In 2017, the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis embarked on an innovative, multi-year initiative called Beyond the Classroom to strengthen organizations serving K-12 students in Memphis during their out-of-school time. We believe that the way to better outcomes for our kids is to help the organizations that serve them measure and maximize the impact of their programs.
In its first two years, Beyond the Classroom relied on partner agency Seeding Success to lead selected nonprofits through capacity building work that addresses key outcomes critical to student success. Lessons learned throughout this time have helped build a framework for organization-level and system-level improvements that support children both in and out of school. The initiative is also serving as a proof of concept to attract further investment from other local and national funders.
Currently, the Community Foundation's grant committee is working to determine the direction of Year Three of Beyond the Classroom. We look forward to sharing this, along with an official Year Two report, in Fall 2019.
