Catalyze Challenge Launches Fourth Round of Funding to Empower Youth Through Career-Connected Learning
Today, Catalyze announced Round Four of the national Catalyze Challenge. The Challenge seeks programs with demonstrated success providing learners aged 11-22 with career-connected learning opportunities and pathways that bridge the gap between education and careers. Building on key learnings from three prior challenges, this round of grants will surface and fund organizations that are ready to scale transformative, direct service career-connected learning across two primary themes — career exploration for young adolescents and activating industry partnerships.
Round Four of the Catalyze Challenge will deploy a competitive two-step application process that requires prospective applicants to submit an interest form by October 17, 2024 at 11:59pm PT. In November, screened applicants will be invited to submit a full application with final winners announced in early 2025. This round of funding will award as many as five grants up to $1 million each. Interested organizations may learn more and apply here.
The winners of Round Four of the Catalyze Challenge will join one of the nation’s largest communities of practice focused on career-connected learning. Catalyze has disbursed $14 million in grant funding to build a community of more than 60 organizations that are actively impacting more than 65,000 students.
“Catalyze is an innovation engine that moves the field forward by reimagining how we prepare young people for the workforce,” said Dr. Michelle Cheang, Director of Catalyze. “Round Four of the Catalyze Challenge aims to expand career-connected learning opportunities, deepen industry engagement, and ultimately create a more equitable landscape for all learners. We’re excited to champion the next wave of innovations that will shape the future of education and work."
The Catalyze community helps young people develop the confidence and agency needed to navigate their future education and career opportunities. Through research and insights, Catalyze has identified that the most effective career-connected learning programs foster self-awareness, self-efficacy and career readiness in students.
The positive impact of this approach is clear — with 70% of learners in Catalyze-supported programs saying their career-connected learning experience enabled them to pursue their career goals. In comparison, only 29% of Gen Z learners as a whole believe that their school is preparing them for the workplace.
Round four of the Catalyze Challenge is made possible by support from American Student Assistance, Beth and Ravenel Curry Foundation, Charles Koch Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation.
Previous grant recipients credit the Catalyze Challenge with helping to amplify and scale their work, activate new partnerships and build national awareness of their programs. Catalyze grants have also spurred follow-on funding: 60% of Catalyze grantees raised an additional $11 million in public and private funding.
As one grantee said, “When we first got support from Catalyze, it really was the tipping point that helped us to move forward. It was one of the first non-local grants that we received, which then opened new doors.”
