Transform:ed communities challenge grant

Transform Your Community with
Ed Farm

Apply to bring Ed Farm learning spaces and/or programs to close digital skill gaps in your community.

About the Challenge Grant

Let's close digital skills gaps in your community

Ed Farm is an education ecosystem, founded in partnership with Apple and the Alabama Power Foundation, that closes digital skills gaps among students, educators, and the workforce.

Through the Transform:ED Communities Challenge Grant, we're partnering with driven communities and organizations to eliminate tech barriers in overlooked areas—because the most lasting change is built with communities, not simply delivered to them. Bringing Ed Farm to your community is about more than introducing a new program. It is an opportunity to activate local talent, strengthen the institutions people already trust, and connect learning to the careers and possibilities ahead.

Tailored to your specific needs, this challenge grant delivers our leading-edge learning programs and, for select grantees, a fully equipped Ed Farm Space that reimagines a standard classroom or community center into a hub of innovation. We bring the tools, the technology, and the training. Your challenge? Bring the vision, the local investment, and the readiness to build a digitally fluent community.

TIMELINE

Key dates

August 11, 2026
Application Period Opens
September 10, 2026
Application Period Closes
What's Included

Learning at the leading edge

A select group of winning communities will be chosen through a competitive review process to receive a tailored package of resources and support ranging from a fully built-out learning space to programming alone, depending on need, to expand access to digital skills training for youth and adults.

A Learning Space
An Ed Farm Space that transforms learning environments within a school, library, or community center where learners of all ages are equipped for a digital future.
EXPLORE SPACES
Program Activation
Ed Farm Programs that prepare all learners to thrive in a tech-driven world, from K-12 (Student Fellows, Code Camps) to educators (Teacher Fellows) and workforce (Pathways to Tech).
EXPLORE PROGRAMS
WHAT THIS MEANS

A complete digital education ecosystem.

Through the Transform:ED Communities Challenge Grant, selected communities will receive specific mix of support from Ed Farm based on need, which may include:
Apple Technology
Cutting-edge devices and tools from our technology partner, Apple, so every learner holds world-class tech in their hands.
Design Assistance
Professional space design services that transform an ordinary room into an inspiring environment built for creativity.
Technical Assistance
Expert support from Ed Farm's IT team throughout every stage of implementation so everything works from day one.
Community Engagement
Dedicated support for bringing stakeholders together and uniting your community behind a shared digital future.
Program Activation
Proven challenge-based learning programs that grow digitally fluent students, empowered educators, and career-ready adults.
WHAT PROGRAMS CAN BE ACTIVATED?

Programs that prepare every learner for a digital future.

Student Fellows

Engages elementary and middle school students in industry-aligned, challenge-based learning focused on the skills of the future and building real apps that address community needs.

Teacher Fellows

A 12-month fellowship giving educators the tools, training, and strategies to confidently prepare students for a digital future, starting in the classroom.

Pathways to Tech

Community-based digital skills programming for adults (18+) culminating in the design of a mobile app.
What is included in an ed farm space?

A Space that reimagines what learning can be

Podcast & Audio Studio
Video & Mixed Reality Lab
Maker & Coding Lab
Collaborative Learning Spaces
Podcast & Audio Studio
Video & Mixed Reality Lab
Maker & Coding Lab
Collaborative Learning Spaces
Podcast & Audio Studio
Video & Mixed Reality Lab
Maker & Coding Lab
Collaborative Learning Spaces
Who's IT FOR?

Apply on behalf of your community.

Applications are led by community leaders on behalf of the students, educators, and adult learners they serve.
Who applies
Community leaders
Superintendents & district leaders
Mayors & local government
State legislators
Non-profit & library leaders
Applying on behalf of
Communities we serve
K-12 students
Classroom teachers & educators
Adult learners & workforce
Underserved urban & rural areas
HOW TO QUALIFY

What does a winning proposal look like?

1
A Compelling Story
Articulate why your community or learner population needs access to the Ed Farm ecosystem - whether that's a Space, Programming, or both.
2
Defines Your Audience
Succinctly describe who you're serving, why, and the impact you expect to deliver.
3
Shows a Path to Sustainability
Present a plan for sustaining and maximizing use of the Space and/or Programming after launch.
4
Identifies Matching Funding
Identify additional funding partners (e.g., local foundations, private donors) who will invest alongside Ed Farm to ensure the project’s success.
5
Engages Community Stakeholders
Shows how you will bring together key community partners to engage with and support the new learning space and/or programs
Online Event

Informational Webinars

August 13, 2026
4:00 PM CT
August 20, 2026
5:00 PM CT

Partners

Partner with us

Ready to transform your community?

Applications close September 10, 2026

FAQ

About Ed Farm

Digitally fluent learners. Communities transformed. Since 2020, Ed Farm has partnered with Apple and the Alabama Power Foundation to close the digital skills gap through hands-on programs and transformed learning spaces across the Southeast.