About the Educational Recovery Initiative
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a sustained impact on communities and families across the world and in Chicago. Over the past 24 months, Chicago’s youth have experienced a combination of remote/virtual/hybrid and in-person teaching and learning experiences with mixed outcomes. As a result, many students have experienced learning loss, increased trauma, and ongoing academic decline. These losses were further compounded by the educational achievement gaps that existed pre-pandemic.
The Lohengrin Foundation seeks proposals from nonprofit partners who will work directly with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students to accelerate learning, regain academic losses, and strengthen daily student attendance and academic outcomes. The primary goal of this call for proposals is to help students within targeted communities get back on track academically. This initiative will provide funding to organizations that have prior experience or show great promise to create and implement measurable and impactful interventions designed to help elementary and middle school students (grades 1-8) in Chicago targeted communities to begin to rebound, recover and catch up.
Target Communities
Applicants must propose programs that directly serve under-resourced students who live and attend schools in one or more of the communities of Woodlawn, South Chicago, Englewood, West Englewood, Rogers Park, Roseland, Pullman, and West Pullman, Austin, South and North Lawndale, Auburn Gresham, New City, or Albany Park.
Applicants must accept program participants without regard for race, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
Additional consideration will be given to programs or organizations led by BIPOC leaders.
Grant Size and Duration
Grant awards will range in size with a potential cap of $40,000 annually per organizational applicant. Strong performers from the initiative’s first year may be eligible for future multi-year funding. Grant award sizes will be based on the amount of youth served, the number of target communities impacted, the ability to measure direct student academic growth and the potential for long-term impact.
Application Attachments
The following attachments should be prepared to ensure completion of the application.
Required:
- Organizational 501(c)3 IRS Determination Letter
- Program / Project Budget
Optional:
- We welcome descriptions, reports, or other data related to prior student outcomes of your proposed program or project. This can be included as attachments of testimonials, assessment tools, evaluations, or reports.
- Any other documents that you feel are relevant to the project or program that would be helpful to share.
Applicants may be invited to a virtual call prior to final decisions. Funding notifications and awards will be provided in November. Funded applicants will be asked to complete a spring mid-term conversation and final progress report or conversation in the summer.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis with the application submital period closing on September 30, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. CST.