CHALLENGE SCHOLARS:
In the seven years since Challenge Scholars began, we have often been inspired and excited by stories of small investments that have yielded big returns. How a slushie machine or an alarm clock improved attendance. How pizza parties and class competitions created a sense of community. How a college visit inspired a student to see herself as a future engineer. How students formed a group to perform simple acts of kindness. “These stories highlight the passion, creativity, innovation and ingenuity of Challenge Scholars students, families, school staff and community advocates,” said Cris Kutzli, director of Challenge Scholars at Grand Rapids Community Foundation. “They illustrate how the Challenge Scholars community is already doing what needs to be done to create an environment where students can succeed. What might happen, we wondered, if we were to make resources available for more of these types of things to happen?” We asked. The community answered. And the Dream Fund | Fondo de Sueños was born.
It’s no secret that youth who are excited about their future, engaged in learning and attending school every day will be best prepared to take on the challenges of college or career training after graduating from high school. The Challenge Scholars Dream Fund asks those most closely involved with the program, especially students, “How can we make that happen?” “We like to operate from the assumption that the community is the expert,” said Ben Oliver, the Community Foundation’s Challenge Scholars program officer. “It’s best when the ideas come from them, and our role becomes elevating and supporting. That’s when we move from charity to justice, because we are equipping the community with tools for self-determination.” We started by creating a Core Team of representatives from each Challenge Scholars constituent group. First, they helped engage community members in listening sessions to design an accessible and inclusive grantmaking process. Then the Core Team helped distill the rich stories and best practices gathered during listening to surface community-defined accelerants of change. Accelerants—such as exposing students to new networks and opportunities, honoring culture or supporting parent engagement and buy-in—will help push our students toward greater success.
The final step was pushing decisions about community to the community. That’s why Dream Fund funding decisions will be made by a committee of students, parents, school staff and community partners. “We’re making grantmaking easy. Using human-centered design principles, we are developing what has previously been a complicated maze into something much more accessible to the average person,” Ben said. The Dream Fund | Fondo de Sueños application is a simple Google Form. Anyone can apply for up to $10,000 to do an accelerant project to help Challenge Scholars students feel motivated, be engaged in school and have great attendance. “Anyone” includes students, parents, teachers, school staff and community organizations. The Dream Fund is ultimately about uplifting students, improving their attendance and engaging them in learning and post-secondary aspirations. It’s also about community coming together and building relationships while collaborating on innovative ideas that will foster success. A.R.L.
D.B.B.P.
PARTNERS in community | 5
For more information about Challenge Scholars or to apply to the Dream Fund | Fondo de Sueños, visit challengescholars.org.
A Community’s Dream