Innovation  Challenge  Pilot  

Request  for  Letters  of  Interest    

September  19,  2016      

Connecticut  Opportunity  Project  An  invitation  to  work  together  to  engage  all  Connecticut  Youth  

 

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   The  Opportunity  Project  Overview    Today,  39,000  high  school-­‐aged  youth  in  Connecticut  are  disengaged  or  disconnected  from  school  –  equaling  more  than  one  in  five  high  school  students.    The  Connecticut  Opportunity  Project  is  motivated  by  the  tremendous  untapped  potential  of  these  young  people.    The  Dalio  Foundation  aspires  to  work  with  all  stakeholders  to  help  put  all  youth  on  a  path  to  success,  and  to  achieve  greater  equity  and  prosperity  across  the  state.    As  part  of  this  effort,  the  pilot  phase  of  the  Opportunity  Project  is  an  innovation  challenge,  soliciting  ideas  from  individuals,  non-­‐profit  organizations,  and  partnerships  across  the  state.    The  goal  is  to  improve  the  lives  and  futures  of  young  people  in  Connecticut  who  are  disengaged  or  disconnected  from  school.    We  invite  everyone  to  join  together  and  collaboratively  create  innovative  solutions  to  support,  challenge,  and  empower  youth  of  high  school-­‐age  through  24  to  lead  happy,  productive,  and  fulfilling  lives.    The  most  promising  proposals  may  receive  grant  funding  from  the  Dalio  Foundation.    Partners  must  commit  to  measure  results  and  share  findings  and  strategies  openly.      Through  the  innovation  challenge  pilot,  the  Opportunity  Project  aims  to  reach  at  least  1,000  young  people  by  launching  more  than  a  dozen  projects  in  Year  1  (2017-­‐18).    We  welcome  letters  of  interest  representing  diverse  points  of  view  and  multiple  points  of  intervention.    We  encourage  partnerships  involving  community  members,  businesses,  schools,  non-­‐profit  organizations,  and/or  civic  and  public  agencies.        The  pilot  is  designed  to  identify  partners,  raise  awareness,  democratize  innovation,  and  seed  promising  projects  in  urban,  rural,  and  suburban  communities  across  the  state.    We  hope  individuals,  non-­‐profit  organizations,  and  partners  will  mobilize  to  take  part  in  this  process,  sharing  their  successes  and  challenges,  and  building  toward  even  greater  impact  in  the  future.    The  Need  in  Connecticut      Connecticut  boasts  one  of  the  highest  high  school  graduation  rates  in  the  country  at  87%,  and  has  many  high-­‐quality  public  schools.    The  experience  of  so  many  students,  however,  is  far  different  from  what  the  headline  statewide  statistics  might  suggest.    Alarmingly,  more  than  one  in  five  high  school-­‐aged  youth  were  disengaged  or  disconnected  from  school  during  the  2014-­‐15  academic  year.      The  Opportunity  Project  focuses  on  disconnected  youth,  and  those  who  are  substantially  disengaged  from  their  high  school.    Aligned  with  the  recently  released  Parthenon-­‐EY  report  Untapped  Potential:  Engaging  all  Connecticut  Youth,  we  define  disconnected  youth  as  high  school-­‐aged  youth  who  are  not  enrolled  in  school  –  oftentimes  categorized  as  high  school  dropouts.    Disengaged  youth  are  students  who  are  at-­‐risk  of  dropping  out  of  high  school  due  to  academic  failure,  behavioral  challenges,  chronic  absenteeism,  or  any  combination  of  these  factors.    Please  read  Untapped  Potential  to  learn  more  about  the  needs  of  Connecticut’s  disengaged  and  disconnected  youth,  and  to  consider  potential  solutions  and  collaborations.    The  report  is  available  at  www.ctopportunityproject.org.          Most  often,  disengaged  and  disconnected  youth  represent  many  of  the  same  young  people  at  different  points  in  time  in  their  lives.    Dropping  out  of  high  school  is  foreseeable  and  ideally  preventable.    Disconnection  is  especially  common  for  

Connecticut  Opportunity  Project  An  invitation  to  work  together  to  engage  all  Connecticut  Youth  

Disengaged  youth  are  enrolled  in  high  school,  but  show  signs  of  academic  failure,  behavioral  challenges,  chronic  absenteeism,  or  any  combination  of  these  factors.    Disconnected  youth  have  not  received  a  high  school  diploma  or  equivalent  and  are  not  enrolled  in  high  school  despite  being  21  or  younger.  

 

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students  who  show  signs  of  disengagement  when  they  are  in  their  first  or  second  years  of  high  school.    These  challenges  are  widespread  across  Connecticut,  affecting  most  frequently  young  people  coming  from  at-­‐risk  groups.    Over  three-­‐quarters  are  low-­‐income  or  minority  students  while  one-­‐third  are  students  with  disabilities  or  English  language  learners.    Poor  attendance,  reflecting  limited  engagement,  is  a  serious  indication  of  future  disconnection.    Many  students  also  become  disengaged  when  they  switch  between  schools.    Both  factors  suggest  students  struggle  to  forge  the  critical  personal  relationships  with  adults  and  peers  that  could  keep  them  connected  to  school.        Schools  often  are  unprepared  to  meet  the  needs  of  disengaged  students;  many  young  people  over  time  are  left  by  the  system  to  fall  through  the  cracks.    Then,  as  they  disconnect,  there  are  few  quality  alternative  educational  pathways  to  help  these  students  complete  high  school.    For  a  small  portion  of  the  highest  risk  of  these  youth,  a  school  within  a  juvenile  justice  facility  is  their  final  touch  point  with  the  public  education  system.        Concentrated  poverty,  inadequate  access  to  quality  schools,  and  unsafe  neighborhoods  are  some  of  the  many  challenges  that  must  be  addressed  in  order  to  better  serve  Connecticut’s  disengaged  and  disconnected  youth.    These  large-­‐scale  issues  can  seem  intractable  and  discourage  action  by  individuals,  schools,  and  communities.    However,  we  believe  strongly  that  significant  progress  can  be  made  when  ideas  and  commitments  from  stakeholders  across  the  state  combine  to  generate  innovative  strategies  and  solutions.    Innovation  Challenge  Eligibility      The  pilot  phase  of  the  Opportunity  Project  seeks  letters  of  interest  from  individuals,  non-­‐profit  organizations,  and  partnerships.    Applicants  must  have  evidence-­‐based  programs,  based  on  either  existing  or  proposed  new  work,  that  aim  to  support  disengaged  or  disconnected  youth  in  Connecticut  towards  positive  development,  educational,  and  employment  outcomes.    We  hope  to  receive  letters  of  interest  from  urban,  suburban,  and  rural  communities  across  the  state.    Applicants  may  choose  to  focus  their  efforts  in  one  particular  neighborhood  or  community,  or  a  particular  region  in  the  state.        The  three  types  of  applicants  are  subject  to  different  potential  grant  awards  of  up  to  two  years,  and  a  sliding  scale  of  the  level  of  matching  funds  that  would  be  required  before  a  grant  is  awarded:    

Applicant    Tier  

Description   Range  of  Annual  Grant  Award  

Expected  Match  Amount  

Individual   •   A  social  entrepreneur  wishing  to  create  or  continue  an  initiative  in  response  to  community  demand.  

•   An  individual  applicant  does  not  need  to  be  part  of  a  governmental  agency  or  existing  non-­‐profit  organization;  applicants  may  be  matched  with  other  applicants  or  organizations  to  form  strong  collaborations  for  funding  consideration.    

 Up  to  $1,000  per  youth  served  

No  match  expected  

Organization   •   An  existing  governmental  agency  or  non-­‐profit  organization  wishing  to  create  an  innovative  program  or  advance  an  existing  one.  

Up  to  $3,000  per  youth  served  

15%  match  

Partnership   •   Two  or  more  organizations  of  any  kind  that  come  together  to  propose  an  innovative  strategy.  

Up  to  $10,000  per  youth  served  

33%  match  

 

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•   A  partnership  must  identify  a  lead  applicant  that  is  part  of  a  governmental  agency  or  non-­‐profit  organization.  

 Innovation  Challenge  Guidelines    Applicants  must  adhere  to  the  following  guidelines:  

 •   Population  Served:    Each  application  must  focus  on  improving  outcomes  for  Connecticut’s  high  school-­‐age  

youth  through  age  24  who  have  not  yet  graduated  from  high  school,  and  who  are  either  not  enrolled  in  any  school  or  who  are  substantially  disengaged  from  the  school  at  which  they  are  enrolled  (e.g.    low  attendance  rates,  significant  behavior  challenges,  low  academic  performance).    A  proposal  may  focus  on  the  broad  population  of  disconnected  youth  or  disengaged  students  still  in  school  or  a  specific  subset  (e.g.  young  men  of  color,  recent  immigrants,  LGBTQ  youth,  youth  in  foster  care,  incarcerated  youth,  homeless  youth,  students  with  disabilities,  or  others  identified  in  a  particular  school  or  community).    

•   Scale:    Applications  from  organizations  or  partnerships  must  demonstrate  the  capacity  to  reach  at  least  75  youth  over  the  first  year  of  their  work,  anticipating  that  project  implementation  will  begin  by  summer/fall  2017.    These  youth  could  come  from  growth  of  an  existing  program,  or  launch  of  a  new  initiative.    Individual  social  entrepreneurs  must  show  an  ability  to  effectively  engage  at  least  25  youth  in  Year  1  (2017-­‐18).  

 •   Organizational  Background:    Applicants  in  the  organizations  tier  of  the  Opportunity  Project  –  and  lead  

applicants  of  proposals  in  the  partnerships  tier  –  must  be  part  of  a  governmental  unit,  as  described  in  Internal  Revenue  Code  Section  170(c)(1),  or  a  501(c)(3)  non-­‐profit  organization  with  at  least  two  years  of  audited  financials.    

•   Guiding  Design  Principles:    Proposals  must  be  informed  by  guiding  principles  that  research  indicate  foster  positive  youth  development  and  resiliency  in  youth.    Along  these  lines,  the  Opportunity  Project  seeks  proposals  characterized  by:    

o   Caring  and  trusting  relationships  between  adults  and  youth;    o   Engaging  activities  that  enable  youth  to  build  academic,  career  and  social-­‐emotional  skills,  and  develop  

productive  persistence;    o   Opportunities  for  youth  voice  and  choice,  and  for  youth  to  make  contributions  to  community;    o   High  expectations  for  youth,  including  connections  to  pathways  to  achieving  educational  and  

employment  outcomes;  and  o   Opportunities  for  experiences  and  relationships  that  help  youth  expand  their  understanding  of  the  

potential  roles  and  careers  that  could  be  open  to  them,  and  educational  pathways  to  achieving  these.    

The  Opportunity  Project  will  elaborate  on  these  guiding  design  principles  in  October  2016,  with  more  specific  selection  criteria  to  inform  applicants’  work.    

 •   Outcomes:    Proposals  must  identify  the  specific  educational,  employment,  and  life  outcomes  for  young  people  

that  applicants  believe  will  result  from  the  project.    Proposals  must  outline  specific  measures  to  gauge  the  effectiveness  of  the  project.  

 Proposals  from  individuals  (or  small  informal  groups  who  come  together  motivated  by  community  needs)  are  sought  to  identify  and  support  innovative  ways  of  reaching  the  hardest-­‐to-­‐engage  youth.    These  efforts  may  be  smaller  in  scale  and  do  not  need  to  support  an  established  or  ongoing  program.    Individuals  with  creative  ideas  for  feasible  projects  with  concrete  actions  that  build  community  while  engaging  youth  in  positive  relationships  will  be  considered  for  the  

 

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Opportunity  Project.    For  example,  an  individual  could  propose  to  organize  a  basketball  league  with  strong  mentorship  components  for  disconnected  youth  or  organize  a  community  outreach  program.    Individuals  may  be  matched  with  other  applicants  or  organizations  before  being  invited  to  develop  full  proposals  for  grant  funding  consideration.    Proposals  from  organizations  or  partnerships  should  be  more  ambitious  in  scope,  engaging  more  youth  and  at  greater  depth.    Proposals  that  reflect  collaboration  between  different  types  of  organizations  (e.g.  municipal  governments,  youth  development  and  community-­‐based  organizations,  employers,  educational  institutions,  courts  and  criminal  justice  agencies,  social  service  agencies)  are  strongly  encouraged,  and  will  qualify  for  the  partnerships  tier  of  the  Opportunity  Project.    To  foster  collaboration,  the  Opportunity  Project  may  seek  to  match  applicants  during  the  evaluation  process  to  form  strong  designs  and  collaborations,  where  ideas  seem  potentially  aligned.    Some  examples  of  potential  successful  partnerships  include:  a  collaboration  of  business,  non-­‐profits  and  schools  to  help  disconnected  youth  gain  relevant  workforce,  education  and  life  skills,  and  secure  gainful  employment;  a  youth  development  organization,  arts  or  science  organization,  municipal  department  and  a  high  school  collaboration  to  create  an  outreach  and  youth  leadership  program;  a  collaboration  among  businesses,  a  high  school  and  a  community  agency  for  mentoring  and  tutoring  of  high  school  students  by  college  students;  or  a  group  of  rural  schools  partner  together  to  run  a  summer  program  for  youth,  focusing  on  skills  required  to  succeed  in  and  out  of  school.    These  examples  are  offered  to  suggest  types  of  collaborations,  but  are  not  meant  to  limit  creativity  or  innovation.    Applicants  selected  by  the  Dalio  Foundation  for  grant  funding  will  become  partners  expected  to:  

 •   Maintain  Learning  Orientation:    Design  and  implement  their  projects,  measure  leading  indicator  data,  and  

improve  their  approaches  based  on  youth  outcomes,  and  what  they  learn  over  time.    

•   Share  Resources  and  Data:    Collect  and  share  data  that  demonstrate  the  outcomes  of  their  projects,  as  well  as  best  practices  and  lessons  learned.    Commit  to  an  open-­‐source  methodology  to  share  tools  and  resources  with  other  practitioners.      

•   Collaborate  and  Convene:    Participate  in  state-­‐wide  or  regional  convenings  hosted  by  the  Dalio  Foundation,  and  lead  at  least  one  local  forum  in  their  community  around  the  needs  and  promise  of  Connecticut’s  young  people  who  are  disengaged  or  disconnected  from  high  school.  

 Innovation  Challenge  Request  for  Letters  of  Interest    As  a  first  step,  interested  applicants  should  submit  a  letter  of  interest  (up  to  4  pages)  for  consideration,  along  with  a  2-­‐3  minute  video  summarizing  the  “pitch,”  to  ctopportunityproject@daliofamily.com  by  December  15,  2016.    The  Opportunity  Project  will  not  consider  letters  of  interest  or  videos  that  exceed  the  specified  length,  are  incomplete,  or  are  submitted  after  the  deadline  of  December  15,  2016.    This  request  for  letters  of  interest  is  not  a  commitment  to  fund  any  project.            At  minimum,  letters  of  interest  must  include:  

 •   Contact  Information:    Specify  whether  the  applicant  is  an  individual,  organization,  or  partnership.    Provide  the  

applicant’s  legal  name,  mailing  address,  email  address,  and  phone  number.    In  cases  where  multiple  organizations  are  collaborating  as  a  partnership,  provide  the  lead  applicant’s  contact  information.    If  a  partnership,  include  a  list  of  organizations  and/or  individuals  that  would  partner  in  implementing  the  proposed  project.    We  will  make  a  template  available  at  www.ctopportunityproject.org.      

 •   Project  Description:    Indicate  whether  the  proposal  intends  to  continue  or  expand  an  existing  program,  or  

create  a  new  initiative.    Specify  the  target  population  and  geographical  area(s)  the  project  aims  to  benefit.    

 

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Present  a  clear  description  of  the  project,  including  the  number  of  youth  to  be  served  and  how  they  will  be  identified  and  recruited.    Articulate  the  theory  of  change  (e.g.  who  the  project  targets,  what  it  aims  to  improve,  and  how  the  project  will  work).    Briefly  cite  any  supporting  research  or  evidence  of  the  impact  of  the  project  or  theory  behind  it.    

•   Project  Goals:    State  the  measurable  goal(s)  of  the  project,  and  specify  the  educational,  employment,  and  life  outcomes  for  young  people  that  are  expected  to  result  from  the  project.    Propose  specific  measures  to  gauge  the  effectiveness  of  the  project.  

 •   Envisioned  Timeline:    Incorporate  a  proposed  project  programming  timeline,  beginning  in  summer/fall  2017  and  

lasting  for  up  to  two  years.      

•   Proposed  Budget:    Include  an  estimate  of  the  overall  annual  cost  to  implement  the  project  over  two  years.    For  projects  requiring  matching  funds,  identify  secured  and/or  likely-­‐to-­‐be  secured  funding  sources  and  amounts;  it  is  not  necessary,  however,  to  secure  matching  funds  prior  to  submission.  

 The  “pitch”  video  is  intended  to  inspire  stakeholders  to  want  to  support  the  proposed  project,  and  thus,  should  articulate  a  compelling,  passionate  vision  for  it.    Submitted  videos  may  be  shared  widely  with  the  general  public.    Videos  may  be  submitted  in  any  of  the  following  formats:  MOV,  MPEG4,  AVI,  MP4,  or  WMV.    We  will  make  specific  submission  instructions  available  at  www.ctopportunityproject.org.        Innovation  Challenge  Criteria  and  Selection  Process    The  Dalio  Foundation  will  form  a  Community  Panel  of  educators,  civic  leaders,  families,  young  people,  and  experts  in  various  fields  to  evaluate  letters  of  interest  from  applicants,  and  then  invite  a  select  few  to  develop  formal  proposals  for  grant  funding  consideration.    The  Community  Panel  may  also  function  as  a  matchmaker,  helping  applicants  initially  applying  as  individuals  or  organizations  to  form  strong  collaborations.    The  Community  Panel  will  make  decisions  and  invite  proposals  by  applying  the  design  principles  described  above,  and  a  set  of  specific  criteria  scheduled  for  release  in  October  2016.    There  will  be  one  set  of  criteria  for  individual  applicants,  and  another  for  organization  and  partnership  applicants.    Applicants  invited  to  develop  full  proposals  may  receive  technical  assistance  from  the  Dalio  Foundation  or  its  partners  in  finalizing  the  full  proposal.    The  Foundation  will  make  final  funding  decisions.    Innovation  Challenge  Timeline  and  Process    Visit  www.ctopportunityproject.org  for  the  most  up-­‐to-­‐date  version  of  the  Opportunity  Project  timeline:        September  19,  2016   Innovation  challenge  pilot  launched.  

   October  2016   Selection  criteria  released.  

   November  2016   Convening  of  potentially  interested  applicants  to  share  promising  ideas,  build  meaningful  relationships,  learn  from  disengaged  and  disconnected  youth  and  other  experts,  and  answer  any  questions  around  the  Opportunity  Project.  

   December  15,  2016   Applicants  submit  letters  of  interest  (up  to  4  pages),  along  with  a  short  video  of  no  more  than  3  minutes.  

   January  2017   Community  Panel  –  comprised  of  educators,  civic  leaders,  families,  young  people,  and  experts  in  various  fields  –  evaluates  letters  of  interest,  and  selects  a  few  to  develop  formal  proposals  for  grant  funding  consideration  by  the  Dalio  Foundation.  

 

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   February  2017   Selected  finalists  are  notified  and  invited  to  develop  full  proposals.    Finalists  will  be  asked  to  refine  their  proposals  with  specific  budgets,  implementation  plans,  and  evaluation  metrics.    Technical  assistance  may  be  provided  by  the  Dalio  Foundation  or  its  partners.    

   April  2017   Finalists  submit  full  proposals.  

   May  2017   Dalio  Foundation  selects  grantees  and  announces  funding  decisions.  

   Summer/Fall  2017   Grantees  receive  initial  grant  funding  and  launch  projects.