Author: cfa@fenton.com

Funding will support over 12,400 MA students with evidence-based, high-quality tutoring over the next five years.

[February 5, 2026] The Community Funding Accelerator (CFA) in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Education and Secondary Education (DESE) have successfully won nearly $10 million dollars through the Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grant from the U.S. Department of Education, part of a larger $256 million effort to improve literacy rates nationwide. Combined with previous funding, DESE’s evidenced-backed tutoring model that uses phonics-based instruction and rigorous evaluation will reach over 12,400 high-need students statewide. 

About 10,000 students in Massachusetts will already receive DESE’s high-quality tutoring through the 2025-2026 school year. This additional EIR funding will expand these efforts to support an additional 2,400 students starting in 2026-2027. Beginning in first grade and extending throughout second grade, high-need students will receive reading tutoring that uses an evidence-based teaching model that has been proven to increase literacy levels from 16% to 41% according to independent evaluations. 

“CFA is thrilled to be a part of DESE’s huge win, and help them ensure the next generation of Massachusetts leaders has the reading skills they need to thrive in their careers and lives,” said Erick Sanchez, a Community Leader at CFA. “Through effective tutoring strategies that are proven to work and an unwavering commitment to supporting young students who need it most, this funding is essential to building students’ literacy skills and fortifying their relationship to reading across their lives.”

CFA provided DESE with end-to-end support for the EIR grant application, helping to navigate eligibility, requirements, grantwriting, and map out metrics to measure progress. CFA also partnered with evaluators from Johns Hopkins University (JHU) who used their subject matter expertise in high-dosage tutoring to surface best practices, verify effectiveness, and provide input on scaling the program.   

About the Community Funding Accelerator 

The Community Funding Accelerator (CFA) helps communities win and implement public funding. With a focus on cradle-to-career education and workforce pathways, CFA identifies relevant funding opportunities, builds coalitions, and provides deep technical assistance to submit winning applications. CFA also supports implementation to create innovative education and workforce solutions in communities across the U.S. The CFA program is led by Delivery Associates, a public sector consulting firm.

About the Massachusetts Department of Education and Secondary Education

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education works with almost 400 school districts and more than 77,000 educators to serve nearly 1 million elementary and secondary education students and 20,000 adult learners every year.

Reinvest Birmingham aims to deliver high-quality workforce training in order to revitalize the local economy and create 1,500 new jobs.

[September 25, 2025] The City of Birmingham, in partnership with the Community Funding Accelerator (CFA), convened 30 employer and community partners in K-12 education, community college, workforce training, transportation, entrepreneurship, childcare to confirm and release their Workforce Strategy. The strategy outlines how $20.2 million from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant will be used to advance the Reinvest Birmingham workforce revitalization initiative. With this funding, the City of Birmingham aims to engage 5,000 residents in North Birmingham, Northside, Pratt, Smithfield in information sessions, career and job fairs with a goal of enrolling over 3,000 residents into Career Pathway Training. Partnering with workforce training and apprenticeship programs, Reinvest Birmingham will revitalize the local economy in these neighborhoods, ultimately creating 1,500 new jobs.

Created in partnership with CFA, the Workforce Strategy is a city level plan that maps the current workforce landscape, identifies opportunities for jobs in high-demand construction, advanced manufacturing, childcare, and healthcare sectors. The launch brought together multi-stakeholder partners to guide decisions about workforce training and fill job market gaps in the coming years.

In collaboration with Lightcast, the strategy is grounded in labor market and service area data to inform and serve as a guidepost for the next four years of the grant and other city-level workforce investments. CFA provided strategic technical assistance in developing effective structures, processes, and tracking key metrics for implementation in the six to twelve month pilot phase of the grant. While initially impacting Reinvest Birmingham, the Workforce Strategy will also inform other regional investments throughout the city.

“Our partnership with CFA has been instrumental for not only shaping the implementation planning for Reinvest Birmingham but also in Birmingham’s selection as an awardee of this historic investment. From research to accountability to relationship-building, the CFA team has consistently made the process seamless,” said Archie Stewart, Reinvest  Plan Officer. “The foundation of success for this initiative rests on the care, intentionality, and standard of excellence first established by CFA.”

“We know the City of Birmingham is committed to developing a comprehensive workforce pathway to train residents for good jobs and keep them, starting as early as K-12. CFA is proud to partner with the City on this forward-thinking strategy that prepares residents for the jobs of today and the opportunities of tomorrow,” said Mara Eala, Project Leader at CFA.

To learn more about this partnership, visit the CFA website at communityfundingaccelerator.org and the City of Birmingham’s website at birminghamal.gov.

About the Community Funding Accelerator 

The Community Funding Accelerator (CFA) helps communities win and implement public funding. With a focus on cradle-to-career education and workforce pathways, CFA identifies relevant funding opportunities, builds coalitions, and provides deep technical assistance to submit winning applications. CFA also supports implementation to create innovative education and workforce solutions in communities across the U.S. The CFA program is led by Delivery Associates, a public sector consulting firm.

New partnership will apply for more than $10 million in funding to support and expand cradle-to-career efforts for Yakima Valley youth and families.

[September 18, 2025] The Community Funding Accelerator (CFA) and Yakima Valley Partners for Education (YVPE) have launched a new partnership to expand education and economic mobility opportunities in the Yakima Valley region of South Central Washington. Over the next year, the partnership will apply for over $10 million in funding to expand YVPE’s cradle to career services and resources to more residents across the region.

This partnership builds on YVPE’s impressive track record — from boosting participation in community-based literacy initiatives to raising FAFSA completion rates well above the state average — and positions the network to achieve even greater impact. CFA will help YVPE to diversify and grow its funding base, sharpen its long-term vision and strategy, and elevate stories of impact emerging from network efforts. 

“We are honored to serve Lower Yakima Valley and know we can expand our impact. ” said Collective Impact Director of YVPE, Suzy Diaz. “We are excited to expand our programming so more of our residents have a leg up in tomorrow’s workforce, while driving economic growth for Washington along the way.”

“All residents of Yakima Valley deserve the learning and career training opportunities to get a solid foothold in the workforce. We know how important cradle to career networks can be in improving economic mobility for communities. We’re proud to support Yakima Valley Partners for Education’s mission to create the systems and partnerships needed for communities to thrive in Yakima Valley.” said Anna Walters,  an Associate Director with CFA. 

To learn more about this announcement, visit YVPE’s website at https://yvpartnersforeducation.org/ and the CFA website at communityfundingaccelerator.org.

About the Community Funding Accelerator 

The Community Funding Accelerator (CFA) helps communities win and implement public funding. With a focus on cradle-to-career education and workforce pathways, CFA identifies relevant funding opportunities, builds coalitions, and provides deep technical assistance to submit winning applications. CFA also supports implementation to create innovative education and workforce solutions in communities across the U.S. The CFA program is led by Delivery Associates, a public sector consulting firm.

About Yakima Valley Partners for Education

Yakima Valley Partners for Education is a cradle-to-career collective impact network formed out of a commitment to work collaboratively to improve educational outcomes for all youth of Yakima Valley. The initial work focuses on the Lower Valley communities of Grandview, Sunnyside, Granger, and Mabton and the plan is to extend into Mid Valley followed by Upper Valley.