2021 Education Equity Cohort Application

Forefront and the Education Equity Fund are pleased to offer an opportunity for professionals serving nonprofit education organizations to build relationships with peers, deepen their ability to navigate ongoing challenges, and collaborate with other community-based education organizations. Applications for the 2021 Cohort are now closed, and Forefront will soon contact applicants with further information on the selection process.

Purpose

The purpose of this program is to help nonprofit education professionals serving historically under-resourced communities develop and share strategies to strengthen their organizations and begin recovering from the effects of COVID-19 through structured opportunities to learn from peers and external experts.

Benefits

•  Eight customized workshops focused on strengthening their organizations and beginning to recover from the effects of COVID-19
• A group of peers to whom they can turn for collaboration, help, and support
• A capacity assessment that identifies organizational strengths and challenges, and provides recommendations for addressing their most important capacity building needs
• One year of free Forefront Membership for their organization
• A $5,000 honorarium (paid to their organization)

Eligibility

Eligible individuals may apply for an opportunity to participate in this program. To qualify, applicants should meet the following criteria:

• Willingness and ability to meet program commitments (see below)
• Currently serving as staff (paid or unpaid) with decision making authority regarding organizational strategy and budget at a nonprofit focused on:
  • Education (early childhood, K-12, or higher ed)
  • Service area in the Chicago Metro area; priority will be given to organizations serving Chicago’s South and West Sides
  • Serving Black, Brown, and Indigenous People of Color (BBIPOC) and/or African, Latina/o/x, Asian, Arab, and Native American (ALAANA) individuals or communities
• Budget size of roughly $1M to $3M (organizations outside this range will be considered)

A maximum of 12 qualifying individuals will be selected to participate. Priority will be given to applicants who themselves identify as BBIPOC or ALAANA.

Program Commitments

There is no cost to apply or participate. Participants who meet the following commitments will be provided with one year of free Forefront Membership for their organization and a $5,000 honorarium (paid to their organization):

• Participation during the opening session in July and at least 5 of the 7 other workshops offered during the series.
• Engaging at least three organizational representatives (staff and/or board) in the completion of a post-program Impact Capacity Assessment Tool (iCAT) survey and report interpretation session.

Dates & Content

Workshops will take place once a month beginning July 2021 through February 2022 on a weekday between 9am and 5pm. Specific dates and times will be determined by the availability of participants. All meetings will be held virtually.

Workshop content will be custom designed to meet participants’ stated needs based on application responses and interviews; topics may include scenario planning, financial management, HR, adaptive leadership practices, or other topics identified as common needs by participants.

Applications for the 2021 Cohort are now closed, and Forefront will soon contact applicants with further information on the selection process. Contact Lisa May Simpson at lsimpson@myforefront.org or 312.327.8931 with questions.