In just a few weeks, the Ohio Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) grant will open for another round! This grant is designed to empower schools and out-of-school providers by offering support to enrich programs, activities, and career readiness opportunities for students before and after school and during summer breaks.
Did you know that the 21st CCLC grant competition is one of Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (ODEW) most competitive grant competitions? Annually, there are two to four times the number of applications than there is available funding. It’s not impossible to receive an award, but your application needs to be clearly written, evidence based, innovative and easy to understand. To give you a leg up, we are sharing key need-to-know facts about the 21st CCLC grant and highlighting some great funded programs.
If you want to really prepare a top notch application and discover new partners that are ready to support you, register for the Ohio Afterschool Network and EnvisionEdPlus FREE Virtual 21st CCLC Technical Assistance (TA) and Partner Expo on February 27th 9:30 to 11am.
Overview:
These grants span over five years and should be used for before and/or afterschool and summer programs and are open to serve youth in grades K – 12. For the first three years, grant recipients will receive $200,000 per year. In the fourth year recipients will receive $150,000 and $100,000 for the fifth and final year, equaling a total of $850,000. Elementary focused programs must serve youth at least 15 hours a week. Middle and high school focused programs must be open at least 12 hours each week. Grant applicants can be public or private schools and districts as well as non-profit or for-profit organizations.
Program Key Components:
The 21st CCLC grant allows for a wide range of program strategies, from innovative tutoring programs to the introduction of cutting-edge career readiness activities that train high school students for in-demand careers. All grant recipients must bridge academic gaps through evidence-based strategies. Programs must also provide high quality positive youth development and family engagement activities. Each grant application must have strong partnerships between a target school(s) to be served and at least one community based organization. Every middle and high school focused program must implement career and college readiness programs to prepare students for their future careers. Program activities can occur at the school or in the community. Virtual and hybrid activities are also permitted.
Our friends at Great Day Child Care Learning Center have used their grant funding to increase the opportunities they have available for their students. Gary Cox, Great Day Child Care President, says:
"Thanks to this grant funding, we were able to buy new computers, and offer the students yoga, counseling, and tutoring. We were also able to get the Metro Parks to come in to do extracurriculars with the kids. In summer we are going to keep expanding... We wouldn’t have gotten the grants without Tricia and Michele. They walked us through all of the steps and helped us a lot."
Prepare now!
Whether you’re new to these grants or are a previous grantee, the time to start planning is now! Our grant gurus have helped our clients receive over $16.8 million in 21st CCLC grants and are ready to help you too!
Join OAN and EnvisionEdPlus on February 27th from 9:30 to 11 am for a FREE Virtual 21st CCLC Technical Assistance (TA) and Partner Expo to unpack grant requirements and hear from some awesome organizations that will make your programs THRIVE! The EEP team will also share information about how we can help your organization prepare a highly competitive application.
Our confirmed vendors include;
- Ohio Afterschool Network (OAN)
- EnvisionEdPlus
- Inventionland
- Learning Blade
- LocoRobo
- Young Entrepreneur Institute and YIPPEE
- Junior Achievement
- Yoga by Ali
- Buckeye Educational Systems
- Liz Nusken
The grant deadline is expected to be early April 2024, so don’t miss out on this great FREE opportunity to make your application stand out.