Who is eligible?

All nominees must be a resident of Michigan or Florida. Eligibility is limited to teachers who have responsibility for a classroom. All nominated teachers must be Pre-K through 12th grade classroom teachers who plan to continue teaching in their current or similar capacity for a minimum of 50% full-time during the 2023-2024 school year.

Self-nominations will not be accepted. Past recipients of this grant are not eligible.

Teachers can be nominated by students, parents, other teachers, community members, or administrators. Since this program’s purpose is to recognize the contributions of Michigan and Florida classroom teachers, staff members whose assignments are administrative or supervisory, or whose assignments are not a minimum of 50% full-time, are not eligible.

Nominations are not open to LMCU employees, directors, and officers or their immediate families, or to employees or immediate family of any of LMCU’s affiliated companies, licensees, advertising, or promotional agencies. Immediate family includes the following: spouse, child, father, mother, brother, sister, grandparent, step parents, step children, mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, grandchildren, and grandparents-in-law.

Grant Info

The Roots in Education grant will provide 25 teachers each a $1,000 grant. The winning teachers will be announced in May 2023 on LMCU's website and social media pages.

This grant can be used towards anything that benefits the educational process, such as purchasing classroom supplies or aiding in online learning. If a tax liability arises, it will be the sole responsibility of the recipient.

Lake Michigan Credit Union shall maintain records and administer and provide all necessary staffing for the Roots in Education grant, including the review committee. Lake Michigan Credit Union will provide the Board of Directors with a written report, detailing all awards.

How are winners selected?

Winners of the Roots in Education grant will be selected by an internal review committee at Lake Michigan Credit Union.

All nomination forms are submitted to the reviewers with no identifying information, so that the name of the nominator is not visible. Grant recipients will be selected without regard to their race, religion, or gender identity.

The explanation and information provided regarding how the teacher embodies the selected trait is the review committee's principal determining factor when selecting grant recipients. The following criteria will be used in judging the nominations:

• Nomination clearly describes how the educator embodies the selected trait
• Nomination demonstrates the educator’s impact on students and school community
• Nomination is passionate and distinctive

Frequently Asked Questions

I am having technical issues submitting a nomination. What do I do?

Please contact Grants Connect for any technical issues with your nomination. Nominators can contact support, start a live chat or view resources digitally. To access help, find the question mark icon (?) on the top right side of the Grants Connect portal. The applicant resources are available here.

I need to update my nomination.

Once a nomination is submitted, nominators will not be able to make any edits. Nominators will need to contact support, start a live chat or view resources digitally. To access help, find the question mark icon (?) on the top right side of the Grants Connect portal. The applicant resources are available here.

Did you receive my nomination?

Nominators will receive an email confirmation when they submit their nomination. Nominators can review and track the status of their nomination in Grants Connect using their login and password. For more information, visit the applicant resources page here.

School Resources

A school resource guide with graphics is available for schools to use to help promote the Roots in Education program and to encourage students, parents, other teachers, community members, or administrators to nominate a teacher in their school!

Please download the scholarship resources here.

If you need more information to help promote the Roots in Education program, please email [email protected]

Nominate a teacher for the Roots in Education Program

This year, we are honoring teachers who are caring and take time to tend to their students' needs. Tell us how this educator’s attention and empathy has impacted their classroom and community.

The deadline to nominate a teacher is April 7, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. For more information on the nomination process, please visit the process tab.

All nominations will be submitted through Grants Connect. To nominate a teacher, please sign up for a Grants Connect account using the button below and fill out the Roots in Education form.