Annual Report 2004 - Charles Stewart Mott Foundation

PATHWAYS OUT OF POVERTY: OVERVIEW
Regional Skills Alliances
are nurturing job growth
and opportunity in
specific Michigan
industries.
helping them develop the skills, knowledge
and understanding that support high-quality
afterschool programs and strong outcomes
for the children they serve.
The grant reflects first-year support for
this pilot initiative.
Supporting creative, collaborative
strategies to keep high school-age students
connected to educational opportunity was
the purpose of an 18-month, $500,000 grant
to the Coalition of Community Foundations
for Youth, based in Basehor, Kansas, for the
Initiative to Support Struggling Students and
Out-of-School Youth.
The initiative focuses on assessing and
tracking local dropout trends; raising the
visibility of dropout-related issues and
impacts; developing and expanding quality
alternative education options; and building
relationships and mobilizing support among
key partners and stakeholders.
The coalition is a national network of
more than 230 community foundations
supporting efforts to improve life conditions
and opportunities for children, youth and
families. Also partnering in the project is the
Boston-based Jobs for the Future, a
nonprofit research, consulting and advocacy
organization that is providing technical
assistance to the participating cities.
Mott joined the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation
of New York in the initiative’s funding and
design. It was formally launched in January
2005 in Boston, New York City,
Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon) and San
Jose (California).
Reaching across social and cultural
borders to improve student achievement in
low-income, low-performing schools is the
focus of a community-driven school reform
project coordinated by People Acting for
Community Together (PACT), an interfaith
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2004 ANNUAL REPORT
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