The Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust is pleased to announce the process for the next round of Great Expectations funding priorities.
What We Believe
At the Trust, we believe we need to work together to ensure the young children of Forsyth County, North Carolina—especially those in financially disadvantaged families—meet developmentally-appropriate milestones in their first five years, enter kindergarten ready to learn, and leave set for success in school and life. That’s why we launched Great Expectations in 2015.
Why We Listen
We know that listening to and learning from the families we serve is essential to foster equity and truly improve educational outcomes. That’s why we recently worked with 13 agencies through our Forsyth Family Voices project, interviewing hundreds of parents about their needs and interests. And that’s why we are continuing this effort with more agencies, who are talking to even more parents.
We also believe in listening to the organizations doing this work to understand where there may be gaps and redundancies. That’s why we conducted an Early Childhood Service Systems Analysis with The Forsyth Promise, to guide the development of our priorities.
These efforts—and our own dialogues in Forsyth County—have helped us focus the Great Expectations 2017 strategy. It will be made through an Open Call, as well as a series of targeted investments initiated by the Trust.
2017 Funding Proposals
We are seeking ideas from our own community and beyond to help children learn and thrive, especially the hardest-to-reach young people and their families. Ideas should always include listening to and learning from the families we serve.
Our Open Call centers on two areas.
Early Intervention and Health
Too many children lack access to the services they need, and too many parents are unaware of the resources available to them. Proposals should build on and amplify what’s working in this arena, while addressing parent education needs and the pathways that connect families to available services.
Access to Quality Childcare
Expanding access to quality early education is critical to ensuring school readiness and success for all children. Proposals should focus on building the capacity of existing licensed childcare providers and giving them the quality support and tools they need to help children get ready for school. Proposals also should focus on identifying mechanisms to create more affordable childcare slots and closing gaps in the system.
In development: Birth-to-Eight Educational Alignment
In addition, in 2017, we will develop efforts to align the steps on the educational pathway that children follow, so that they are ready for each stage of learning. This work requires initial planning and working with the systems in the community, so we will not be accepting Open Call proposals in this area at this time.
Targeted Investments
We will also initiate a series of targeted investments—working with existing projects aligned with Great Expectations goals. The Trust will invite specific organizations to apply for these targeted investments.
For more information, download our full funding guidelines, details on priorities, and our application requirements.
To learn more about Great Expectations, visit the website for the latest news and guiding principles.
Talk to us if you’re interested in applying and share your ideas. Contact Erin Yates at erin@kbr.org or 336-397-5521.
Application deadline: Tuesday, April 4, at 5:00 p.m., ET.
We hope to hear from you.