StriveTogether chooses second set of partnerships for Cradle-to-Career Accelerator Fund
CINCINNATI, OHIO — Five communities across the country will expedite their progress toward better educational outcomes for all kids by joining a learning network run by national education-focused network StriveTogether.
The communities belong to the StriveTogether Cradle-to-Career Network and were selected for the 2016 Accelerator Fund after a competitive application process. These network members, along with the six communities chosen for the first round in 2015, will receive support from a $12 million investment fund.
“Our goal as an organization is to prove that we can achieve consistent and sustained improvements in student outcomes at scale,” said StriveTogether Managing Director Jeff Edmondson. “The Accelerator Fund is designed to help communities reach education goals faster while building the strength of partnerships to accelerate their progress over the long term. We believe these five communities will identify and spread practices that achieve results, particularly for the most vulnerable children, and capture lessons that will advance other collective impact partnerships across the country.”
The five new Accelerator Fund partnerships are:
- Every Hand Joined (Red Wing, Minn.)/Northfield Promise (Northfield, Minn.)
- Milwaukee Succeeds (Milwaukee, Wis.)
- Raise DC (Washington, D.C.)
- Road Map Project (South King County and Seattle, Wash.)
- Spartanburg Academic Movement (Spartanburg, S.C.)
The Accelerator Fund was created to expedite partnership progress in improving common outcomes along StriveTogether’s cradle-to-career continuum, a nationally recognized collective impact approach known as the Theory of Action. As part of the fund, each community will receive StriveTogether strategic assistance and capability-building activities, such as advanced coaching and support in continuous improvement methods, data use and results-based leadership.
Current investors and partners include the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, KnowledgeWorks Foundation, the Metlife Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Target and the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, a philanthropic account administered by Vanguard Charitable.