What can Fireside Adventures do for you?

Fireside Adventures views this experience as essential professional development for empowering educators in their role as conscientious climate leaders.  As such, we are committed to assisting educators with whatever they need to access available professional development funding to offset the cost. Please contact us with any questions or support needs.

While we do not offer our own grants or scholarships, we try to offer deals when possible, usually in the form of ‘Early Bird’ discounts. We also keep our prices as low as possible while paying our staff well enough to maintain a team of excellent outdoor educators and guides. To go the extra mile in supporting educators with the cost of our courses, we’ve gathered some potential resources for potential funding sources.

Note: While we support a broad definition of ‘educator’, many of the funding sources below may only be available to individuals who satisfy more traditional definitions of ‘teacher’ and ‘educator’.

Want to go to Italy?

Want to go to the Yukon?

Want to go to Ecuador?

General Advice

• Start the process early. It is important to begin the process of gathering resources as early as possible. Grants often have deadlines and fundraising or negotiating sponsorships can be slow-moving. Many people make the mistake of waiting until the last minute to figuring out funding and this can lead to failure as a result of lack of time and preparation. The sooner the better when it comes to meeting fundraising goals.

• Brainstorm opportunities specific to you and your area. Every educator has a unique range of options when it comes to possible funding sources, based on their skills/experience, demographic, geographical location, and more. While we provide some ideas below, there may be other options available to you that we are unaware of. With a little creativity and research, you may find a wider array of funding support than referenced here.

• Contact us with any questions or support needs. While we can’t fill out applications or secure sponsorships for you, we can help provide supporting documents, course descriptions, or anything else that might help you access funding.

General Resources

School/School District Professional Development Funding: Around the world, many schools and school districts offer professional development funding for teachers for a wide variety of activities. Contact us for any support you may need in requesting professional development funding.

Crowd-funding: Many crowd-funding sites, like GoFundMe or Kickstarter, are possible avenues for financial support. Check out this blog post for tips on how to fundraise.

Sponsorship by local businesses: Local businesses, particularly ones that are focussed on climate change and sustainability, may be willing so sponsor educators’ travel experiences. Check out this guide on how to approach businesses for travel sponsorships.

Offer to share your experience with others: Many community organizations and institutions are looking for interesting and innovative guest speakers. This can be an opportunity for making connections, and accessing funding streams that are not publicly available as some of these organizations may be willing to support your course in return for a workshop or presentation upon your return.

Canadian Resources

Government of Canada: The government of Canada offers grants for climate change and sustainability awareness that Canadian citizens may be eligible for. Check the environment funding section of the to see if any grants may apply.

Teachers Federations: Many provincial teachers’ federations offer funding for professional development of practicing teachers. Examples include the BC Teachers’ Federation and Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation. Check with your provincial federation to learn more.

International Resources

Institute of International Education: This international organization is dedicated to supporting education that transcends borders. They offer scholarships to teachers from around the world to support learning.

Fund for Teachers: This is non-profit organization that offers funding support for American teachers to advance their practice through professional development. Visit their website to learn if you are eligible.

Donors Choose: This is a crowdfunding resource that supports American teachers in a variety of ways. Visit their website to begin your crowdfunding project.