TORRANCE, Calif. (April 20, 2015) –The Toyota USA Foundation announced $1.9 million in grants to K-12 educational programs that focus on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and serve diverse communities.
 
“We know that the future of our society will be built on increasingly sophisticated technological expertise and innovative problem solving,” said Michael Rouse, Toyota USA Foundation President. “That’s why Toyota USA Foundation is proud to support these nonprofits, who are creating exciting opportunities to train and inspire the next generation of leaders in science, technology, engineering and math.”
 
The nonprofit organizations that received funding from the Toyota USA Foundation in Spring 2015 address STEM from a range of perspectives:  
 

GRANTEE ORGANIZATIONS	AMOUNT	PURPOSE OF GRANT
Alabama Center for Sustainable Energy, Madison, AL	$100,000	To reach 10% of the K-12 student population in Madison County, Alabama with a curriculum in clean energy, design, engineering, project management and construction.
Computers for Youth Foundation, New York, NY	$100,000	To increase student achievement and engagement in STEM by leveraging the power of digital learning to support students, parents, and educators in NYC schools.
CSUSB Foundation, San Bernardino, CA	$150,000	To improve the achievement of English learners in pre-K through sixth grade mathematics by improving teacher and principal awareness of how English learners approach math utilizing the Japanese Lesson Study model.
Florida House Institute, Sarasota, FL	$377,685 over three years	To utilize a STEM curriculum centered on a demonstration house and yard to inspire student learning and raise elementary science test scores for Florida State Standards for 5th grade students.
Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts, Boston, MA	$50,000	To expand and enhance the Girls Building Self-eSTeEM Initiative, which provides over 6,000 girls in grades K-12 from eastern Massachusetts with STEM education and exposure through programmatic and event-based opportunities.
The Manufacturing Institute, Washington, DC	$199,973 over two years	To create the Dream It. Do It. STEM Toolkit highlighting best practices to engage students in STEM pathways and manufacturing careers.  Funds also used to replicate a number of best practices in selected Dream It. Do It. locations.
MathPower, Boston, MA	$100,000	To provide coaching and professional development to Boston Public School teachers, as well as volunteer tutors and mentors.
National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc., White Plains, New York	$53,000	To support pre-engineering program materials in 97 Academies of Engineering and produce the NACME Guide to Engineering Colleges published in conjunction with The Princeton Review.
New Visions for Public Schools, New York, NY	$149,999 over two years	To improve teacher practices, accelerate students’ literacy development and advance their performance on state biology exams through a new biology course to be piloted with 1,200 high-need students across 12 urban schools.
Northwestern University, Chicago, Evanston, IL	$200,000 over two years	To provide teacher leadership training around the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) to middle school science teachers who in turn will guide elementary school teachers to improve science instruction for preschool to fourth grade teachers.
Teach for America, Inc., Hazard, KY	$250,000 over two years	To recruit, train and support 40 new, high-quality science and math teachers in high-need schools over the next 3 years and to connect students with local business and community leaders to provide increased networking opportunities.
University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), Baltimore, MD	$50,000	To increase low-income schools’ access to Maryland’s FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL®) Tournament, a global robotics tournament which inspires children to participate in science and technology activities, through support for marketing, recruitment workshops, equipment, entry fees etc.
YMCA of the USA, Chicago, IL, focusing on WV, MI, KY, OH and IN.	$200,000	To help integrate STEM within YMCA Achievement Gap Afterschool Learning Programs at five YMCA Associations: Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio, and West Virginia