Opportunity 180 announced four grantees for its inaugural Family Power Impact Grant totaling $1.8 million over multiple years, with the goal of providing support for family-focused organizations dedicated to education, programming and capacity-building to increase families’ voices in education. This first-of-its-kind grant opportunity will give organizations capacity to develop programs, events and outreach tools to keep families engaged with their students’ educational experiences as the 2022-2023 school year begins.
According to the national leader in investing in family voice, the Flamboyan Foundation and its “Family Engagement Matters” publication, family engagement leads to increased student achievement rates, higher graduation rates, reduced absenteeism, better student-teacher relationships and more cultural competence — all of which can have significant results on long-term student achievement and success. Creating these opportunities to support family voice is a critical component of engaging the community towards a North Star of ensuring every kid graduates from high school college and career ready.
“Opportunity 180 is committed to elevating student and family voices to ensure students are at the center of solutions to educational challenges,” said Jana Wilcox Lavin, CEO of Opportunity 180. “Through the Family Power Impact Grant, we are supporting organizations that will bolster student and family voices and provide meaningful, targeted resources to support diverse communities, increase understanding and communication, and ultimately have an impact on student success.”
The four grantees are:
- Parent Leadership Team of Nevada, which will use grant funds to form their own 501(c)(3) organization and deepen their impact on our community, as well as provide training, volunteer materials, and programming to support their efforts in developing and organizing families seeking better educational outcomes for their children, particularly in immigrant and under-resourced communities in Southern Nevada
- No Racism in Schools, which will establish its first two programs, Kids Corner (a mentorship and life coaching program) and quarterly workshops for families and other community stakeholders, as well as build capacity for future growth and family engagement efforts
- Power2Parent, which will bolster its team in support of its education, training, and communication initiatives with parents, including effectively advocating for children through Parent Leadership Academy training and building family connection points through new and expanded programming
- Rise Up Nevada, which will use its grant to expand its Project 3E (Engaged, Equipped, & Empowered) to provide data-driven support and education to families, as well as promote a culture of continuous improvement through engagement and advocacy.
“The Nevada Parent Leadership Team (PLT) believes that parents are the first link in the chain of their children’s success. Our team works hard so that immigrant, emerging bilingual and low-income families benefit and learn that education is the best equalizer. The Nevada Parent Leadership Team wants to build an organization focused on informing, empowering, organizing, and advocating for families seeking better educational opportunities for their children,” said Selene Lozado, Founder and Executive Director of the PLT. “We are grateful to be part of a diverse cohort of grantees who are focused on building the power of families in our community. With this generous grant, the PLT now has the resources it needs to help low-income families (regardless of race or language) provide the tools so these families can change their children’s future through education.”
Please note, funding cannot be used for lobbying activities, and funding is not an Opportunity 180 endorsement of specific issue areas on which the project or organizations are focused.
