K-12 Education

Our K-12 Education grants support organizations working to create a more holistic K-12 education system that provides equal opportunities for all children.

The minimum allowable annual operating expense for eligibility is $25,000. This excludes any expenses covered through in-kind.

Please consult our Education page for details on the types of activities we fund.

Please be sure to review the list of activities that are ineligible for funding.

• Eligible private schools are those where the majority of students attend tuition-free.
• For schools and districts participating in an active partnership with community-based partners to support students and families, we encourage the partner organizations (if otherwise eligible) to apply.
• Charter and alternative schools are eligible to apply if the majority of their students belong to historically underserved communities.

We accept applications three times annually. The first step is to complete our Inquiry Form. We will notify you within three weeks if a full application is invited.

Applicants may apply for one, two, or three years of support. However, please note that newer applicants are unlikely to receive multi-year support. We recommend first-time applicants request a one-year grant.

• If you have a 5-year history of grant funding with Miller, you are eligible to apply for up to 3 years of support.
• For those applicants with a grant history of between 2-4 years of funding, you are eligible to apply for up to 2 years of support.

Grant history can be non-sequential. (i.e. Past funding does not need to have been in 5 consecutive years.)

Our operating support grants typically represent between 3-5% of an organization’s annual operating expenses.
(We consider an average of the organization's expenses over recent years).

Here are typical examples of how our operating support grants are commonly funded:

• If an organization's annual expenses are under $1 million, then the grant amount would likely be up to 5% of those expenses.
• If an organization's annual expenses are between $1-2 million, then the grant amount would likely be up to 4% of those expenses.
• If an organization's annual expenses are over $2 million, then the grant amount would likely be up to 3% of those expenses. (Please note, our typical maximum for operating support grants is $150,000.)

‍A note to broader-missioned organizations:

‍For those broader organizations working beyond K-12 Education activities: Our operating support grant amounts are based on the portion of your organization budget dedicated to K-12 activities.

Please feel free to reach out to our program team at grants@millerfound.org if you have questions about how much to request. We are happy to discuss an appropriate amount. 

The Miller Foundation understands that funding general operations is the best way to help organizations thrive. Our Standard Application Process provides operating support to help organizations have maximum flexibility.

Miller Foundation operating support grants can be used for a grantee's operating expenses. Examples:

• Contractor fees
• Staff wages
• Rent/utilities
• Technology
• Programming, presentation, or exhibit expenses
• Moveable equipment
• General business expenses
• Marketing, fundraising or technical support
• Addition of new paid staff

Expenses not considered operating support include:

• Debt repayment
• Capital campaigns

In rare cases, an organization may wish to apply for project support for a discrete opportunity, rather than operating support. While we strongly encourage applicants to apply for operating support, the Miller Foundation also provides project support. Please note: we are unlikely to fund the majority of a project’s costs.

Examples of discrete opportunities for project support grants:​

• Partnerships, mergers, acquisitions
• Special opportunities, change capital, re-structuring