The Equitable Education Recovery Initiative is now open through October 5, 2021! Click here to learn more and apply.

It is no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic has magnified the inequities of our education system. McKinsey & Company reports that students in predominantly Black schools ended the 2020-2021 school year 6 months behind in math and reading, and students in predominantly Hispanic schools ended the year 6 months behind in math and 5 months behind in reading. This is in contrast with students in predominantly white schools who ended the school year 4 months behind in math and 3 months behind in reading. Similarly, students in predominantly lower-income schools finished the school year 7 months behind in math and 6 months behind in reading, compared with students in higher-income schools who finished the school year 4 months behind in math and 3 months behind in reading.

As the school year starts and states and districts work to support education recovery drawing from unprecedented federal funding, we recognize that there is an incredible and urgent opportunity to elevate and expand programs with the most potential to have meaningful impact on our K12 students not just for short-term recovery, but also for long-term necessary transformations of our education systems in service of equity. We know that many community-based organizations are deeply embedded in their localities and are well positioned to co-create programs that will meet the needs of their students, particularly those who have historically been underserved by our system — the same students for whom the pandemic has had the most detrimental impact. 

To that end, we are excited to announce the upcoming launch of our Equitable Education Recovery Initiative in September. This initiative will provide $200K in catalytic, unrestricted funding to each of 24 organizations working across three geographies, along with New Profit cohort-based capacity-building support and participation in a peer learning community over the course of two years. New Profit’s capacity-building support is crafted based on the unique needs of each cohort, and is likely to cover topics such as refining a theory of change and story of impact, assessing organizational strengths and areas for improvement, and building effective boards of directors, to name a few. The peer learning community will give organizations the often rare opportunity to meet others both in their community and in other geographies working toward similar outcomes, learn from one another, and share challenges and troubleshoot solutions together. 

New Profit is focused on investing in organizations with leaders who center equity in their work and are proximate to the communities we collectively aim to serve. As Bryan Stevenson says, “There is power in proximity. Get close to people and communities who are at risk – and stay close. We don’t have to have the answers; instead, we have to want to get close.” New Profit is committed, through our Inclusive Impact initiative, to ensuring at least 80% of our Catalyze Investments are in organizations led by people of color and we are prioritizing investments in Black, Indigenous, and Latino/a/x individuals. These leaders often have the expertise born of proximity, but are significantly underrepresented at all levels of social sector leadership and face the largest disparities in terms of funding and support in the sector today.

We are seeking leaders who are working to provide math/ELA tutoring, whole child supports, and/or postsecondary advising to K12 students in their community. We define each of these as follows:

• Tutoring: Engaging with students on rigorous math and/or ELA academic content in 1-on-1 or small group formats.
• Whole Child Supports: Developing deep relationships with students to provide a structured and integrated combination of mentoring relationships and social emotional support while partnering with educators to enhance school and classroom environments.
• Postsecondary Advising: Supporting students to successfully navigate from high school to various postsecondary pathways, including to conventional two- and four-year institutions of higher education as well as to alternative and innovative pathways to credentials and careers. 

We will be specifically looking to support a cohort of 8 organizations in each of the following 3 geographies:

• Fresno/Oakland/Sacramento: We will select 8 organizations working in any part of California’s Central Valley from Sacramento to Fresno, plus Oakland.  
• Denver Metro: We will select 8 organizations working in any part of the Denver Metro area, including Arapahoe County, Jefferson County, Adams County, Douglas County, the City and County of Broomfield, Elbert County, Park County, Clear Creek County, and Gilpin County.
• Memphis/Nashville: We will select 8 organizations working in Memphis and/or Nashville.

The application for this opportunity will open the week of September 13th and we expect to keep the application open for three weeks (exact dates TBD). We will also be holding an informational webinar shortly after the application opens during the week of September 13th (exact date and timing TBD). 

While we will not be able to take any questions about this opportunity in advance of the application opening, we recommend you learn more about our Catalyze Investments here (look towards the bottom half of the page) and we invite you to share this opportunity with anyone in your networks who may be interested. And please stay tuned to our social media, website, and this mailing list for more information over the coming weeks!