Impact
We prioritize investing in programs that provide a range of integrated, holistic services, set high goals and deliver strong supports, thoroughly and accurately assess opportunities for the individuals they serve, and follow through to make sure their impact is lasting.
College Access & Success
College Access & Success
Initiatives to help historically underserved youth graduate high school, prepare for and get into college, and ultimately obtain a post-secondary credential. This includes academic persistence and support programs, mentoring and life skills development programs, and related youth development areas.
Career Pathways
Career Pathways
Post-secondary education, training, work-experience, or job placement programs that provide pathways to careers that offer sustaining wages and opportunities for advancement.
Family Strengthening
Family Strengthening
Programs that deploy a two-generation approach by working simultaneously with children and parents to promote healthy parenting, prevent child and spouse abuse, build resilient families, and help achieve a level of stability essential to the ultimate attainment of our broader education and employment goals.
Regions
Our funding is focused in the three geographic regions where the majority of our family members and staff live and work.
Washington, DC
LA + Orange County, CA
Western MA
Population Priorities
Populations
We invest in organizations who focus on serving one or more of the following historically underserved populations:
- Low-income youth ages 10-26
- Foster youth
- Homeless and formerly homeless
- Young parents
- First-generation college students
- Individuals involved in the justice system
- Individuals who leave school before graduating
Capacity Building
Capacity Building
We invest in capacity building and knowledge sharing to more completely support our grantees and the communities they serve. We do this by:
- Making multi-year grants to help organizations develop the infrastructure to scale their programs or operations.
- Supporting grantee cohorts in addressing shared needs
- Creating convening opportunities for our grantees to connect and share best practices
Board Directed
In addition to grants awarded through our traditional application process, we also have a discretionary grant program where individual Board members can designate one or two annual grants to organizations that align with their personal passions. Organizations are not eligible to apply for this program.
Scaling Program Infrastructure
STEM Advantage received a $600,000 investment over three years from The Ceres Foundation to scale our program, advance equity through education and employment, and address the racial wealth gap. We mentor, prepare, and inspire women and underserved communities to pursue STEM careers with the vision of building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive skilled workforce. As an all-volunteer group of STEM professionals, we did not have the resources or capacity to grow. We needed a dedicated program team to demonstrate sustainability and scalability to investors. This catalytic gift from Ceres is transformative and enables us to invest in two new positions that will help expand the program (from 175 scholars in its 2022 cohort to 250-300 in 2025). With this critical staff, we will also be able to maintain our high-touch, high-impact comprehensive program model, build best-in-class mentorship and internship programs, and develop strategic partnerships.
Providing Catalytic Investments
For almost two decades, The Ceres Foundation has supported our college preparation programs, which help low-income young mothers, primarily women of color, fall back in love with learning through arts, humanities, and athletics. In 2015, inspired by conversations with Ceres’ leadership and with a catalytic Ceres grant, The Care Center launched Bard Microcollege Holyoke, the nation’s first college for young mothers and low-income women. The Microcollege has been recognized in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Christian Science Monitor, and The Chronicle of Higher Education. Most recently, Ceres made a $1M anchor gift to launch The Care Center’s endowment campaign to permanently sustain Bard Microcollege Holyoke. The Ceres Foundation’s support over the years has allowed us to be creative and bold. It’s helped us expand successful programs, launch new ideas, enhance our supports for young mothers, and weather difficult periods. With funding from Ceres, we created a nationally recognized college preparation program for young mothers and launched a groundbreaking new college model. Through its endowment gift, Ceres is helping ensure the Microcollege remains a permanent community resource.
