How are CAPS Grants Awarded?

All the proceeds from the CAPS Bingo Bash are awarded as grants, so the total eligible funding is determined after our event. We calculate how much money is available per student and then determine how much to award at each school site based on student enrollment. This is an attempt to spread the grant funds equally throughout the Atascadero Unified School District and impact each and every student. Because this method does limit small schools like Creston and Carissa Plains, we take this into consideration and are extra generous to them.

The window for 2025 grant writing and submission is open September 22nd through October 3rd. This year, we are considering grants up to $500. Grant requests that exceed the maximum amount or are submitted after the deadline may not be reviewed. The grant should not be for supplies or projects that would normally be funded by school or district’s budgets. We try to award grants to the most creative and interesting projects. 

All grant requests are reviewed anonymously by grant readers who only know the grade level and school so that each request is considered as impartially and fairly as possible. Our grant readers are retired AUSD teachers from the elementary grades, middle school, and high school. The readers can provide expertise and answer questions about programs or other things relevant to the age group.

The panel of grant readers meets about one or two weeks after the submission deadline to make their decisions, which will be announced on November 3, 2025. Once the grantees are chosen, CAPS works to fulfill the grant requests immediately.

Click on the dropdown menu above to access information, instructions, and the transportation request form.