Passion and Innovation: Bright Ideas grants Bright Ideas grant recipients are now posted. Congratulations to the winners!

• Information on the Bright Ideas grant program, can be found at www.ncbrightideas.com. Applications for the 2012-2013 school year will be available on April 1, 2012.
  
  
• NOTE: The the Classroom Technology Awards grants and the Bright Ideas grants are two SEPARATE and DISTINCT grant programs offered by Wake Electric. Teachers can apply for both – but if a teacher does apply for both grants – he or she must apply for a DIFFERENT item or project between the two.
  
  
• For example, a teacher cannot apply for SmartBoard funding through the Classroom Technology Awards grants and then also apply for a SmartBoard through the Bright Ideas grant program.
  
  
• Wake Electric has allocated $50,000 for classroom-based projects through the Bright Ideas education grant program for the 2011-2012 school year.
  
  
• Grants of up to $3,000 are available.

• Since 1994, Wake Electric has given a total of $530,000 in Bright Ideas grants to teachers in Durham, Franklin, Granville, Johnston, Nash, Vance and Wake counties.
  
  
• Bright Ideas grants are intended to help finance innovative classroom projects that would otherwise not receive funding. Over the years, North Carolina's Touchstone Energy cooperatives, including Wake Electric, have sponsored a variety of hands-on projects, including activities in music, art, history, language, math, science, career-planning and information technology.
  
  
• The primary elements of the online application process include an explanation of the project and its potential benefits to students. A sample application and contact information for program coordinators are available on the Bright Ideas Web site.
  
  
• Teachers in Public Schools in Durham, Franklin, Granville, Johnston, Nash, Vance and Wake counties are eligible to apply for a Wake Electric Bright Ideas grant. To determine if your school is eligible for a Wake Electric Bright Ideas grant, go to www.ncbrightideas.com.
  
  
• If you have any questions about this or any other grant programs at Wake Electric, email communications@wemc.com or call 919.863.6312 or 1.800.474.6300.

2011 Bright Ideas Teacher Grant winners

24 teachers in Wake, Granville, Johnston, and Vance counties have been awarded the 2011 Bright Ideas grants. The grants will be used for a variety of classroom programs throughout the school year. Grant winners are:

The funds for the Bright Ideas grants come from WEMC members who agree to round up their light bill to the nearest whole dollar through the Operation RoundUp program. For example, if the bill is $190.91 – the bill will be rounded up 9 cents to $191.00. These pennies add up to major dollars. Partial funding also comes from the North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation, located in Raleigh, NC. The NCEMC consists of a family of corporations formed to support the state’s 27 electric cooperatives.

Wake Electric is a non-profit electric utility serving over 35,000 members in parts of Durham, Franklin, Granville, Johnston, Nash, Vance, and Wake counties.