- Afterschool Alliance Navigate to the Start a Program page. This page provides resources to walk you through the basic steps of starting an afterschool program.
- Beyond the Bell Start-Up Guide This research-based resource guides you through the steps of starting a high-quality afterschool program and includes templates and tools to help you achieve your goal. You can find additional tools for purchase, including the recently released Fourth Edition of their guide, here.
- Expanding Minds and Opportunities This powerful collection of articles presents bold and persuasive evidence—as well as examples of effective practices, programs, and partnerships—that demonstrate how opportunities after school and during the summer are yielding positive outcomes for students, communities, and families.
- Extended Notes This resource will equip you with the latest resources and information to help you establish a program with rich, engaging activities.
- Kentucky School-Age Program Standards Serving as a baseline of quality, these standards are organized in seven components: 1) Environments; 2) Evaluation and Assessment; 3) Health, Safety, and Nutrition; 4) Professional Development; 5) Program Management; 6) Program Structure; and 7) Relationships. Each component begins with a guiding principle that defines the intent of the component followed by elements of quality. The elements are then supported by specific standards that are broad-based, allowing for encouraging and celebrating the uniqueness of each program.
- SEDL Start-up Guide This tool is full of resources for programming, planning, managing, and sustaining your afterschool program. Many of the resources will also apply to before-school and summer programs.
The activities and resources in the Summer Activity Guides are intentionally designed to support youth-serving summer programs in driving consistent engagement and providing ongoing opportunities for youth skill-building and emotional well-being. In addition to the activities for youth, supplemental materials will be available to support professional development and enhance family engagement.
The Guides include 150 original activities and challenges organized by four different age groups (5-9) (10-12) (13-15) (16-18). The activities are adaptable for in-person and virtual instruction, or a hybrid of both, as well as sent as take-home packets
Click here to download all five units!
Afterschool Funding At A Glance – there are potential sources to tap at the federal, state and local levels, as well as opportunities for private funding and in-kind contributions.
Afterschool Alliance Funding Database – search for a variety of funding sources for your program.
Expert Advice – Why reinvent the wheel when you can learn from those who have already gone through it?
Current Grant Opportunities
- Kentucky G.R.A.N.T. Program is administered by the Department for Local Government (DLG), and prioritizes public benefit projects in eastern and western counties that have seen significant energy job losses as defined by the Interagency Working Group (IWG).
- DUE DATE: Rolling
- The Youth Garden Grant has supported school and youth educational garden projects that enhance the quality of life for students and their communities.
- DUE DATE: December 15, 2023
- Metro United Way (MUW) is partnering with the University of Louisville’s Center for Social Justice Youth Development Research (CSJYDR) to launch a youth-centered social action project grant, to cultivate opportunities for youth in Louisville to be change agents in their communities.
- DUE DATE: December 15, 2023
- Youth-led community project grants from the Karma for Cara Foundation are microgrants in varying amounts up to $1,000, K4C helps young citizen leaders execute and magnify their initiatives to help repair our world.
- DUE DATES: January 1st, April 1st, July 1st, and October 1st
- FY24 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC)Grant – the Office of Continuous Improvement and Support is issuing a Request for Application (RFA) for local school districts, community, and faith-based organizations, as well as, other qualifying private and governmental agencies, to design and implement effective out-of-school programs that improve student achievement and social development. The 21st CCLC program provides academic, artistic, and cultural enrichment opportunities for students who attend high poverty and low-performing schools, to meet the challenging state academic standards.
- DUE DATE: November 21, 2023 at 4 p.m. ET