Rural Thrive:

The Rural Educator Resilience Project

All rural educators deserve to thrive

A map of Maine showing connections between different communities.

“What I Need” (WIN) Funds

Teacher Professional Development Funds

We know that rural teachers are talented professionals who often face barriers to getting the support they need to access continuing education: Fewer local professional development offerings, insufficient district funding, lack of substitute teacher availability, transportation costs, and trainings that are poorly aligned with rural school or community needs.

To address this, the Rural Thrive project is making a pool of funds available to support rural teachers in accessing what they need to support their longevity, resilience and  growth in the profession of teaching using a responsive low-barrier grant disbursement model.

How do I apply?

Fill out the application form online:

WIN Funds ApPLication Form

How much can I request and what will WIN Funds cover? 

WIN Funds are available to any rural Maine teacher on a rolling basis throughout Fiscal Year 2025-26 (July 2025-June 2026). WIN Funds can be used for any of the following purposes: 

  • Course tuition at any qualifying institution of higher education
  • Conference attendance, including registration fees, travel costs and lodging
  • Outside speakers for your region or district
  • Book study materials
  • Mental health supports
  • Teacher coaching

Requests may be made for up to $2500 per individual. 

Additional eligibility information

Any full-time teacher in Maine public school districts with NCES locale codes of 31, 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43 are eligible for WIN Funds. If you’re not sure if you qualify, you can look up your school district using this tool, or email Catharine Biddle (catharine.biddle@maine.edu) with your school district name and she will let you know.

Frequently Asked Questions

We are using the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) definition of rurality. NCES assigns locale codes to each district in the country based on their geographic location. According to these measures, 70% of Maine school districts count as “rural” for the purposes of these funds. You can read more about NCES locale codes and how they are defined here. 

The purpose of these funds is to support rural teacher longevity and growth in the teaching profession. While we know that administrators face the same barriers as teachers to accessing responsive professional development for their schools, these funds are specifically focused on teacher well-being. Research suggests that when teachers can direct their own learning it increases their motivation, their collaboration with peers, and that they gravitate towards opportunities that result in the greatest gains for their students (Artman et al., 2020; Bond, 2022; Kennedy, 2016; West, 2025). 

If you are an administrator interested in leveraging these funds for your school, collaborate with your classroom teachers on an application that they can forward to the fund or forward this opportunity to them so that they can direct their own learning.

Absolutely! Teams of teachers can pool their funds to bring in an outside speaker, attend a conference together, or for other reasons. Team applications can submit one request form and indicate in the “Project Description” box that they intend to pool funds. Rural Thrive Project Director Catharine Biddle may be in touch with follow up questions for the person who submits the application. Administrators are eligible for team funding applications.

We will ask you to fill out a short questionnaire after you have completed your professional development activity that asks you to reflect on its value to your professional growth. This report will take you 10-20 minutes to complete. 

Yes, you are still eligible to apply. We will apply your request toward the balance of your promised funds first, then grant additional funds as needed to cover additional expenses up to $2500. Rural Thrive participants are eligible to submit multiple applications to the fund.

Yes, you are still eligible to apply if you received scholarship support for the 2025 UMaine Summer Educators Institute.

Yes! We can work with your district directly to reimburse for the costs of a substitute so you may access PD. 

No, unfortunately this funding cannot cover the cost of meals.