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The CEOs of EMCF grantees Youth Villages and Citizen Schools talk about what it takes to extend an organization’s reach and deepen its impact.

News & Perspectives Watch Nancy Roob's TEDx Talk Nancy Roob, President & CEO of EMCF and CEO of Blue Meridian Partners, shared her vision for a massive change in how philanthropy funds social programs. EMCF's View EMCF's View | Blue Meridian Partners | April 10, 2020 Response to the COVID-19...

The SEED Foundation opens and supports public boarding schools that help underserved students who need more than a traditional educational setting overcome obstacles and succeed in school, college and life. The SEED Foundation (SEED) integrates a rigorous college-prep academic program and...

EMCF makes investment decisions on the basis of sound business planning— a nonprofit’s roadmap to growth and sustainability. The plan may outline goals for evaluation, organizational capacity and other elements essential to expansion, and we often underwrite its cost. It covers various aspects...

EMCF’s current concentration on disadvantaged youth was preceded by a rich, 30-year legacy of programs that sought to improve the lives of low-income people, and others with limited opportunities. The Foundation’s main priorities in the 1980s and 1990s were programs in five areas. When EMCF...

In 2007, the Foundation tested whether a new form of coordinated, collaborative philanthropy could help grantees expand and improve the life prospects of significantly greater numbers of vulnerable youth. After eight years’ experience investing in youth development, EMCF concluded that three...

Self Enhancement, Inc. (SEI) serves primarily African-American youth, ages 8-25, and their families with in-school, afterschool, summer and post-secondary programs in Portland and Miami. SEI’s program model, centered on staff becoming a “parent, mentor and instructor” to each young...

The See Forever Foundation supports the Maya Angelou Public Charter School, which operates two successful alternative high schools and an alternative middle school in Washington, DC. The See Forever Foundation (SFF) also operates Maya Angelou Academy (formerly Oak Hill Academy), a school...

EMCF augments growth capital by providing every grantee with a highly engaged strategic adviser and access to outside expertise and other resources as necessary. A portfolio manager with extensive experience in organizational management and youth development works closely with each grantee and...

EMCF and Blue Meridian Partners measure the progress of grantees toward their growth and evaluation goals to ensure they are making an impact on the lives of vulnerable youth. Although our grants are generally unrestricted, we and the recipient set annual and end-of-investment milestones on...

Vocational Foundation, Inc. provides vocational and literacy training to youth (aged 17-21) who have dropped out of school and lack a high school diploma, GED, or equivalent educational degree. The organization offers a five-month literacy and job-training program and follows this up with...

Washington Tennis and Education Foundation combines tennis and education to help kids aged 8 to 18 living in low-income areas in Washington, DC. Its mix of academic enrichment, supplemented by tennis and life skills instruction, works to develop discipline, build self-esteem, and improve...

Big Brothers Big Sisters is the national office for a network of more than 365 local agencies that match adult volunteers with children facing adversity to engage in professionally supported one-on-one mentoring. Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) has two core programs, community-based and...

EMCF believes that rigorous evaluation provides the most persuasive evidence that a program is effective and, equally important, can help make it more effective. A broad evidence base instills confidence not only that an organization’s program works, but also that it can be replicated and...

Our Piece of the Pie, based in Hartford, CT, provides intensive, long-term case management services to youth, ages 14 –24. In the agency’s cornerstone program, Pathways to Success, youth development specialists help each young person develop an individualized service plan for making a...

The National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program helps youth who have dropped out of school and are unemployed gain the skills, education and self-discipline necessary to become productive adults. The 17-month education, employment readiness, and youth development program has been proven to raise...

For more than 100 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America has helped young people reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Today, some 4,000 clubs serve some four million young people, ages 6-18, through membership and community outreach. Trained, professional staff...

Big Sister Association of Greater Boston helps girls ages 7 to 15 realize their full potential by providing them with positive mentoring relationships with women. In addition to matching each "little sister" with a personal "big sister" mentor, the programs Life Choices and TEAM offer group...

Green Dot Public Schools is a leader in transforming public education in Los Angeles and beyond so that all young adults receive the education they deserve to prepare for college, leadership and life. Green Dot operates charter middle and high schools in economically disadvantaged...

Girls Incorporated develops education programs to guide girls to become "strong, smart, and bold." Programs based on its work and research are offered in sites across the nation and focus on areas such as math and science, pregnancy and drug abuse prevention, economic literacy and...