade twelve, with the goal of expanding access for high school graduates in obtaining a State Seal of Civic Engagement through service-learning.

Allowable expenditures may include:

Paid planning time for teachers to increase the use of service-learning in instruction.

Professional development on service learning for administrators and teachers.

Purchase of instructional materials to help integrate service-learning in instruction.

Participation costs, including materials or travel expenses related to service-learning activities.

Personnel costs for coordinating service-learning at the local educational agency or a school site.

Participation costs associated with grant program evaluation.

For any questions about the California Serves Grant Program, please contact Sarah Smith by email at SSCE@cde.ca.gov.

Eligibility Requirements

Eligible Applicants:

  • Public Agency

Eligibility is limited to local educational agencies, defined as a school district, county office of education, or charter school, within the State of California that serves students in grade twelve.

At least 55% of the pupils enrolled in the local educational agency shall be unduplicated pupils. Please review the California Serves Eligibility spreadsheet at https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/pl/californiaserves.asp. 

Important Dates

The date on which the grantor expects to announce the recipient(s) of the grant.
March 30, 2026
The length of time during which the grant money must be utilized.
05/2026-06/2028
Anticipated Open Date
October 6, 2025

Funding Details

The total projected dollar amount of the grant.
$5,000,000
A single grant opportunity may represent one or many awards. Some grantors may know in advance the exact number of awards to be given. Others may indicate a range. Some may wish to and wait until the application period closes before determining how many awards to offer; in this case, a value of “Dependent” will display.
Dependent
Grant opportunities representing multiple awards may offer awards in the same amount or in varied amounts. Some may wish to wait until the application period closes before determining per-award amounts; in this case, a value of “Dependent” will display.
$500,000
Certain grants require that the recipient(s) provide a letter of intent.
Yes ( see Description for details )
Certain grants require that the recipient(s) be able to fully or partially match the grant award amount with another funding source.
No
The funding source allocated to fund the grant. It may be either State or Federal (or a combination of both), and be tied to a specific piece of legislation, a proposition, or a bond number.
  • State

Funding Source Notes:

The Assembly Bill 181, Section 71, Budget Act of 2022 authorized the California Serves Grant Program, which provides funding for an annual grant program. Funds available to each applicant are based on the content and quality of the submitted application and proposed activities. The total grant budget for this Request for Applications, as appropriated in AB 181, Section 71 of the General Fund, is up to $5 million annually.

The manner in which the grant funding will be delivered to the awardee. Funding methods include reimbursements (where the recipient spends out-of-pocket and is reimbursed by the grantor) and advances (where the recipient spends received grant funds directly).
  • Advances & Reimbursement(s)

Resources

For questions about this grant, contact:
Sarah Smith, SSCE@cde.ca.gov

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