Ohio’s strong track record for securing federal 21st Century Community Learning Center (21CCLC) funds has netted in the neighborhood of $40 million per year to invest in local programs. If your school, nonprofit or faith-based organization is interested in boosting at-risk students’ math and reading performance through high-quality after school programming, then you should be looking at this program now.
21CCLC grants are highly competitive, however we anticipate more than 100 new grant awards in Ohio this year. That’s about four times the number of awards from last year.
What you need to know:
This program maintains a core focus on literacy and math. Increasingly, the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) is emphasizing quality, evaluation, college/career readiness and partnerships. It’s not too early to start gathering information about your target students, including data that shows academic performance gaps, at-risk behavior and other relevant disadvantages. Next, use that data to design a program that will result in measurable improvements in reading, math and college/career readiness. Finally, get your partners on board, especially the schools, after school program providers, businesses and service providers that can assist with nonacademic barriers.
Important Dates:
January 11, 18 and 25 – ODE hosts optional bidders’ conferences for new applicants. Participants may choose a morning (10 a.m. – noon) or afternoon (2 – 4 p.m.) on any of the dates. Locations vary by date. Register in STARS.
February 6 – CCIP opens for new and renewal grant applications.
April 28 – Applications DUE at 5 p.m. ET in CCIP.
Additional Resources:
Ohio Department of Education website – learn more about previously funded programs.
Official Ohio 21CCLC website – watch for updates, changes and events related to 21CCLC program implementation and grant competition.
Federal website – learn more about the federal program.
EnvisionEdPlus can help. If your organization is great at delivering programs but not-so-much at putting together grant proposals, no problem. Contact Tricia Moore at tricia@envisionedplus.com or 614-357-4439 to learn how we can support you. We offer a ranges of services from editing or advising to full proposal development. With the increased number of awards available, we expect to be booked by the winter break, so please reach out to us before Thanksgiving if you think you might need our assistance.
