AFTER-SCHOOL RESEARCH, RESOURCE ORGANIZATIONS & FUNDERS

The Afterschool Alliance
The Afterschool Alliance is a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of after school programs and advocating for quality, affordable programs for all children. It is supported by a group of public, private and nonprofit organizations that share the Alliance's vision of ensuring that all children have access to after school programs by 2010.

The Finance Project
The Finance Project provides resources tools, resources and reports related to financing and sustaining out-of-school-time programs.  Their website has a variety of materials available for download.

The Forum for Youth Investment
The Forum provides youth and adult leaders with the information, technical assistance, training, network support and partnership opportunities needed to increase the quality and quantity of youth investment and youth involvement.

Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP)
HFRP strives to increase the effectiveness of public and private organizations and communities as they promote child development, student achievement, healthy family functioning, and community development. Their website provides a wealth of resources, particularly on evaluation. See their quarterly periodical, The Evaluation Exchange, for good evaluation resources and information.  

The Raikes Foundation commissioned this case study about the YMCA of Greater Seattle's implementation of the Youth Program Quality Assessment (YPQA) over the past several years.  It provides a great set of lessons learned and information about what this process looks like as it is implemented across a large multi-site organization. 

 

The Mott Foundation's Pathways Out of Poverty program supports initiatives around the U.S. that promote learning beyond the classroom --especially for traditionally underserved children and youth -- as a strategy for improving public education. This grantmaking includes strengthening the after school field through technical assistance, research, evaluation and policy development, and by building public support. 


 The National After School Association
The National After School Association (formerly NSACA) is a national organization that advocates for after school support and funding and assists with efforts at the local level.

The National Institute on Out of School Time (NIOST)
NIOST, based at Wellesley College, is a research, advocacy and technical assistance organization working to ensure that all children, youth, and families have access to high quality programs, activities, and opportunities during non-school hours.

The National Partnership for Quality Afterschool Learning
Funded by the Department of Education in 2004, the Partnership is made up of 7 organizations that are working to identify and validate promising and exemplary after school practices. Their website contains an after school training toolkit, a searchable curriculum database and other key resources.
 
The Nellie Mae Education Foundation
The Nellie Mae Education Foundation promotes accessibility, quality, and effectiveness of education, especially for underserved populations, in the six New England states. The Foundation provides grants and technical assistance to programs focused on improving academic achievement in four strategic initiatives: adult literacy, college prep, minority high achievement, and out-of-school matters.

The Partnership for After School Education (PASE)
PASE promotes and supports quality after school programs for youth, particularly those from underserved communities, enabling them to identify and reach their full potential. Although their professional development is primarily focused on New York City, their website contains a variety of helpful resources and publications on after school.

Promising Practices in After School
The Promising Practices in After School list serve (PPAS) is an excellent way to stay connected to individuals working in after school across the country and to share ideas, information and successful practice.

Resources on After School
Funded by the Mott Foundation, Resources On Afterschool is an online tool featuring selected resources in the areas of: research and evaluation, promising practices, professional development, public awareness and communications, policy, and financing in after school.

The Wallace Foundation
For more than a decade, The Wallace Foundation has invested in innovative practices and knowledge gathering efforts to deliver enriching opportunities to youth. Visit the Foundation's Knowledge Center for more information.

The William T. Grant Foundation
The W.T. Grant Foundation's mission focuses on improving the lives of youth ages 8 to 25 in the United States. They invest primarily in high quality empirical studies focused on understanding and improving social settings such as families, schools, peer groups, and organizations, and how these social settings affect youth. They have a special initiative focused on improving quality in after school programs.

 

 

Youth for Youth
This website was designed by the United States Department of Education specifically for 21st Century Community Learning Center staff as a way to share resources and connect with colleagues.  It has a series of online courses for directors and site coordinators as well as a variety of coaching modules.