OCTOBER 2025

Monthly Newsletter

Lights on Afterschool Day

Lights on Afterschool Day is This Week!

Join more than 8,000 communities and 1 million Americans in celebrating afterschool programs for this year's Lights On Afterschool! This nationwide event, organized by the Afterschool Alliance, calls attention to the importance of afterschool programs and the resources required to keep the lights on and the doors open. The ND Afterschool Network is proud to be a Lights On Afterschool partner.

We want to hear from you! Tell us about how you're celebrating Lights on Afterschool Day!

To learn more about Lights On Afterschool, register an event, access event planning tools, or find out what’s going on in your area, visit afterschoolalliance.org. Lights On Afterschool is a project of the Afterschool Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring that all children have access to afterschool programs.

proclamation from the state of north dakota declaring october 23 as lights on afterschool day

America After 3PM Results

Back in April, we asked you to help contribute to a national study called America After 3PM on the need for and impact of out of school time programming. The results are in!

The Great News?

North Dakota parents who have children in an afterschool program love their program! In fact, 81% of parents in ND rate their child's afterschool program as "excellent" or "very good" and 100% of parents in the state agree that their child’s afterschool program allows them to be less stressed because they know their child is safe. Those are not small statistics and are reason to celebrate!

Informational graphic showing how parents see benefits of afterschool programs for kids and parents. Benefits to kids include 76 percent say it keeps them safe 86 percent builds social skills and responsible decision making 85 percent boosts teamwork critical thinking and leadership skills 76 percent supports well being 73 percent excites them about learning and improves school attendance and 86 percent encourages fun and learning decreasing screen time. Benefits to parents include 78 percent say it helps them keep their job or work more hours 100 percent say it leads to less stress because they know their child is safe 90 percent boosts productivity at work and 97 percent positively impacts overall well being. A note says percentages are among parents with a child in an afterschool program. At the bottom it says North Dakota parents give their childrens afterschool programs high marks with a quality score of 4 point 29 out of 5 and 81 percent rating programs as excellent or very good. The image includes illustrations of smiling children and parents.

The Not So Great News?

There is still plenty of work to do to expand access for families in North Dakota. Parents of 52,706 children and youth in North Dakota want them in an afterschool program, but nearly 4 in 5 of these children are missing out. But support for programs is strong; nearly 9 in 10 ND parents are in favor of public funding for afterschool opportunities. Together, we can build access to quality out of school time programming for our state.

Informational graphic about North Dakota families facing barriers to afterschool participation and showing strong support for public funding. On the left box titled Program Affordability Accessibility and Availability Limit Participation it lists parent reported barriers to enrolling children in afterschool programs 56 percent say programs are too expensive 41 percent say programs are unavailable in their community 40 percent say locations are inconvenient and 43 percent cite lack of a safe way to and from programs. On the right box titled North Dakota Parents Support Access and Funding it says approximately 9 in 10 parents 89 percent agree all young people deserve access to quality afterschool and summer programs and 88 percent support public funding. Support across political groups is shown as 89 percent Democrats 92 percent Independents and 87 percent Republicans. Icons include money basketball map and bus graphics.

Grant Opportunities

Walmart Spark Good Local Grants | Applications Reviewed Quarterly, Apply by Dec. 31

Each year, Walmart U.S. stores, Sam’s Clubs and Distribution Centers award local cash grants ranging from $250 to $5000. These local grants are designed to address the unique needs of the communities where they operate. Spark Good Local Grants are awarded through an open application process to eligible organizations operating locally and directly benefiting the service area of the facility from when they are requesting funding.

The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation Grant | Apply by Nov. 10th for Spring Round

The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation will consider grants for IRS-qualified non-profit organizations located within the United States. The Foundation aims to support organizations and programs for which a relatively small amount of funding might make a large difference. The Foundation will consider requests to support museums, cultural and performing arts programs; schools and hospitals; educational, skills-training and other programs for youth, seniors, and persons with disabilities; environmental and wildlife protection activities; and other community-based organizations and programs. Awards typically range from $1,000 to $20,000.

Costco Charitable Giving & Grants | Applications Accepted on a Rolling Basis.

Costco Wholesale’s primary charitable efforts specifically focus on programs supporting children, education, and health and human services in the communities where they do business.

To apply for Costco support, organizations must meet the following general requirements:

Must be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
Focus on supporting children, education, and/or health and human services
Monetary requests only

Aldi Community Gift Card Program | Apply by Nov. 30th

The ALDI Community Gift Card (ACGC) program offers gifts valued between $100 and $1,000 to qualified nonprofits and schools committed to supporting after-school and out-of-school youth programs. Whether your mission focuses on youth development or addressing food insecurity in your community, they invite you to apply for support.

Resources + Trainings

FREE Youth Voice Modules for OST Practitioners

We partnered with the Collective for Youth Empowerment in STEM & Society (CYESS) bring you practical tools, proven strategies, and inspiring examples to meaningfully involve young people in shaping programs and driving change.

Learn how to:

Elevate youth perspectives
Foster authentic leadership opportunities
Create inclusive spaces where young people's ideas can thrive

Access Youth Voice Modules Here

www.ndafterschoolnetwork.com

Our Mission

We equip North Dakota afterschool programs with the tools and support to expand program quality, build leadership capacity, and ensure access to afterschool programs for all youth in their community.