A Better Chicago Launches Every Day Counts Initiative to Combat Rising Chronic Absenteeism with $2M First Year Investment
CHICAGO – A Better Chicago, the city’s only venture philanthropy focused on improving outcomes for youth experiencing poverty, announced Every Day Counts, its new initiative to address chronic absenteeism and strengthen student-belonging in Chicago. Every Day Counts is seeking to fund community-based organizations, schools, and civic partners to implement new approaches to address rising absenteeism in one of the following communities: Austin, Englewood, Garfield Park, South Lawndale, South Shore, and Woodlawn. Selected organizations will receive up to $500,000 in funding for one year, depending on their project scope.
“Chicago knows the impact students missing school has, from lower academic achievement to decreased long-term economic opportunities,” said Beth Swanson, CEO of A Better Chicago. “In order to reverse the impact, we need new solutions. This RFP is about elevating bold solutions from organizations that know their communities best to make sure every student has the opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive.”
The six communities were selected based on chronic absenteeism data from the 2023/2024 school year. These communities have high rates of elementary students who are at-risk of chronic absenteeism, meaning they are missing 10-35 days of school a year, and high school students who are severely absent, missing 35-86+ days of school. Community-based organizations and nonprofits, in partnership with schools, are asked to submit unique ideas for prevention with elementary students or strategies for engagement with high school students.
Interested organizations can learn more online or register for the informational session at 3:00 PM CT on January 29. Applications are due by 5:00 PM CT on February 27.
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About A Better Chicago
A Better Chicago is a venture philanthropy that invests in the most promising nonprofits providing opportunity for youth experiencing poverty. We’re a supercharger. We have deployed more than $83 million in unrestricted funding and management support to help the nonprofits in our portfolio grow. Our donors want to make pivotal, well-researched investments that lift the outlook for our city.