Monies align with non-profits funding model and philosophy of combining both public and private funds to create a combined community investment
Non-profit CORE was recently awarded funds totaling more than $500,000 through two grants from the City of Las Vegas. The vital funds will help the non-profit continue to build an infrastructure for success that offers long-term holistic support for under-resourced students and their families. CORE is on a mission to ensure that historically underserved students and families can achieve economic mobility to lead choice-filled lives.
The funds strategically align with the organization’s goal to secure a combination of public and private funding, noting that it takes long-term, whole-community investments to solve whole-community problems including achieving equity in historically under-resourced communities. Additionally, the funds help ensure that CORE is on track to meet its goal of 5 by 2025 – serving at five school sites in Southern Nevada by the end of 2025.
The funds include $68,000 from a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and $440,000 from the American Rescue Plan. Each serve as an important part of CORE’s expansion road map with the goal of providing increased service to meet the critical levels of need throughout our community in the wake of the pandemic.
The CDBG is focused on funding new or expanded projects, as well as innovative programs that are proven effective and that will improve the quality of life for low- and moderate-income Las Vegas residents. The American Rescue Plan funds are designed to support causes, issues, and groups who have been most impacted by the pandemic.
“We are working on combining public funds from sources such as federal and state grants, with private funds from foundations, corporations and individual donors to create a combined community investment in which everyone has a stake. Our model of private and public funding partnerships is helping us to create a sustainable base for long-term investments at multiple school sites,” said CORE Executive Director Lindsay Harper. “With unprecedented need brought on through the disruption and uncertainty of the pandemic, the demand to support and uplift both students and families has never been higher in our community. These funds are pivotal to our ability to reach more families in Southern Nevada.”
CORE’s program model improves both academic and social-emotional development of students (Scholars) while mitigating the economic and educational inequities faced by their family. This evidence-based, two-generational program design is unique to CORE and Southern Nevada. The premise of the project is that under-resourced students can achieve a high level of success when provided with sufficient tools and opportunities. CORE works toward the overarching goal of enabling Scholars to mature with the equitable tools, resources, and experiences necessary to be healthy, contributing, and empowered adults who will lead choice-filled lives.
This goal is achieved through pursuit of three primary objectives: 1) Empowering students to thrive by providing leadership and social-emotional development, while also building strong networks of community support around Scholar families to address critical underlying needs; 2) Enriching Scholar lives through focus on whole person wellness and self-exploration; 3) Educating with purpose and passion by providing college readiness and career exploration programing for Scholars, in addition to workforce skills development, language, and educational opportunities for their families.
“Our holistic approach has been designed to incorporate comprehensive wrap-around support, social work case-management, and social emotional development into a program that allows whole students to walk into their classroom every day, ready to achieve their best,” said Harper.
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About CORE
CORE, Powered by The Rogers Foundation, is a long-term, out-of-school program that provides both students (“Scholars”) and their families with an infrastructure for year-after-year success. CORE takes a holistic approach that has been designed to incorporate comprehensive wrap-around support, social work case-management, and social emotional development into a program designed specifically to meet the needs of historically under-resourced youth in Southern Nevada. 100% of CORE Scholars have achieved high school graduation, and after graduation, Scholars are engaged with CORE through an Alumni Network to ensure that they stay on track and continue to reach for their potential.
The CORE program model works toward the overarching goal of enabling Scholars to mature with the equitable tools, resources, and experiences necessary to be healthy, contributing, and empowered adults who will lead choice-filled lives. This goal is achieved through pursuit of three primary objectives: 1) Empowering students to thrive by providing leadership and character development, mentoring, and building strong networks of community support around Scholar families to address critical underlying needs; 2) Enriching Scholar lives through focus on whole person wellness and self-exploration; 3) Educating with purpose and passion by providing tutoring and career/college readiness programing for Scholars, in addition to workforce skills development, language, and educational opportunities for their families.
The entire Scholar experience is provided free of charge to participating families. Scholars in the program achieve a wide range of positive outcomes associated with these objectives, including increased GPA, higher rates of promotion to the next grade, higher high school graduation rates, higher acceptance rates into college/vocational school, higher emotional intelligence and balanced decision-making skills, a greater understanding of art and self-expression, a higher level of empathy toward people who are unlike them in age, race, gender, etc., and the ability for families to better meet their fundamental needs utilizing multi-tiered supports from community partners and program staff
