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Community Funding Accelerator

Cradle-to-Career Pathways

The Community Funding Accelerator (CFA) advances career pathways and foundational education programs through technical assistance for organizations in accessing and implementing public funds. CFA will announce future opportunities for technical assistance through our website and newsletter.

CFA supports students through programming aligned with the below criteria. We are continuing to expand our offering to support impact across the full cradle-to-career continuum. Watch this space for more.

Career Pathways

Career Pathways

CFA prioritizes partnerships that will lead to the implementation or scaling of career pathway strategies. We seek to support career pathways efforts that are:

  • Backed with evidence of effectiveness in improving student academic or career success;
  • Aligned with growing sectors or occupations and responsive to technological evolution;
  • Connected to employer-informed employment pathways; and/or
  • Stackable with transferable credits or offering credentials of value.

CFA is especially supportive of the career pathways strategies listed below. While these approaches are presented one-by-one, we’ve learned that robust strategies typically blend and braid these models. These components should be integrated in a way that allows students to progress to deeper learning in their areas of interest and/or to shift their direction.

Foundational Education Programs

Foundational Education Programs

CFA prioritizes the implementation and scaling of foundational education programs that:

  • Focus on improving literacy and STEM outcomes for high school students;
  • Align K-12 curriculum materials with emerging industry needs; and/or
  • Increase the quality of academic supports, including tutoring, out-of-school learning, or summer learning
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Foundational education programs that CFA prioritizes include:

Who We Work With

Who We Work With

CFA considers several factors to ensure its prospective community partners for technical assistance are aligned on program effectiveness, strategic priorities, and evaluation targets. Our most successful partnerships include programs that:

  • Can adopt or scale the strategies described above;
  • Can adapt their plans to address the needs of K-12 systems and students;
  • Aim to better resource communities that typically receive limited philanthropic or federal support; and/or
  • Collaborate with local schools and communities
Who We Work With
Who are ideal partners for CFA?

Who are ideal partners for CFA?

  • Nonprofits, advocacy groups, government agencies, and other organizations serving regions and communities that have innovative approaches in career pathways, foundational STEM, or literacy programs prime for scaling.
  • State education agencies and local education agencies looking to test new approaches and expand innovative, evidence-based practices in career pathways, foundational STEM, or literacy programs.

What support does CFA provide?

  • BUILD AWARENESS

    CFA helps organizations expand their knowledge base of public funding opportunities and application best practices.

  • INCUBATE IDEAS

    CFA assesses organizational needs, builds their theory of change, and matches them with potential grants.

  • APPLY FOR FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

    CFA helps selected partners assemble a winning coalition and develop a competitive application.

  • IMPLEMENT IDEAS

    CFA offers support and coaching to kickstart delivery and pursue additional funding.

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Upcoming Partnership Opportunities

CFA will post opportunities about technical assistance for future public funding opportunities on our website and via our newsletter. Subscribe today to receive announcements!