2027 Community Collaboration Challenge
$3,000-$8,000
Awards
Catalyzing Local Collaboration & Innovation
83 awards
Community Collaboration Challenge
From 2023 to 2026, the Partnership for Student Success at the Johns Hopkins University Everyone Graduates Center has supported 83 awards across 42 states and Washington, DC via the Community Collaboration Challenge (CCC). The CCC’s emphasis on cross-sector collaboration brings together educators, families, community organizations, and local leaders to co-design solutions that reflect local priorities. By focusing on short-term microgrants or stipends, the program lowers the barriers to experimentation and empowers communities to test and refine student-centered strategies.
Conversations with past awardees indicate that many are able to continue their efforts beyond the conclusion of the CCC timeframe. Often, initial funding through the CCC allows awardees to prove a concept and advocate for additional funding from other, sustainable sources, gain interest and/or support for programming, or build long-lasting partnerships that help them to serve more students in their communities. In past cycles, the CCC has prioritized initiatives that tackle key national challenges such as addressing chronic absenteeism and increasing youth engagement in peer support roles.
2027 Community Collaboration Challenge
The Partnership for Student Success is excited to launch the 2027 Community Collaboration Challenge (CCC) competition. The 2027 CCC will provide $3,000 – $8,000 awards to communities across the country and is designed to support collaboration and pilots to increase access to quality, K-12 student supports across five evidence-based support areas: high-impact tutoring, mentoring, student success coaching, postsecondary transition coaching, and wraparound/integrated student supports.
This year’s competition will follow a two-step process. First, we will ask organizations to submit an Intent to Apply. The top applicants (approximately 10%) will be invited to submit a full application.
We encourage nonprofits, schools, districts, higher education institutions, and state and local government agencies and intermediaries to submit an Intent to Apply for these awards to facilitate collaboration to expand or improve evidence-based and people-powered supports for local K-12 students.
Have questions? Please review the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
Access the full list of Intent to Apply questions here.
TUESDAY,
OCTOBER 6
Competition Opens
FRIDAY,
OCTOBER 30
(5PM ET)
Deadline to submit Intent to Apply
LATE NOVEMBER Notification to Intent to Apply Applicants
FRIDAY,
DECEMBER 11 (11:59PM PT)
Deadline to submit full application
MID-JANUARY
Notification to Applicants
FEBRUARY-JUNE 2027
Award period
Funding Tracks
For the 2027 CCC, successful proposals will focus on one of four areas to
increase K-12 evidence-based student supports:
Catalyze Collaboration to Address Chronic Absence
Convene a range of partners through action-oriented events to improve a school or community’s ability to address chronic absence…
Maximum award of $3,000.
Hover for more info.
Catalyze Collaboration to Engage Older Adult Volunteers in High-Impact Early Literacy Tutoring
TRACK A
Host a community convening to bring together key partners and support structured planning efforts that expand early literacy tutoring…
Maximum award of $3,000.
Hover for more info.
Catalyzing Collaboration to increase Evidence-Based & People-Powered K-12 Student Supports
Convene a range of partners through action-oriented events to discuss and plan how to improve or expand evidence-based & people powered K-12 students supports…
Maximum award of $3,000.
Hover for more info.
Catalyze Collaboration to Engage Older Adult Volunteers in High-Impact Early Literacy Tutoring
TRACK B
Plan for implementation of early literacy high-impact tutoring with older adult volunteers using the AARP Foundation research-backed model…
Maximum award of $5,000.
Hover for more info.
Pilot Innovation in Evidence-Based & People-Powered K-12 Student Supports
Launch or test a new strategy, partnership, or approach that addresses a local need, generates actionable learning, and demonstrates clear potential for future growth…
Maximum award of $8,000.
Hover for more info.
Join for One of Three Virtual Information Sessions
CCC awards have supported a range of catalyzing opportunities. Read more about previous funding cycles below.
2026 Community Collaboration Challenge Awardees
The 2026 Community Collaboration Challenge distributed 20 awards to support local collaboration.
Longer Term Impact Report: 2023-2024
Learn more about the longer term impact of these microgrants through a report on progress made by 2023-24 awardees.
2025 Community Collaboration Challenge Awardees
The 2025 Community Collaboration Challenge will distribute awards to support local collaboration.
2024 Community Collaboration Challenge Awardees
The 2024 Community Collaboration Challenge distributed 22 awards to support local collaboration.
2023 Community Collaboration Challenge Outcome Brief
The 2023 Community Collaboration Challenge distributed 21 awards to support local collaboration.
Download Planning Toolkit for Collaborative Goal-Setting Events
This Toolkit of Planning Collaborative Goal-Setting Events is specifically intended to support community, school, and district leaders in bringing together key stakeholders in their communities to identify shared assets and challenges, and consider where and how they might bring tutors, mentors, student success coaches, post-secondary transition coaches, and/or wraparound/integrated student supports to students in their communities. This guide was created to help you plan a local collaborative goal-setting convening and includes considerations for the planning process, invitees, program elements, and follow up that you may choose to use in your own planning.
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