PNM Energy Exploration Grants:
What's Funded, What's Not?

The PNM Fund’s goal for the Energy Exploration Grant program is to encourage classroom innovation and excitement of discovery around energy-related topics.

What's funded

Energy Exploration Grants fund creative classroom teaching ideas that encourage students to explore an energy-related topic.

• Projects that consider a question about energy and develop creative ways for students to discover the answer to the question.
• Equipment requests directly related to the creative teaching idea.
  • We often receive questions about equipment, such as, “Do you fund computers?” The answer is, “it depends.”
• Historically, the PNM Fund has provided funding for equipment such as guitars, computers, cameras, scales, etc. that will be used to turn the idea into a classroom reality.
• Field trip funding less than 25 percent of the total amount requested.
  • The project must be centered on an idea, not on a field trip. The field trip should be one of several methods used to supplement the teaching idea.
• Teachers at public or nonprofit private schools located in communities served by PNM.

What's not funded?

The following are not eligible for funding:

• Teachers at schools outside of the PNM service territory
   
• Teacher training, certifications or salaries
  • This includes stipends for substitute teachers.
     
• Before or after school programs
  • Energy Exploration Grants are intended to support teachers and their students during core school hours.
  • Extracurricular activities outside core school hours, such as before or after school day care, or clubs.
     
• Pre-packaged curriculum or software programs
  • Energy Exploration Grants are centered on the principle of ingenuity.
     
• Equipment requests not directly associated with a creative teaching idea
• In the past we have received requests to replace overhead projectors, electronic whiteboards or other teaching aids that have broken or are needed in the classroom; these requests were denied because they were not centered on an innovative idea.
   
• Field trip funding exceeding 25% of the total amount requested
  • We recognize that school travel budgets have shrunk over the years. Travel can be up to 25% of the total grant amount requested.
     
• One-time, special events
  • Energy Exploration Grants are designed and developed for classroom application.
  • Though we have funded projects that may have culminated in a poetry reading, school play, or garden harvest, special events requests will not be funded.

Learn more

Still have questions about what's funded? Contact the PNM Fund
Apply for a PNM Energy Exploration Grant
Go to Energy Exploration Grant overview