Investing in Innovation Fund (i3)

The $650 million Investing in Innovation (i3) fund provides competitive grants to applicants with a record of improving student achievement and attainment in order to expand the implementation of and investment in innovative practices for the following:

  • Improve K-12 achievement and close achievement gaps
  • Reduce dropout rates
  • Increase high-school graduation rates
  • Improve teacher and school leader effectiveness

The U.S. Department of Education awards i3 funds in three categories:  Scale-Up grants (up to $50 million); Validation grants (up to $30 million); and Development grants (up to $5 million).

The i3 grants are distributed directly to school districts and their nonprofit partners as seed money to scale up or support innovative school reform initiatives. The following are eligible applicants for i3 grants:

  • Local educational agencies (LEAs), including charter school LEAs
  • Nonprofit organizations in partnership with either one or more LEAs or a consortium of schools

To be eligible, applicants must meet the following criteria:

  • Have significantly closed the gaps between groups of students
  • Have demonstrated success in significantly increasing student academic achievement for all groups of students
  • Have made significant improvement in other areas, such as graduation rates, high-quality teachers and school leaders
  • Have demonstrated that they have partnerships with the private sector that will provide matching funds


All eligible applicants must implement practices, strategies or programs for high-need students. High-need students are those who are at risk of educational failure or who are otherwise in need of special assistance or support. In order to help these high-need students, each i3 recipient must choose one absolute priority and one or more competitive preferences on which to focus.

Boys Town can help you maximize your i3 grants, by either partnering with your local education agency or providing training for school administrators and teachers to help applicants meet criteria. For a thorough introduction in how to prepare for i3 grant application, Boys town has prepared a presentation, which you may download here.

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