Shallotte, N.C. – Brunswick Electric Membership Corporation’s annual Bright Ideas education grant program is in full swing for 2007, and it pays for teachers to apply for grants early.

North Carolina's Touchstone Energy cooperatives have earmarked at least $500,000 for classroom-based projects through their funding of the Bright Ideas Education Grant Program for the 2007-2008 school year. Teachers can learn about the program and apply online at www.ncbrightideas.com. Grants up to $2,000 are available. Teachers who submit their application by the "Early Bird" deadline of August 30 will be entered in a drawing for a digital camera.

All North Carolina certified K-12 teachers are eligible for a Bright Ideas grant, the only program exclusively for the state's classroom educators. Last year, the state's 27 electric cooperatives gave out more than $525,000 in Bright Ideas grants, benefiting more than 121,000 students.

"BEMC is always happy to support those who teach our children. Support for schools is a core value of the cooperative business model and a major component of our commitment to community," said Judy Gore, VP of Customer Service at BEMC.

Bright Ideas grants finance innovative and creative classroom projects that would otherwise go unfunded. The grants have financed a variety of hands-on projects, including activities in music, art, history, language, reading, science, career-planning and information technology.

Brunswick EMC "invented" the Bright Ideas program in the early 1990's when they became aware of teachers spending their own money to buy school supplies. Other co-ops across the state joined in quickly and today all 27 electric cooperatives in NC participate, providing teachers with funding for their creative teaching ideas. Since 1994, the cooperatives have awarded Bright Ideas grants totaling over $5.3 million dollars to teachers in grades K-12 across the state. Over 5,000 individual programs have been funded, impacting more than 800,000 North Carolina students.

Simplicity is the hallmark of the application process. The primary elements are narratives explaining the project and how it will benefit students. A sample application is on the Web site as well as contact information for teachers who have questions or require more information. To qualify for the "Early Bird" drawing, applications must be submitted by Aug 30. The final deadline for applications is September 28. BEMC will announce the local winners in November.