INSIGHTS FROM THE GRANTEES OF THE AFTERSCHOOL AND SUMMER RECOVERY AND OPPORTUNITY FUND - Executive Summary - Grantmaking Practices to Support Equity and Sustainability in Out-of-School Time

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Damian

From 2020-2022, seven national foundations backed the out-of-school time (OST) field to withstand and recover through the COVID pandemic and its continuing effects. Funders pooled resources through Grantmakers for Education to support national intermediaries with advocacy, convenings, professional development, communications, and toolkits that strengthen practitioner capacity. Beyond flexible grants, the funders commissioned grantees to surface key field-facing challenges and recommendations, prioritizing perspectives from Black, Latino, and Indigenous communities.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

Executive Summary

Research & Outcomes

Workforce

Policy and Advocacy

Contributing Grantmakers

Grantees

INSIGHTS FROM THE GRANTEES OF THE AFTERSCHOOL AND SUMMER RECOVERY AND OPPORTUNITY FUND Grantmaking Practices to Support Equity and Sustainability in Out-of-School Time 1 GRANT MAKERS FOR EDUCATION | IGNITE POS SIBI LT Y . EXECUTIVE SUMMARY From 2020-2022, seven national foundations collectively supported the out-of-school time (OST) field to withstand, recover, reopen andre-imagine, through the acute phases of the COVID pandemic and the ongoing impact.1 The funders pooled their resources through Grantmakers for Education (EdFunders), providing grants to national intermediaries supporting the field with advocacy, convenings, professional development opportunities, communications, toolkits, guides, youth voice and leadership initiatives, and other actions to strengthen practitioners’capacity to meet the evolving needs of children, youth and families. In addition to providing flexible financial support to each organization, the funders commissioned grantees to produce a report identifying key field-facing challenges and recommendations to address them. Thereport prioritized perspectives of Black, Latino and Indigenous communities represented in the grantee cohort – acknowledging that these perspectives are among those that have been historically under-represented within the OST field’s leading policy, practice and research tables. This document – collaboratively produced by the eight grantee organizations and published by EdFunders, summarizes themes and insights from the report and a series of followup conversations among the funders and grantees. The report identified the following field-facing challenges, with recommendations for funder action. | 1.
2.
3. | Research & Outcomes: The OST field’s research agenda and the definition of successful outcomes are largely driven by priorities and values of external stakeholders: policymakers, formal education systems, the philanthropic sector, research organizations and others.
Funders should use their resources and influence to advance community-centric research and outcomes reflective of the priorities of young people, practitioners, families, and communities.
Workforce: The OST field has historically underinvested in its workforce, despite the explicit link between a well-supported workforce and high-quality programming.
Funders should use their resources and influence to support a skilled and stable workforce for the OST field.
Policy and Advocacy: The field’s advocacy capacity is strengthened by robust and sustained investment and the intentional centering of voices that have been historically marginalized, including youth and organizations representing constituencies of color.
Funders should use their resources and influence to grow and sustain their investments in policy and advocacy at all levels and ensure that the field’s policy priorities are informed by a full diversity of voices. | | --- | --- | 2 GRANT MAKERS FOR EDUCATION | IGNITE POS SIBI LT Y . | AFTERSCHOOL AND SUMMER RECOVERY AND OPPORTUNITY FUND CONTRIBUTING GRANTMAKERS | | | | --- | --- | --- | |
S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation
Founded in 1957, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation envisioned a productive, vibrant, and sustainable California
that could be a model of success anda source of innovation, and worked towards this vision through its Education and Environment grantmaking portfolios. The Foundation concluded operations on December 31, 2020.

Bezos Family Foundation
Our mission: to invest in the science of learning and the experiences that youth need from birth to high school to pursue their own path for success.

Susan Crown Exchange
Preparing youth to thrive in a rapidly changing world |
Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
The mission of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation is to support efforts that promote a just, equitable and sustainable society. The purpose of the education program is to expand opportunities forchil

FAQs

What purpose did the Afterschool and Summer Recovery and Opportunity Fund serve for 2020–2022?

It supported the out-of-school time (OST) field to withstand, recover, reopen, and re-imagine during the acute phases of the COVID pandemic and its ongoing impact.

How did the funders work together and what did they provide to the OST field?

They pooled resources through Grantmakers for Education, providing grants to national intermediaries with advocacy, convenings, professional development, communications, toolkits, guides, and youth voice and leadership initiatives.

Which field-facing challenges does the report highlight, and what recommendations are directed to funders?

It highlights research and outcomes, workforce underinvestment, and policy and advocacy capacity; funders are urged to advance community-centric research, support a skilled and stable workforce, and sustain inclusive investment in policy and advocacy.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Damian