It took a little follow-up, but the Ely School District has $20,000 coming its way.

Last week, the district was announced as the $20,000 grant winner from the “America’s School Spirit Challenge 2010” sponsored by Care2.

After that, the process got a little confusing.

No one from Care2 had notified or contacted the school district. District Operations Director Kim Belcastro said that when it came to $20 grand, she was all over tracking down information.

“Everybody [else] was calling us, telling us we won and wanting to know what we’ll do with the money,” she said. “It got a little bit weird.”

America’s School Spirit Challenge was an online voting contest that ran from Sept. 20 to Nov. 12. The school receiving the most votes won $20,000, with second and third place getting $7,000 and $5,000 respectively.

According to the Care2 website, Ely was proclaimed the winner, coming in first by a wide margin over runner-up West Hollywood Elementary School of West Hollywood, Calif.

After finding an e-mail address for Care2, Belcastro put in a request regarding how to procure their award. The district also wanted to know how the funds can be spent.

On Thursday morning, Care2 replied with instructions for claiming the grant. Belcastro also officially announced that the funds will be applied toward science and technology programming, and computer upgrades.

The Ely School District won the contest thanks in large part to the efforts of Lily the Bear Facebook fans from the North American Bear Center. The social media group also spearheaded voting for the “Best Small Town in America” contest and the “American’s Favorite Park” contest which garnered Bear Head Lake State Park $100,000.

According to NABC Chair and bear biologist Lynn Rogers, Lily fans want three things: to learn about bears, to share the knowledge, and to support the area where Lily lives. They’re also working with Ely’s Wildlife Research Institute and the NABC to develop lesson plans that meet state requirements for use in classrooms for various grade levels across America.

Belcastro said the Ely School District and some high school classes have also been working with the bear center recently. They want to learn from Rogers and NABC research, promote bear education and preserve bear populations.

Researchers will soon install another “den cam” in the den of Lily and her cub Hope. The video will be broadcast on the NABC website for classrooms and fans to view. Rogers said data will offer insight into the winter behavior of bears that is proving to be much more than just “sleeping the winter away.”