Topeka Public Schools USD 501

Giving Opportunities

Your donation makes a big difference! We have a number of different funds to which you may contribute and make an impact on the education of children in our district. These include our educational grants, emergency assistance funding, after school programs and other funds that are supporting and creating educational opportunities for children at Topeka Public Schools.

Annual Campaign

The TPS Foundation kicks off each school year with an employee campaign, and corporate and community giving is received throughout the year. If you are one of the staff, businesses or individuals from the community who have contributed to the Foundation, we thank you for your support!

Educational Grants

Enriching curriculum, encouraging innovation.

The Educational Grants Program fosters creativity and rewards innovation. Great ideas and creative opportunities are set aside all too often due to a lack of funds. Every child deserves to benefit from their teacher's innovative ideas and enthusiasm.

TSF grant-funded projects touch the lives of over 9,000 students each year. Grant requests are reviewed by a panel of educators and community leaders. Funds are awarded for educators to use from November through April, with exceptions made for summer projects.

The Educational Grant program relies on your generous support. Donate in support of a particular project from the list of grants currently awarded and receive information concerning the project as it progresses. Or mark your donation in support of all the Educational Grants.

Bridges to the Future Educational Fund

Bridges to the Future provides educational opportunities to low income students who would otherwise have those pathways closed to them. 

The Topeka Public Schools currently offers an excellent program that covers tuition costs for high school juniors and seniors accepted into programs at Washburn Institute of Technology.  However, many of the students served by the TPS Migrant Education Program cannot afford the additional costs associated with many of the programs offered.  Bridges to the Future provides educational grants to reduce the financial burden of additional program costs. For students, these grants are the difference between educational advancement for future employment and the end of the road for educational opportunity. Please click here for additional information or here to donate.

Please click here to download the application for a grant.

Anderson Trust Fund

In 1998, John and Marcella Anderson established a fund designed to provide emergency grants to students of Topeka Public Schools. The Anderson Trust Fund provides students with a once-annually emergency grant to address needs as determined by the educators working directly with him or her. Grant requests are reviewed by the executive board of the Topeka Public Schools Foundation. Unfortunately, each year the need for emergency assistance is greater than the funds available.

A number of people follow John and Marcella's example and contribute to the Anderson Trust Fund. Your gifts can help a student in need. If you are a teacher, and know of a student who needs to benefit from this fund, complete and submit the linked referral application.

Partnerships and Other Initiatives

190th Air Refueling Wing Gift

In February 2008, the Topeka Public Schools Foundation was gifted with numerous school supplies for teachers and students. A special thanks to the 190th Air Refueling Wing, Kansas Air National Guard for their generous support.

Lynn & Lew Mills Young Readers Book Fund

In 2004 Mr. and Mrs. Mills established a designated fund through the Topeka Public Schools Foundation. This fund provides additional resources for book purchases at McEachron Elementary School. In 2009 a fund at Avondale East Elementary school was also established. If you would like to start a special, designated fund, please contact the Foundation office.

Parents As Teachers (PAT) Pine Ridge Project

The Foundation, in collaboration with Topeka Housing Authority and TPS Parents as Teacher supported an outreach program designed to serve 40 families with children pre-natal to age three, in the Pine Ridge Community Center. Programs available to families include personalized home visits, weekly play groups, and a book and toy lending library. Foundation dollars were expended to develop the lending library serving in excess of 100 children.

TPS Summer Music Program

An annual Foundation-sponsored Summer Music Program was initiated in 2010 and provides an opportunity for participation in band, strings and chior beyond the traditional school year. The Program is held at a TPS high school on a rotating basis in the month of June. It provides music instruction during the summer to retain and enhance skills of band and strings students who have completed grades 3-8. An additional component is an Honor Choir for students in grades 4-8 who are chosen to participate through auditions. Approximately 200 elementary and middle school students participate in the program annually. Additionally, 10 high school students participate as mentors.

Enrollment includes students from every school in the District. The program affords an opportunity for full scale participation of every interested student without imposing a registration fee. It is felt the program strengthens the District music program.

Leave A Legacy

Honor the anniversary, birth, life and more, of someone by making a Foundation contribution in the name of a company or individual. If requested, certificates when appropriate can be sent to the individual or company to inorm them of the honor.

Honor an Educator

Make a contribution in living memory or in tribute of a special occasion. Honor a friend, relative or colleague, or a TPS teacher who has made a difference to you or your children. Your recipient will receive an attractive personalized certificate to keep and cherish your honor. The Topeka Public Schools Foundation will receive a gift that will continue educational opportunities for Topeka youth. The certificate can be delivered by us, or you can deliver it yourself and express your gratitude in person.

No finer tribute can be paid than to encourage the values and perpetuate the principles you admire in a friend.

Scholarships

Click here to read about the scholarships your support can help to provide!