Bright Futures After-School Academy

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Executive Summary

Bright Futures After-School Academy is a nonprofit in North Carolina that gives elementary and middle school students from low-income families free after-school tutoring, reading help and enrichment. Our students are reading and doing math below grade level and have no access to private tutors or paid programs. Certified teachers lead small groups four afternoons a week at the schools the children already attend.

A child who falls behind in reading by third grade often stays behind. Parents work late, homework goes unfinished and a classroom of thirty children cannot give every student the extra practice they need. Free, steady help after school, with a certified teacher who knows each child, can change that.

With this grant we will serve about 80 students in Year 1 at 2 school sites during the school year. We do not promise that every student will reach grade level. We promise caring teaching, careful progress checks and honest reports to families and schools.

Our Year 1 budget is about $171,500, growing to about $250,000 by Year 5 as we add schools, teachers and students. Each year's budget is planned to balance, with a small surplus each year. We have 5 part-time and full-time staff in Year 1 (an Executive Director, two Site Lead Teachers and two Program Assistants) and 10 by Year 4.

We are asking the Piedmont Education Foundation for $65,000 for two certified Site Lead Teachers and the literacy curriculum and materials. Our other income and startup support cover the rest. These numbers are estimates based on the assumptions listed at the end of this proposal, and we do not promise any result beyond what we describe.

Company Description

Bright Futures After-School Academy is a nonprofit organization in North Carolina. We are a registered charity with a volunteer board of directors, a written conflict-of-interest policy and a yearly budget the board reviews.

Our mission. Every child deserves the help they need to read, write and do math with confidence, whatever their family's income.

What we do.
- Run a free after-school program four days a week at partner schools, from September through May.
- Teach small-group reading using a structured literacy curriculum for students who are two or more grade levels behind.
- Offer homework help and math practice with certified teachers.
- Provide a healthy snack and a short enrichment activity each day.
- Hold family nights where parents learn how to help at home.
- Share progress with each child's classroom teacher.

What we do not do. We do not replace the school day or the classroom teacher. We do not provide childcare as a main purpose, and we do not promise that any student will reach grade level. We follow the rules of our partner schools and our insurer.

How we got here. A group of retired teachers and parents began running a homework club in a church hall. Families kept asking for more, and teachers asked us to work with students who needed the most help. We kept simple records of who came, what they practiced and how they grew. This proposal asks for support to move from a volunteer club to a steady program with certified teachers.

Problem & Opportunity

Children who fall behind in school rarely catch up on their own. They need more practice, more attention and more time with a trained teacher than a busy classroom can give.

Falling behind early. Many students in our neighborhoods start school with fewer books at home and fewer chances to practice. By third grade, some are reading two or more grade levels below where they should be.

No help at home or after school. Parents often work evening shifts or more than one job. They want to help but may not have the time, and private tutoring costs more than they can pay.

Lost confidence. A child who cannot read the same page as classmates starts to avoid school. Small struggles become big ones.

Uneven programs. Some schools have an after-school program, but many have waiting lists or offer care without teaching.

What we hear.
- A teacher says half her class could use extra reading practice every day.
- A mother says her son hides when it is time to read aloud.
- A principal says his school has no money for a reading program after the bell.
- A fifth grader says she likes coming because the teacher does not rush her.

We do not claim that an after-school program can solve every challenge. We believe that steady, skilled help can change a child's path.

Products & Services

Bright Futures gives students steady help from certified teachers in a place they already know.

How the program works.
1. Sites. We partner with two schools that provide classrooms at no charge. We bring teachers, materials and snacks.
2. Schedule. The program meets Monday through Thursday, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., during the school year. Students attend three or four days a week.
3. Assessment. Each student takes a short reading and math assessment at the start, in the middle and at the end of the year.
4. Small groups. Students who are two or more grade levels behind in reading join a small group using a structured literacy curriculum, with six students or fewer per teacher.
5. Homework and math. Other students receive homework help and math practice in small groups.
6. Enrichment. Each day ends with a healthy snack and a short activity such as art, games or a read-aloud.
7. Families. We hold a family night each month and send home activities in English and Spanish.

Teachers. Our lead teachers are certified, pass a background check, complete our training and are paid for their time.

Access and fairness. The program is free. Priority goes to students who are furthest behind and to families with the greatest need.

Market Analysis

Who we serve. Students in kindergarten through eighth grade from low-income families who attend our partner schools, are reading or doing math below grade level and have no other tutoring. Eligibility is based on free or reduced-price lunch status or income guidelines our board sets.

How we estimate need. We cannot count every student who could benefit, so we plan from what we can see. Our partner schools gave us lists of students reading two or more grade levels behind, and the lists were longer than our space. In our volunteer club we served a full room and kept a waiting list. For Year 1 we plan to serve about 80 students at 2 schools. By Year 5, with more sites and teachers, we plan to serve about 160.

Where students come from.
- Classroom teachers, reading specialists and school counselors.
- Family liaisons and principals.
- Churches and neighborhood centers.
- Families who tell a friend.

Who else benefits. Teachers benefit from students who return to class better prepared. Schools benefit from a partner that supports learning after the bell. Families benefit from a safe place for their children until the workday ends.

What the numbers mean. Every number here is a child with a book in their hands. We keep our early counts modest and honest so we can do the work well.

Competitive Landscape

What students can find today, and how we are different.

1. School day interventions. Reading specialists and tutors help during the school day, but time is short and groups are large. We work alongside them and do not replace them.

2. After-school care programs. They provide a safe place until parents finish work. Many offer help with homework, but few have certified teachers or a structured reading curriculum.

3. Paid tutoring centers. They offer strong instruction and charge fees that most of our families cannot pay. We offer a free alternative.

4. Library and volunteer programs. They provide caring adults and books. Volunteers may change often, and few use a consistent method. We bring steady teachers and a proven approach to our school partners.

5. Online tutoring and learning apps. Helpful for some, and no substitute for a teacher beside you.

What makes us different.
- Free to every family.
- Certified teachers and small groups.
- A structured literacy curriculum for the students furthest behind.
- Progress checks three times a year, shared with classroom teachers.
- Family nights that teach parents how to help at home.

We have spoken with school leaders and other programs to make sure we are filling a gap and not duplicating services. Their letters of support are in the attachments.

Marketing & Sales Strategy

How students, families and partners will find us.

Reaching students.
- Schools. We will work with teachers, reading specialists and counselors to identify students who would benefit and invite their families with a simple one-page form in English and Spanish.
- Family events. We will hold a short information night at each school before the year begins.
- Churches and neighborhood centers. We will leave flyers and talk with leaders who know the families.
- Word of mouth. Many families will find us through a neighbor.
- A simple website and a phone line with a text option.

Reaching teachers and volunteers.
- Recruit certified teachers through school districts, colleges of education and retired teacher groups.
- Offer a short orientation, a background check and training in the curriculum and in working with children.
- Pay teachers fairly so the program does not depend on unpaid work.

How we decide who joins. We use a simple sign-up form and enroll students in the order received, with priority for students furthest behind. We keep a waiting list when sessions fill.

Keeping partners informed.
- A short report each quarter with counts of students, attendance and progress.
- A yearly gathering to thank schools, teachers, families and funders.

What we watch. Sign-ups, attendance, assessment results and how many students return the next year.

Operations Plan

How the program will be carried out.

Timeline for Year 1:
- Months 1 and 2 (July and August): Hire the Site Lead Teachers and Program Assistants, buy equipment, finalize consent forms and the privacy policy with our attorney, train staff on the curriculum and sign school agreements.
- Month 3 (September): Begin assessments and open the program at both schools.
- Months 4 to 10: Run the program four days a week, with a family night each month and a midyear assessment.
- Months 11 and 12: Give the end-of-year assessment, survey families and teachers, report to funders and plan Year 2.

Space. The program is held in classrooms and a cafeteria at our partner schools, provided at no charge. Materials are stored in locked carts.

Safety and privacy.
- Every teacher and volunteer passes a background check and completes safety training.
- Two adults are in every room, and students are signed in and out by an adult.
- We follow each school's rules for emergencies, visitors and food allergies.
- Student records are kept private, shared only with parents and the child's school, and handled under a written policy.

Equipment. We buy about $8,000 of equipment once at the start: tablets and laptops for assessments ($4,000), classroom materials and manipulatives ($2,500) and a printer, storage and rolling carts ($1,500). Later years replace or add a few items.

Staffing. In Year 1 I serve as Executive Director. Each school has a certified Site Lead Teacher, paid $21,000 a year for part-time hours, and a part-time Program Assistant, paid $11,000 a year. We add a third lead teacher and assistant in Year 3 and a fourth in Year 5.

Management & Organization

Danielle Foster, Executive Director. I lead the organization, report to the board and am responsible for budgets, partnerships and reporting. I came to this work after teaching third grade and seeing children who only needed more time. I will complete the training we require of our teachers so I understand the program from the inside. (Replace this paragraph with your own background.)

Site Lead Teachers. Each site has a certified teacher who runs the program, leads reading groups and shares progress with classroom teachers. We will hire teachers with classroom experience and a love of working with struggling readers. These positions are part of our grant request.

Program Assistants. Part-time staff who help with homework, snacks and sign-in. Each passes a background check and completes training.

Board of directors. Our volunteer board includes a retired principal, a reading specialist, a parent, a banker who serves as treasurer, an attorney and a pastor. The board meets every other month, approves our budget and reviews our safety plan. No board member is paid, and members with a conflict of interest step out of related decisions.

Advisory partners. A principal, a school district curriculum leader and a library youth services manager give guidance twice a year.

Staffing and pay in this plan: Executive Director, paid $48,000 a year; site Lead Teacher (certified, part-time), paid $21,000 a year; program Assistant (part-time), paid $11,000 a year.

Milestones Narrative

Our goals, how we will measure them and when we plan to reach them.

Year 1 outcomes (July 2027 through June 2028):
- Serve about 80 students at 2 school sites.
- Run the program four days a week for the whole school year.
- Have at least 80 percent of students attend three days a week or more.
- Have at least 70 percent of students in the reading group move up at least one reading level.
- Receive positive feedback from at least 85 percent of families who answer our short survey.

What we count and how.
- Students enrolled, days attended and hours of help, from our attendance records.
- Reading and math levels at the start, middle and end of the year, from the assessment tools.
- Teacher feedback on each student's homework and classroom behavior.
- Family feedback, from a short, confidential form.
We report what we find, including what did not work, and use it to improve.

Growth over five years.
- Year 2: About 100 students at 2 sites with a longer summer program.
- Year 3: About 120 students at 3 sites with a third lead teacher.
- Year 4: About 140 students at 3 sites and a parent literacy night each month.
- Year 5: About 160 students at 4 sites and a partnership with the district to share our curriculum.

Learning along the way. At the end of each quarter, the director and the board review the numbers and decide whether we are on track. If we are behind, we will adjust our outreach, our sites or our schedule before asking for more money.

After the grant. By Year 5, grants make up about 40 percent of our budget, down from about 59 percent in Year 1, as partners and donors give more. We will keep building those relationships every year.

Funding Request

What we are asking for, and how the money will be used. Our request: $65,000 from the Piedmont Education Foundation for two certified Site Lead Teachers and the literacy curriculum and materials, for July 2027 through June 2028.

The request is spread across these budget lines:
- Personnel: Site Lead Teacher, School 1 (certified teacher, 20 hours a week), $21,000.
- Personnel: Site Lead Teacher, School 2 (certified teacher, 20 hours a week), $21,000.
- Supplies: Structured literacy intervention curriculum licenses, $14,000.
- Supplies: Educational materials, workbooks and assessment tools, $9,000 (other funds add $4,000).

Other money in the program. This request is about 64% of our Year 1 grant income. Other grants and the income lines below pay for everything it does not cover.

Year 1 budget: about $171,500, planned to balance with a small surplus (about $8,900 after the yearly wear on equipment). Year 1 money coming in: Grant Revenue $101,500; school District Partnership $30,000; state After-School Program Funding $26,000; individual and Business Donations $14,000. Year 1 costs: executive Director $48,000; site Lead Teacher (certified, part-time) $21,000; program Assistant (part-time) $11,000; literacy Intervention Curriculum Licenses about $14,000; educational Materials and Assessments about $9,000; healthy Snacks and Family Nights about $8,000; transportation Support about $6,000; staff Training about $3,000; administration and Insurance about $9,000; about $3,600 a year for the wear on equipment.

One-time startup costs. Startup costs of $16,500 are paid once from startup money, not from the yearly budget: $4,000 for tablets and laptops for reading and math assessments (10); $2,500 for classroom materials sets, manipulatives and learning games; $1,500 for printer, storage and rolling carts; $2,500 for staff training in the literacy intervention curriculum; $2,500 for attorney review of consent forms and the privacy policy, and background checks; $1,500 for banners, bilingual flyers and a simple website; $2,000 for first insurance payment.

How we got our startup number. The Funding Need Calculator in this plan adds the startup costs ($16,500), the cash the program uses before it balances (about $0) and a cash cushion of about $40,200, which is about three months of Year 1 costs. In all, that comes to $57,000. We start with $8,000 from our founding board and $51,000 in startup support from a local education foundation and a business partner, $59,000 in all, which covers that amount with room to spare.

The next five years. Our budget grows from about $171,500 in Year 1 to about $250,000 in Year 5. Grants are planned at $101,500, $84,500, $100,500, $83,500 and $100,000 in Years 1 to 5. Other income grows: school District Partnership from $30,000 to $64,000; state After-School Program Funding from $26,000 to $48,000; individual and Business Donations from $14,000 to $38,000. Our surplus is planned at about $8,900 in Year 1, about $9,300 in Year 2, about $10,500 in Year 3, about $10,600 in Year 4 and about $12,000 in Year 5. We add a third site in Year 3 and a fourth in Year 5, with a lead teacher and an assistant for each.

Savings. We plan to keep several months of costs in savings. The lowest year-end balance in the plan is about $54,600, at the end of Year 1. Some grant payments and partner payments arrive after we bill, so we plan for about $6,860 owed to us at the end of Year 1.

Cost per student. In Year 1, our total costs are about $2,058 per student served, which includes setting up the program. By Year 5, with more student served and a trained team in place, that falls to about $1,487 per student.

After the grant. School districts, the state after-school program and individual donors grow every year, so grants become a smaller share of our budget. Teachers, parents and students share their stories, and businesses can sponsor a classroom or a site by name. We will look for partnerships with districts that want to bring our approach into more schools.

Risks and how we will handle them:
- A staff member leaves. We keep a list of trained substitutes and share lesson plans and student notes.
- A school changes its schedule or space. We keep agreements with more than one school and stay flexible.
- Low attendance. We call families, adjust schedules and offer a snack and a ride when we can.
- A safety problem. Background checks, two adults in every room, sign-in and sign-out and a written emergency plan.
- Students who do not improve. We review each student's progress every quarter and change the plan.
- A privacy problem. We follow a written policy, use secure systems and train every staff member and volunteer.
- A grant ends. We keep savings and grow partner and donor support each year.

If you are just starting. A new organization can begin before it has its own 501(c)(3) status through a fiscal sponsor: an established nonprofit that receives grants for you and passes them to your program, usually for a fee (commonly around 5% to 10% of the grant, sometimes more; ask before you agree). Another way is to start smaller: one neighborhood, a handful of students and a small team, tracked carefully. Strong results from a small start make larger grants easier to win.

Appendix Notes

Documents to attach with this proposal:

- Your IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter, or your fiscal sponsor agreement.
- Your most recent financial statements and your current year budget.
- A list of your board members and what each one does.
- Signed letters of support from partner schools, agencies and sites.
- Your site agreements and your insurance certificate.
- Your consent, waiver and privacy policy.
- Your safety plan and background check policy.
- Your program outline and schedule.
- Quotes for equipment and materials.
- Resumes for your Executive Director and key staff.
If you don't have any of this yet, no worries - let's continue.

The assumptions behind our numbers (change them in the Financials section to match your own):
- Grant Revenue: $101,500 in Year 1, growing to $100,000 in Year 5.
- School District Partnership: $30,000 in Year 1, growing to $64,000 in Year 5.
- State After-School Program Funding: $26,000 in Year 1, growing to $48,000 in Year 5.
- Individual and Business Donations: $14,000 in Year 1, growing to $38,000 in Year 5.
- Pay (a full year, per person, including payroll taxes and workers' compensation): executive Director $48,000; site Lead Teacher (certified, part-time) $21,000; program Assistant (part-time) $11,000.
- Other yearly costs in Year 1: literacy Intervention Curriculum Licenses $14,000; educational Materials and Assessments $9,000; healthy Snacks and Family Nights $8,000; transportation Support $6,000; staff Training $3,000; administration and Insurance $9,000. These grow between 4% and 5% a year.
- Equipment: $8,000 at the start, then $2,000 to $3,000 a year.
- Startup costs: $16,500, paid once from $59,000 in startup money.
- Students served: about 80 in Year 1, growing to about 160 in Year 5. Sites: 2 in Year 1, growing to 4 by Year 5. The program runs four days a week from September through May.
- About 4% of each year's income is still owed to us at year end.
- Tax: none, as a nonprofit.
- Every dollar amount is an estimate. Replace them with your own quotes and real budget.

Startup Costs