Deadline: 26-Oct-20
The Children’s Opportunity Fund is an impact initiative of the Greater Washington Community Foundation focused on funding innovation opportunities that close the achievement gap in Montgomery County, Maryland.
As a member of the Campaign for Grade Level Reading network, the Children’s Opportunity Fund is using a participatory grantmaking process to fund organizations providing direct service, advocating for, or researching literacy skills with children ages birth to 8 and their families.
In July 2018, the Greater Washington Community Foundation refreshed its community investment focus areas in order to represent the full range of efforts The Community Foundation, its donors, and partners individually and collectively undertake to strengthen the region and create a brighter future for its most vulnerable neighbors.
Objectives
Priority will be provided to organizations led by people of color and/or focused on areas of early literacy, tutoring, and family supports.
- Early Literacy: refers to the development of skills students need in order to transition from learning to read, to reading to learn. These skills include vocabulary, phonics, language, and numeracy. Early literacy gives students the foundation they need in order to learn and grow. Kids who master essential early literacy skills and are reading proficiently by third grade will lead to strong outcomes for the rest of their lives.
- Tutoring: providing academic instruction to individuals or small groups outside of the classroom. Tutors receive training to provide students with help to improve educational performance.
- Family Supports: building family well-being by intentionally working with children and the adults in their lives is important because if the whole family thrives, then the opportunities for children will increase. This could be parenting classes, two generation programs which work with children and parents, or increasing access to childcare and other out of school time programs.
Funding Information
- Grants of up to $25,000 will be awarded for program support addressing one or more program objectives.
Eligibility Criteria
Grants will be awarded to select organizations that meet the following minimum eligibility criteria:
- The applicant (defined as the agency that will receive the grant agreement and funds, if awarded) must have current status as a 501(c)(3) public charity designation. Organizations that have not yet received a 501(c)(3) designation must have a fiscal sponsor to serve as the applicant who meets all eligibility requirements at the time of submission.
- The organization must not be listed on the Office of Foreign Assets Control Specially Designated Nationals list.
- Successful track record (at least two years) of relevant work in Montgomery County, Maryland. Note that nonprofits not located in Montgomery County are eligible to apply if they have a demonstrated track record of serving Montgomery County residents in the time specified.
- The proposed program/project must be conducted within Montgomery County, Maryland.
- The applicant/program must meet one of the program objectives listed in the following section.
- If previous funding has been received from The Community Foundation, the applicant must be current in reporting to The Community Foundation as specified in the grant agreement.
- Organizations have an annual budget of less than $500,000.
- Organizations serve priority populations of Black, Brown, and low-income students.
For more information, visit https://bit.ly/3dw8N8h