Check out the latest insights from our program team and grantees.
Grantees

Fresh Energy: A Midwest Climate Advocacy Leader
Minnesota-based Fresh Energy has been a leader in climate advocacy for more than 30 years, playing a significant role in what it calls “speeding Minnesota and the Midwest’s transition to a clean energy economy.”
Grantee
Fresh Energy
Ron OJ Parson
Acclaimed director/actor Ron OJ Parson is in a season of radical reflection. In a 50-year career that most creatives dream of, Parson has become one of the nation’s pre-eminent theater directors. Learn more about his work here.

We the People of Detroit
We the People of Detroit is a grantee partner of Joyce’s Environment Program. Learn more about the organization here.

They Got NEXT — Chicago Sinfonietta Celebrates 35 Years
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chicago Sinfonietta, like so many organizations, was forced to reimagine itself, pivoting programming and performances to a fully virtual space.
Grantee
Chicago Sinfonietta

Congo Square Play Promotes Healing, Catharsis in Chicago
Congo Square Theatre is an ensemble dedicated to producing transformative work rooted in the African Diaspora. For 20 years it has committed to telling stories by and for Black people.
Grantee
Congo Square Theatre Company

Building collective power through research
Black Researchers Collective was founded in 2019 with a mission to train and equip communities with the research tools necessary to be more civically engaged and policy informed.
Grantee
Black Researchers Collective
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Focus Areas

Racial Inequities in School Discipline
The Chicago Tribune’s recent editorial “Race and School Discipline” (Jan. 2) is a flawed and narrow take on racial disparities within school discipline practices.
Progress and Promise: Chicago's Nation-Leading Educational Gains
Groundbreaking research was released on November 1, 2017 that showed Chicago Public School students make faster academic gains than students in 96% of school districts in America.
How D.C. Schools Are Revolutionizing Teaching
When most people think of school reform in the District of Columbia, they probably remember the Time magazine cover photo of former Chancellor Michelle Rhee with a broom in her hand and a hard look on her face.
How to Bring Early Learning and Family Engagement into the Digital Age
Each day, parents, caregivers, and children are building language and literacy skills for the 21st century, perhaps without even realizing it. success in this media-infused environment.
Lake Area Technical Institute Wins 2017 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence
The $1 million Aspen Prize, awarded every two years since 2011, recognizes outstanding institutions selected from an original pool of more than 1,000 public community colleges nationwide.
The Benefits and Costs of Apprenticeships: A Business Perspective
The U.S. Department of Commerce issued a report on the Benefits and Costs of Apprenticeships.
Slowly But Surely: How Indiana is Building a Pre-K Program
New America’s Early and Elementary Education Policy Program looks at the evolution of early learning in Indiana, and the possibility of significant pre-K expansion in the next several years.
ACT Foundation Releases Future Skills Report
In the recently released Future Skills Update and Literature Review, ACT partner Institute for the Future outlines the 11 key skills successful future workers will master.