17 nonprofits receive grants to explore innovative education
The Tomorrow campaign, part of Remake Learning, announced Tuesday that it was awarding 17 grants totaling nearly $ 1.5 million to nonprofit organizations in the Pittsburgh region to fund experimental ideas that pursue the future of learning.
The grants, funded by the Grable Foundation, were the result of a question the Tomorrow campaign asked nonprofits in the spring: “What smart risks could your organization take now, in partnership with your peers, to better meet the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead?”
Over the next year, the 17 organizations will use the grant money to turn their answers into reality.
“Each of these projects represents the imagination and resourcefulness not only of the 17 grantees, but also of the many partner organizations who will join them in their efforts,” Kristen Burns, the Grable Foundation’s associate director, said in a statement. “We hope these grants will provide a spark that will help move the entire field of learning forward in our region.”
Each organization that receives a grant will partner with schools and additional groups to widen their reach and benefit learners, their families and educators.
The Allegheny Intermediate Unit, for example, will partner with CMU’s Entertainment Technology Center, CodeJoy and the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh to use its $ 87,500 grant to rethink traditional models of educator professional learning.
Allies for Children will use its $ 80,000 grant in partnership with 1Hood Media and a group of high school and middle school students — primarily from communities of color — to create a project that expresses the students’ views on the future of learning.
And the Heinz History Center will partner with at least
70 of its 125 affiliates to create engagement that connects history, empathy and civic learning.
Colleen Fedor, executive director of the Mentoring Partnership, another recipient organization, said “the Tomorrow grant gave us the opportunity to wish out loud when it comes to ideas to remake the future of education and youth support.”
The Mentoring Partnership, Ms. Fedor said, will use its grant to give young people access to caring adults who can share their experiences and life lessons.
“As we work to surround our young people with 360degrees of mentoring support, the Tomorrow grant is a game- changer and something that could open a whole new world of possibilities for kids and our community,” she said.