CFHV Field Trip Grants

Field Trip Grants are offered by the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley to support educational field trips for public school students in Dutchess County and Ulster County, New York. The opportunity is available to educators serving kindergarten through grade 12 in a public school or school district within either county. Funding priority is given to high needs schools and districts. The program is designed to support field trips that take students outside of school and that are tied to educational curricula. The maximum grant award is 2000 dollars per field trip. There is no stated limit on the number of requests that may be submitted by an individual school, but schools generally will be limited to no more than two funded field trip grants, representing a general school level award cap of 4000 dollars, as warranted by the competitive application process. Teachers are expected to seek funding from their school or district first. Funding from this grant may be requested when school or district funding has been depleted or is not available for the proposed trip. No matching or cost share requirement is stated. Grant funds may cover transportation and admission expenses and may also be used to help defray costs for students who are unable to pay their expected portion of a field trip. Proposed field trips must be reasonable and appropriate, take place outside of the school, and be connected to educational curricula. Trips should occur during the regular academic year and generally during school hours. Field trips serving an entire grade level will be considered. Summer programs, clubs, and after school programs are not eligible for funding. Eligible applicants are educators in public schools or school districts located in Dutchess County or Ulster County, New York, serving students from kindergarten through grade 12. Teachers must apply directly for grants, and user accounts in the grant system should be tied to the individual school or school district. The funder advises applicants to coordinate with school leadership to help prioritize the number of applications submitted by each school. Although a teacher may collaborate with a grant writer, faculty member, or another person on the application or field trip, all grant applications are connected to the lead teacher in the grants portal. Applications are submitted online through the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley grant process. Applicants are directed to the foundations website for grant guidelines and application access and to use the Grants Portal. The source does not identify a separate letter of intent, concept paper, pre proposal, or other required pre application gating step. The source also does not provide detailed application questions, required uploads, or formal scoring criteria. However, the stated funding priority for high needs schools and districts, the curricular connection requirement, the expectation that applicants first seek school or district funding, and the requirement that proposed trips be reasonable and appropriate provide important guidance for preparing a competitive request. The program identifies two submission deadlines associated with different field trip periods. The Fall/Winter deadline is September 15 and applies to trips anticipated between October 15 and January 30, with notifications expected in mid October. The Winter/Spring deadline is December 31 and applies to trips anticipated between February 1 and June 30, with notifications expected in late January. Based on the recurring calendar based deadlines presented without a year limitation, the opportunity is treated as recurring. As of August 13, 2026, the next stated deadline is September 15, corresponding to the Fall/Winter application cycle. Grant recipients receive an agreement for review and signature before funds are disbursed. Following completion of the funded field trip, recipients are required to submit a short report, which is assigned to the teacher in the grants portal. Questions regarding the grant may be directed to the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley at grants@communityfoundationshv.org or 845-452-3077. The main office and correspondence address is 25 Van Wagner Road, Poughkeepsie, New York 12603.

Demonstrate that the field trip is tied directly to educational curricula and is reasonable and appropriate. Seek school or district funding first and explain when that funding is depleted or unavailable. Coordinate with school leadership to prioritize applications because schools generally are limited to no more than two funded field trip grants. Funding priority is given to high needs schools and districts.