Blackboard will contribute grants to individuals, groups, or organizations to fund projects that help further access to education for students with disabilities.

Application Deadline: December 31, 2010
Awards Announced: April 1, 2011
Grant Amount: Five grants of $5000 each

At the National Federation of the Blind’s 2010 Convention, Blackboard received the third annual Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award for “groundbreaking work in accessibility.” Through the Blackboard Accessibility Grant, Blackboard will reinvest the $10,000 Dr. Bolotin award back into the accessible education community. Blackboard will contribute five grants in the amount of $5,000 each to individuals, groups, or organizations to fund projects that help further access to education for students with disabilities. Additionally, Blackboard employees will donate their time to provide insight, research, guidance, information, and support to the grant recipients.

Successful submissions for Blackboard Accessibility Grant will focus on research that drives results that benefit students with disabilities, and will include a plan for working with students with disabilities during the research. Preferred focus is on best practices and interesting use of existing technology that can be reused broadly to benefit a large audience, rather than one specific student. Finally, projects should be designed to complete within 12 months. Submissions will be judged by a combination of the Blackboard Learn organization and industry experts in accessibility and education for disabled students.

Visit the Blackboard Accessibility Grant page to download the application.