April Newsletter at a Glance | | |
Program Highlight: America After 3PM: Responses Needed
Get Involved: Afterschool Responds to U.S. Dept. of Education Executive Order
Funding Opportunities: Arts in Education Collaboration, Walmart Spark Good, and More!
Professional Development: Grant Writing, Child Abuse Prevention, and Supervisor Strategies
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| America After 3PM - Responses Needed! | | |
Every few years the Afterschool Alliance conducts America After 3PM – the nation’s most comprehensive survey on afterschool and summer programs. They are wrapping up the survey and need just a few more families to take the survey in North Dakota. We are asking you to share the survey with your families. The survey takes about 15 minutes to complete, and all responses are anonymous, confidential, and will be used for research purposes only. We would greatly appreciate if you could send it out to program families in the next couple of days.
The survey link is here: https://edge.surveyresearchfeedback.com/e.asp?p=AFS2401&S=C.
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Policy Updates
Federal Updates
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Executive Order aims to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education "With regard to federal support for afterschool and summer learning, the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) program is housed at the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education at the Department. For more than 25 years, the program has played a crucial role for children, youth, families and communities. It provides nearly 1.4 million students annually across all 50 states with quality afterschool and summer learning programs in more than 10,000 community- and school-based centers."
State Updates
| | Arts in Education Collaboration (AIEC) is a grant program that provides up to $6,000 to arts organizations, schools, school districts, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies to build collaborations and community partnerships in order to increase access to high quality, sustained arts education for K-12 students in North Dakota. The application deadline is April 15th. | | Walmart Spark Good Local Grant: 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 application deadline is April 15th. | | |
ALDI Community Gift Card Program: ALDI supports two main areas for gift card funding to assist in food costs.
- Children’s Health & Wellness: Organizations and causes that support and invest towards improving the physical, social, and emotional wellbeing of youth, 0-18, through supplemental in or out of school programs, annual programs or one-off events.
- Food Insecurity: Organizations committed to increasing access to nutritious foods and reducing food insecurity.
ALDI accepts applications between March 3rd – November 30th each year.
| | The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation Grant: 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. Requests received between November 11th (12:00am EST) and May 10th (11:59pm EST) are considered for funding during the Fall Award Round. | | |
Costco Charitable Giving & Grants: 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. Applications accepted on a rolling basis.
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
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Ready, STEM, Go!
May 7-8, 2025 | Virtual
Hosted by six statewide afterschool networks, including ND Afterschool Network, all out-of-school time staff are invited to attend the 3rd annual Ready, STEM, Go virtual conference to learn about STEM-related topics, tools, and strategies and connect with peers from across the state and country. Registration is now OPEN for this FREE, virtual conference.
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April 14: Mindfulness, Presence and Listening for Leaders with Bobby Canosa-Carr, Enlighten Leadership Coaching
One of the primary challenges of leadership is our human tendency to react instinctively rather than to respond with intentionality. Making the shift from reactive leadership to responsive leadership requires the ability to be fully present, to listen deeply, and to notice what is often overlooked. In this workshop, participants will learn the science behind our reactive tendencies, and will practice easy-to-implement techniques that support mindfulness, presence, and the power of purposeful listening.
Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/mpVTF9eOTxm-6EacaNdkbA
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April 28: What to Expect When You Are Expecting to Be a Supervisor with Katherine Spinney, PCC, MT, MSW
Less than half of those in supervisory roles receive training and support on how to do their jobs effectively. This results in frustration, burnout, and turnover for supervisors, staff, and students. The goal of this session is to ensure that you are set up for success before and throughout your time as a supervisor. It will provide you with the opportunity to think about what motivates you to become a supervisor, what you already have to make you successful, and what support you will need.
Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/AWyj0wdJSlyc9uGzLptEuA
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Beginner’s Guide to Grant Writing (abridged)
NDSU Extension will be offering a remote, shortened version, of their two-day Beginner’s Guide To Grant writing. The class will take place over Zoom May 13th 1-2:30. Free for any ND OST program with support from the ND Afterschool Network!
This condensed version will help you to start thinking about the big issues you face when grant writing.
During the workshop, participants will:
- Learn how to develop ideas for winning grant proposals.
- Identify and work with funding sources effectively.
- Learn the components of a grant
- Learn where to find data and grants to fund successful projects
- Build your grant resource tool kit
To register, please click here. Once registered, you will receive a Zoom link for the workshop.
Approved for 1.5 training hours though Growing Futures!
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CypherWorx Featured Course: Creating a Quality Summer Program
Available for FREE starting in the 2024 – 2025 school year for all out-of-school time programs across North Dakota, Cypherworx and The Flourish Lab eLearning platforms are available for OST programs.
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Mental Health First Aid
Various Options from March - June | Virtual
Mental Health First Aid from National Council on Wellbeing teaches you how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges among adults. You'll build skills and confidence you need to reach out and provide initial support to those who are struggling. You'll also learn how to help connect them to appropriate support. Offered free if you live or work in North Dakota. Learn More
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North Dakota Engineering byDesign™ Summer Professional Learning byDesign Workshop
June 16-19 2025 | Learn more here!
Check out this exciting and immersive 4-day teacher training June 16-19, 2025, where you'll dive into the Engineering byDesign™ (EbD™) curriculum for middle and high schools. This hands-on training will provide you with practical experience through engaging activities and collaborative projects, ensuring you are well-prepared to bring these innovative courses to your students. Breakout sessions will focus on middle and/or high school specific content to make sure you are equipped with the skills you need to deliver these curricula to your students! Two Graduate Credits are available through Valley City State University upon successful completion of the workshop ($100 additional fee payable to Valley City State University).
Free for North Dakota educators!
| | | | 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. | | | | |
