After School Funding Support

Since 2003, the Foundation has provided a total of $1.17 million to 57 organizations for after-school programming with a goal to improve academic achievement.

The 2007/08 school year marked the fifth and final year that the Foundation provided after-school support to both Academic Achievement and Youth Development programs throughout the metro area.  The Foundation was one of a few private funders who continued to provide support after most federal and state money disappeared earlier in the decade. However, the tide is turning with Minnesota appropriating $5.3 million in 2008 for grants to establish or expand enrichment after-school activities.   

While renewed government interest is encouraging, there is still a pervasive need to know how effective the investments made in after-school programs are in producing measurable, long-term results for children with the most academic and behavioral challenges.  This is the question many funders are asking and as a result, becoming more interested in working together to develop a community-wide approach to funding quality programs producing tangible results.  The trend, both locally and nationally, is to establish standards for quality programming, and after-school providers and educators are working harder to articulate the components of high-quality activities.