Program Highlight: Girls Who Code

Get Involved: National Study on OST Cost & STEM Next's 2025 Flight Crew Applications Open

Funding Opportunities: CareerViewXR, Classics for Kids, & More!

Professional Development: Summer Planning Bootcamp, ND Engineering byDesign™, and More!

Opportunity to Start a Girls Who Code Club

Policy Updates

New data released shows that public support is strong for out-of-school-time programs! Nearly 9 IN 10 VOTERS agree that afterschool programs are an absolute necessity for communities, an all-time high for support. Read more here!

State Updates

• Check out a list of childcare and afterschool-related bills we're tracking in North Dakota here!
• Looking for information on how to advocate? Browse through our updated advocacy toolkit for tips on crafting your message, meeting with legislators, and more!

2025 ND Legislative Session Information: Sign up for policy-focused emails from Child Care Aware ND and ND Afterschool Network on early childhood and school age policy updates/issues/opportunities. This will be sent weekly (or more often as needed) during the 2025 ND Legislative session to provide bill tracking updates, opportunities to testify and to share your voice on matters relating to childcare and school-age programming.

The American Institutes for Research (AIR), with support from the Wallace Foundation and in collaboration with the Afterschool Alliance and the National Afterschool Association, is conducting a national cost study on out-of-school time (OST) programs. This study aims to update the OST cost calculator, a critical tool that helps the field plan, advocate for, and secure resources for high-quality programs. More information can be found on the study website.

To ensure the study captures accurate and representative data, they are seeking our help to build a list of OST programs to include in the study.

Here’s how we can help:

Complete the screener survey by Monday, March 17, 2025. They are looking for programs across the country to share basic information about their program to create a representative list of national OST programs. Your input is vital for shaping the future of OST funding and policy.

Share the screener survey: They’d also love our help to share this opportunity with your networks and help spread the word. Please feel free to share the link for the survey with other programs in your network.

The application for STEM Next’s 2025 Flight Crew is closing soon! STEM Next has launched a nationwide search for the Flight Crew— a group of youth advocates promoting the value of out-of-school STEM learning for all young people across the nation.  

We encourage youth ages 13-18, with experience in afterschool and summer STEM learning and an interest in public speaking, to apply today. (Deadline is March 12th) 

Youth Should Apply Here 

Questions about the application process? 

Reach STEM Next’s team at flightcrew@stemnext.org. 

New York Life Foundation Aim High Grant: The New York Life Foundation created the Aim High grant program to help local community-based afterschool and summer learning programs support middle school students from low-income and disadvantaged communities with the critical transition to high school.15 one-year grants of $20,000 and 15 two-year grants of $100,000 will be awarded. Awardees must be nonprofit organizations serving middle school youth, with at least 75% of those served from families with low incomes. Programs can only apply for one of these grants. North Dakota is a priority state this year and will receive extra priority points on their application.

Application deadline: 5 p.m. EST, Friday, March 7, 2025 

CareerViewXR Production Grant: CareerViewXR is seeking partnerships with education leaders and innovators to help identify new career exploration video-based experiences that will enhance our growing library of field trip content. Up to two (2) top awardees will get to suggest one (1) CareerViewXR field trip to be created with an interested local organization. The experiences created will not only benefit local students, but will also help educate and inform our growing nationwide audience. 

Grant awardees and runners-up will also receive access to all field trips on the CareerViewXR platform for one year, at no cost! The application period closes March 15, 2025 — so don't delay! Visit our grant page to learn more and read our press release to learn about our last awardees.

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.

Classics for Kids Grant: If your school or non-profit organization believes in the role of fine instruments in your program, and can show evidence of need and commitment to raising matching funds, you are a strong candidate for the Classics for Kids matching grant program. Applications accepted quarterly. Deadlines: June 30, September 30, December 31 and March 31.

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