Blog

Every week, America Forward is highlighting a few examples of the vital work being done by our Coalition members to support students, families, educators, workers, elected leaders, advocates, and communities across the country. If your organization has resources, an announcement, or a story that you would like to see included, please send it to america_forward@newprofit.org.

Transcend

As school communities work to develop “return to school” plans, Transcend is working to ensure that leaders are equipped with the tools and resources necessary to navigate the uncertainty of this fall. Their online Library of School Design Examples and Resources offers a comprehensive and robust collection of documents, activities, examples, designs, and plans to help educators, administrators, and school leaders transition from “recovery to reinvention.” They also provide an Overview of Recovery to Reinvention Supports and a Playbook of Tools and Guidance.

Enterprise

The COVID-19 crisis continues to surge across the country, threatening the health, safety, and economic security of families and communities, and putting folks at-risk of losing their homes, as financial devastation forces missed rent or mortgage payments. In an effort to prevent family displacements, Enterprise put together a toolkit to provide property developers and owners with the tools necessary to keep homes affordable and preserve properties in Miami, Atlanta, and other areas across the nation.

The Learning Accelerator

As schools across the country made the switch to distance learning throughout the spring, open educational resources (OER) flooded the internet, becoming increasingly available to help ease the transition to virtual classrooms and home learning. As educators and school leaders work to design new classrooms and plans for the fall, The Learning Accelerator has put together a guide to help educators utilize these resources, complete with tips for creating engaging and rigorous lessons and meeting student needs.

Turnaround for Children

The pivotal work of Turnaround for Children is centered on “The Three Rs”: strengthening and maintaining relationships, creating routines, and building resilience. Turnaround understands, based on brain science and development research, that these three components are essential for student growth and thriving. In response to the COVID-19 crisis, Turnaround created Resources For The Three Rs: Relationships, Routines and Resilience, featuring critical tools to help educators and caregivers understand, support, and empower student learning, development, and thriving — throughout the pandemic and beyond.

LISC

Small businesses, especially minority-owned enterprises — including those owned by Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and LGBTQIA+ people, people of color, women, and veterans — have been hit especially hard by the economic repercussions of the COVID-19 crisis. To mitigate these impacts, LISC has established COVID-19 Small Business Relief Grants, and is working to provide vital funding to small businesses and entrepreneurs across the country, to help them stay strong throughout the pandemic. They’ve also put together a resource guide for local funding opportunities, for small businesses and non-profit organizations.