Teacher
Grants
Funding to conduct innovative classroom projects.
Purpose of Grants
To fund projects that make creative use of common teaching aids, approach curriculum from an imaginative angle, or tie nontraditional concepts together for the purpose of illustrating commonalities. Innovation and merit account for 40% of the evaluation.
Eligibility
All certified preK-12 teachers who work in a school district in the following counties are eligible for funding: Blackford, Delaware, Grant, Hamilton, Howard, Huntington, Kosciusko, Madison, Miami, Tipton, Wabash or Wells County.
Grant Amounts
$100 to $500. ViaCU wants to be the sole funding agent for your project. In exceptional cases, a grant may be awarded in conjunction with funding from another source. If you are receiving additional funds for this project, please indicate it in the budget section of the application.
2025-2026 Grant Winners
Via Credit Union awarded 19 Teacher Grants, for a total of $7,503.40, to support innovative classroom projects during the 2025-2026 school year. Over the years, ViaCU has funded a total of 200 projects, contributing over $82,500 to local teachers.
Grant winners competed with numerous teachers for an opportunity to make their projects come alive
in the classroom. The winning teachers will use the grant money in various ways:
| Toni Bailey | Lapel Middle School | Tiny Wonders: Exploring Nature Up Close |
| Doug Ballinger | Wabash High School | Making Geometry Affordable, Applicable, Personal and Interesting in STEM |
| Erica Bluhm | Bluffton-Harrison Elementary | Food Fun Friday: A Cultural Exploration Through Cooking |
| Megan Boots | Southern Wells Elementary | History Reenactments |
| Beth Boswell | Oak Hill Junior High | Sentence Construction and Function |
| Abbie Corn | Northview Elementary | Goose Parade |
| Caitlyn Garber | Frankton Jr/Sr High | Biomedical Science: Wounds, First Aid and Suturing Techniques |
| Daniel Graney | Eisenhower Elementary | STEAM of Pinball |
| Liz Hawk | Eastbrook High School | Vertical Non-Permanent Surfaces |
| Kim Huffman | Southern Wells Elementary | Reading Rendezvous |
| Kari Johnson | Oak Hill Junior High | Mic’d Up: Voices from the Eagle’s Nest |
| Hope Lugar | Park Elementary | Bins of Brilliance: Hands-On STEAM Learning |
| Chad Luthy | Eastbrook High School | UV and Albedo Labs |
| Shalee Myron | Blackford Preschool | Light Up Science |
| Lisa Russell | Horace Mann Elementary | Book Tasting |
| Darby Scalf | Oak Hill Junior High | Bug Bowl: Bug Illustrations |
| Damion Watters | Southern Wells High School | School Historical Display |
| Jamie Whetsel | Lapel Elementary | Tiny Wonders: Exploring Nature Up Close |
| Jean Wright | Grant Regional Career Center | Happy Birthday Bash Backpacks |
