Category: News

In celebration of Women’s History Month, we want to highlight the inspiring women leaders that we have collaborated with to enhance education and career paths nationwide. These women are courageously driving change, expanding access to opportunity, and boosting economic mobility within their communities. Their remarkable journeys remind us of the power of collective action in creating solutions that support individuals from cradle to career. Read more about their work below.

Catherine Armstrong – The Textile Innovation Engine of North Carolina
Catherine has played a key role in strengthening North Carolina’s textile innovation ecosystem by leading the development of a new, industry-aligned Career and Technical Education (CTE) curriculum for the state. Her work brings together education and industry partners to ensure students gain the technical knowledge and applied skills needed in modern textile manufacturing. Through this effort, she is helping build a stronger talent pipeline for one of the state’s most important and evolving sectors.

Lacy McManus – FUEL (Future Use of Energy in Louisiana)
Lacy is leading efforts through FUEL to expand high school students’ access to high-quality work-based learning and industry-valued credentials in the energy sector across Louisiana. She is working closely with schools, employers, and state partners to align career pathways with workforce demand, ensuring students graduate with both academic preparation and tangible workforce assets. Her leadership is helping create clearer, more equitable on-ramps to high-wage, high-demand careers, by connecting classroom learning to real-world opportunity.

Suzy Diaz – Yakima Valley Partners for Education (YVPE)
Suzy is driving YVPE’s efforts to improve educational outcomes for all youth in Yakima Valley, Washington, from cradle to career. She partners with local K–12 systems, postsecondary institutions, and community-based organizations to ensure students and their families have the knowledge, skills, and resources needed to progress through K–12 and successfully advance to and through postsecondary education and careers. Her work is helping build a more connected education pipeline, increasing educational attainment and opportunity across communities in Yakima Valley.

Allyson DenBeste – Nebraska Department of Education
Allyson DenBeste is an accomplished educator and administrator serving as Academic Officer overseeing Content Area Standards and Instruction for the Nebraska Department of Education. CFA partnered closely with Allyson and the team she led to apply for and implement Nebraska’s first-ever Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) award. Through this collaboration, NDE secured $55 million to advance statewide literacy, aligning high-quality instructional materials, educator training, and resources to improve outcomes for more than 230,000 students. Her leadership is helping drive a bold, systemwide vision for literacy across Nebraska.

Katherine Tarca – Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Katherine Tarca is an experienced district- and network-level academic leader with deep expertise in K–8 literacy and a passion for curriculum and instruction. CFA partnered with Katherine to successfully secure a $38 million 2025 CLSD grant, positioning Massachusetts DESE to reach 34,000 students through coordinated, high-impact literacy initiatives. Katherine also helped lead the successful application for a $10 million Education Innovation and Research grant, expanding access to multi-year, high-quality tutoring for 2,430 additional students beginning in first grade.

Dr. Stacey Moore – Carolinas Engine for Grid Modernization
As President of York Technical College, Stacey is spearheading the workforce strategy for the Carolinas Engine for Grid Modernization, a regional effort to strengthen grid resilience and grow advanced energy manufacturing across North and South Carolina. She is mobilizing a cross-sector coalition of technical colleges, universities, employers, and workforce partners to build responsive training programs aligned to rapidly evolving industry needs. Through expanded apprenticeships, stackable credential pathways, and targeted outreach in priority communities, her leadership is accelerating access to in-demand careers while ensuring employers have the skilled talent needed to power grid innovation.

Archie Stewart – City of Birmingham Recompete Initiative
Archie Stewart is driving the delivery of a $20M investment from the EDA as Reinvest Plan Officer of the Reinvest Birmingham Project: a people-centered strategy to expand access to economic opportunity across the City. With nearly a decade of experience in workforce development, Archie brings a strong ability to turn strategy into action, working across government, education, and workforce systems to align partners around a shared vision. Her work focuses on ensuring that Birmingham’s Recompete investment delivers real results for residents—especially in four communities that have faced historical underinvestment—by building clearer, more connected pathways to quality jobs. Through her leadership, Archie is helping reimagine how systems can work together to create lasting, equitable economic mobility.

We are proud to work alongside these trailblazing leaders.

Over the past three years, the Community Funding Accelerator (CFA) has evolved from an ambitious pilot into a proven, evidence-driven platform for community-led change. When we launched the program, our goal was simple but bold: to remove the barriers that keep grassroots organizations from accessing and deploying funding effectively, and to create a pathway for community leaders to drive solutions of their own design. Today, looking back on our journey, we are proud to share just how far this vision has come — and how far our communities have taken it.

From the earliest days of the pilot, we saw clear signs of possibility. Local organizations — many of whom had long been under-served by traditional funding systems — demonstrated resilience and a deep understanding of the needs around them. The CFA platform became a space where their ideas could be tested, strengthened, and scaled. Year by year, the program has expanded its reach, diversified its partners, and refined its model based on real-world learning.

This report highlights the milestones that shaped our growth: the communities we served, the grants we helped apply for and win, the development of robust pathway programs, and the measurable impact of community-designed initiatives. It also captures the stories behind the numbers — stories of community organizations navigating uncertainty, unlocking new capabilities and partnerships, and achieving outcomes that were once deemed out of reach.

Our journey since the pilot has reaffirmed what we believed from the start: when communities are trusted and equipped to lead, the results are transformative. As we move into the next phase of our program, we remain committed to elevating local leadership, strengthening collaboration, and building pathways from cradle to career that make lasting impact not only possible, but inevitable.

We are grateful to every participant, partner, and champion who has contributed to CFA’s growth. This report is, above all, a reflection of your dedication and your belief in the power of community-driven change.

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, and 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, and Smithfield in information sessions and career and job fairs with a goal of enrolling over 3,000 residents into Career Pathway Training.

Read more from Birmingham Times.

Read more from Times News.

Jacksonville’s Kids Hope Alliance and the Community Funding Accelerator are working to secure $18 million in federal, state and private funds for a workforce development project, the city announced in a Sept. 30 release. 

According to the release, the partnership seeks to expand employment and job training opportunities in Jacksonville. 

KHA estimates that Jacksonville lags peer cities by about $32 million in spending on career and college preparation compared to peer cities. Jacksonville annually spends around $18 million, while peer cities spend closer to $50 million.

Read the full article from the Jacksonville Daily Record.

NEW ORLEANS (press release) — The Community Funding Accelerator (CFA) and Future Use of Energy in Louisiana (FUEL) have kicked off a new partnership to strengthen workforce readiness and expand opportunities for K-12 students to explore careers in the energy industry.

Read the full article in Biz New Orleans.

For far too long, communities like Birmingham, Alabama have been victim to widespread disinvestment. Mara Eala of Community Funding Accelerator and Sarah McMillan of the City of Birmingham believe the only way to fight back is to actively and relentlessly reinvest in community residents of all ages. In particular, focusing economic development on the workforce readiness of current middle and high school students is an essential step towards sustainable, equitable, long-term growth. 

As one of six winners nationwide for the U.S. Department of Commerce Distressed Area Recompete Pilot Program, Birmingham will do just that. Read the full op-ed here.

CFA’s Amy Zhou was recently interviewed along with the Applied Research Institute’s Bioworks Executive Vice President Andrew Kossack and U.S. Sen. Todd Young about Heartland Bioworks’ Tech Hubs win.

“There’s a workforce shortage and at least 2,200 bio manufacturing workers per year in Indiana, and this funding will help young people enter these careers and fill that gap,” said Zhou for the Indianapolis TV story.

Watch the interview here. 

CFA authored a blog post featured on the National League of Cities Citiesspeak blog. The post explores the challenges communities face accessing competitive federal funding and the new model of support CFA provides to help communities across the U.S. win federal dollars and scale innovative education and workforce solutions. Read the full article here.