Federal funding for COVID relief provides significant opportunities for afterschool and summer programs. The $122 billion in American Rescue Plan (ARP) Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER III) funds for K-12 schools, 90% of which went direct to local school districts, is a crucial way to help students through afterschool and summer programs: providing academic and whole child support for many students that are still feeling the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is crucial to find sustainable funding sources that will last beyond the current September 2024 deadline. On this page, we'll discuss strategies to sustain programs and continue to support children and youth, both through existing funding that can be tapped into as well as advocacy opportunities to make the case for local, state and federal funding, as well as private philanthropy, to address the funding cliff.
As of fall 2023, more than 60% of ESSER III funds have been spent, although this varies with some state/districts yet to spend the majority of their funds. Of $8.4 billion ARP ESSER III available through state level set asides for afterschool, summer, and learning recovery; about $3 billion has been spent through grant competitions to local afterschool & summer programs. The Afterschool Alliance conducted analysis to determine how many local districts afterschool programs are comprehensive, evidence-based programs providing academic, social and emotional supports, with estimates of at least $5.4 billion in local district ESSER III funds used for afterschool, summer or combined programs. Additionally, at least $2 billion in ARP Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (from the US Treasury Department) has supported city-funded afterschool and summer programs – based on a National League of Cities estimate. Given these estimates, nationally the ARP funding cliff that needs to addressed is approximately $10.4 billion and likely to grow.
Harnessing existing support for local program sustainability
- Developing a sustainability plan
- Sustainability planning tools and templates – resources from the Afterschool Alliance Program Toolkit
- Road to sustainability - updated workbook to help programs develop a sustainability plan
- Framework for Sustaining Promising Investments from Four Point Education Partners helps programs think through a sustainability plan
- Engage Every Student webinar recordings: Program Funding and Sustainability Webinar: Part One and Program Funding & Sustainability Webinar: Part Two
- Finding funding to sustain your program
- Afterschool Funding Database Funding for programs can come from a wide variety of sources – federal, state, and local governments, foundations large and small, and other donor groups - including the 21st Century Community Learning Center program
- Afterschool Funding At A Glance: Federal, State and Local funding sources
- Building, Sustaining and Improving: Using Federal Funds for Summer Learning and Afterschool - From the Wallace Foundation
- Federal Funding Streams for Children and Youth Services — Children's Funding Project. The Federal Funding Streams for Children and Youth Services database helps communities find federal funding available to states, tribal areas, counties, cities, towns, school districts, and local nonprofit organizations to support children and youth
- Resources to help programs braid or layer resources - often one single funding source will not be able to fill the gap left by ESSER funds, requiring programs to braid multiple funding streams:
- Blending and Braiding - Funding Our Kids 101 from the Children's Funding Project
- Sources, Use, and Adequacy of Funding for Five Afterschool Programs from the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) at the Department of Health and Human Services
- Combining Resources to Support Quality Out of School Time Programs an issue brief from the National Center for Afterschool and Summer Enrichment that discusses braiding child care, TANF, child nutrition, and 21st CCLC funding
- Need additional support? Contact the Engage Every Student initiative of the US Department of Education for office hours, webinars and a program needs assessment and technical assistance.
Working to increase available funds
- Advocating for funding
- Funding Out-of-School Time Programs—Now and in the Future - this fact sheet and resource from the Children’s Funding Project in collaboration with Afterschool Alliance and the Grantmaker’s for Education discusses a wide range of local, state and federal funding ideas and opportunities. Recognizing that COVID-19 education and child care relief funds soon expire, the tool outlines opportunities for gen
- erating new federal, state, and local funding sources that may help advocacy groups, intermediaries, programs, families, and other stakeholders keep quality programs operational and meeting needs of youth in their communities.
- Building or being a part of a state level campaign to support afterschool and summer is vital to increasing the funding available, including identifying potential allies and coalition members. This tool was developed by the Afterschool Alliance and Voices for Healthy Kids and is focused on supporting healthy out of school time but can be applied to broader funding streams as well - Overview and PDF version
- Advocating to expand federal funding: Take action to make the case for increasing federal afterschool and summer funding
- Making the Case for Sustaining Funding
- Template to help collect stories, anecdotes and impact from funded programs to make the case for continued support. Example from Idaho Out of School Network of their blog series spotlighting successful ARP funded programs. Fact sheet highlighting success stories from Vermont's ARP funded summer learning grants
- Map with examples of how ARP and other COVID relief funding is being used to support afterschool and summer learning to help make the case for continued funding
- Examples of evaluations conducted of ARP funded programs that demonstrate the need for state afterschool and summer program funding: Minnesota Equitable Learning Recovery Summer 2021; Idaho Out-of-School Network - Idaho Community Programs for Youth (ICPfY) 2021-2022 Evaluation Report; Summer 2022: How California schools are making the most of new increased state investments; Georgia evaluation snapshot (report coming); Evaluation of the State of Connecticut Summer Enrichment Grants
- Resources on setting up a program site visits for policymakers and elected officials to build support
- Leverage Lights On Afterschool to demonstrate the need for program funding to policymakers
- State Legislative Efforts to Support Afterschool and Summer
- Overview of state policy strategies to support afterschool and summer funding
- View this template for an afterschool or summer legislative proposal. In addition to sample language, this template asks questions and raises points you and other advocates will need to consider and agree upon as you create your legislation and before you seek a legislative sponsor.
- National Summer Learning Association (NSLA) Summer for All Model Legislation Template
- National Conference of State Legislatures information on afterschool and summer legislation
- Examples of states that supported afterschool in their budgets in 2023
- Examples of state legislative efforts supporting afterschool and summer funding in 2023, including bill language that can be a resource for state efforts:
- Pennsylvania afterschool and summer bill – has not yet passed
- Michigan language to fund and support afterschool and summer - passed – page 8
- Minnesota language that funds and supports afterschool - starts on page 303 – passed
- Oregon language to support out of school time - has not passed
- Hawaii afterschool and summer bill - has not yet passed
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Making the Case for Local Funding
- Templates (fact sheet and school board resolution) from Education Trust that can be customized and used to build local support for sustaining ESSER III funding, including for comprehensive afterschool and summer programs.
