21st CCLC Afterschool Support
Support for Planning, Applying for, and Operating a 21st CCLC Program
21st Century Community Learning Centers, or 21st CCLC, is a federal grant run by each state. It pays for afterschool and summer learning programs for students. Each stage of this work brings new questions, from deciding whether to apply to running a funded program.
DQ Consulting, LLC helps you see where you are, what needs attention, and what comes next.
Who This Service Supports
This service is for nonprofits, schools, churches, community groups, program directors, and grant teams. You may be wondering if your organization is ready. You might be writing an application, getting ready to launch, or already running a program. Wherever you are, we can help you find your next step.
Where Are You in the Process?
Considering 21st CCLC Funding
Considering 21st CCLC Funding
Considering 21st CCLC Funding
Plan for the Money to Come Later
This grant pays you back after you spend, so your organization covers costs first. Most programs need two to three months of costs on hand before the first payment comes.
Dr. TAS Tip: Talk with your bank about a line of credit early. It is much easier to set up before your first payroll.
You already know
Plan for the Money to Come Later
This grant pays you back after you spend, so your organization covers costs first. Most programs need two to three months of costs on hand before the first payment comes.
Dr. TAS Tip: Talk with your bank about a line of credit early. It is much easier to set up before your first payroll.
You already know how to serve students well. Organizational Strategy helps your board and leaders build the operations behind your program, like policies, roles, and oversight, so the grant runs smoothly from start to finish.
Preparing to Apply
Considering 21st CCLC Funding
Considering 21st CCLC Funding
Your Application Becomes Your Plan
Once you are funded, what you wrote is what you must do. The state will check your hours, staff, activities, and goals against it. Your plan also names the curriculum you will use, and it must match state standards.
Dr. TAS Tip: Write goals you can meet on your hardest week, not your best one.
Want th
Your Application Becomes Your Plan
Once you are funded, what you wrote is what you must do. The state will check your hours, staff, activities, and goals against it. Your plan also names the curriculum you will use, and it must match state standards.
Dr. TAS Tip: Write goals you can meet on your hardest week, not your best one.
Want this grant to fit your mission instead of pulling you off course? Organizational Strategy helps you see where it belongs in your bigger plan.
Preparing to Launch
Considering 21st CCLC Funding
Set Up Your Records Before Day One
Your records show what is working and what needs to change. They also tell your story to families, teachers, partners, and funders.
Dr. TAS Tip: Choose one person to enter attendance each day, and name a backup. Lost records are very hard to rebuild.
Ready to share your results with the people who mat
Set Up Your Records Before Day One
Your records show what is working and what needs to change. They also tell your story to families, teachers, partners, and funders.
Dr. TAS Tip: Choose one person to enter attendance each day, and name a backup. Lost records are very hard to rebuild.
Ready to share your results with the people who matter most? Media Visibility turns your numbers into a story your community will remember.
Operating a 21st CCLC Program
Operating a 21st CCLC Program
Funding Comes in Installments
Your award is paid in parts during the year. The second payment depends on midyear reports and attendance records. If those are late, the payment can be late too.
Dr. TAS Tip: Build your midyear report one month at a time, so the deadline is just a final review.
Attendance counts, so seats need to stay fu
Funding Comes in Installments
Your award is paid in parts during the year. The second payment depends on midyear reports and attendance records. If those are late, the payment can be late too.
Dr. TAS Tip: Build your midyear report one month at a time, so the deadline is just a final review.
Attendance counts, so seats need to stay full. Media Visibility helps you reach the families your program was built for.
Continuing Year to Year
Operating a 21st CCLC Program
Continuing Year to Year
Each New Year Is Earned
Your award covers several years, but the state decides each year whether to keep funding it. That choice depends on progress toward the goals you wrote.
Dr. TAS Tip: Compare your numbers to your goals every month. A small dip is easy to fix in October and hard to fix in April.
Staff and leaders change, and progr
Each New Year Is Earned
Your award covers several years, but the state decides each year whether to keep funding it. That choice depends on progress toward the goals you wrote.
Dr. TAS Tip: Compare your numbers to your goals every month. A small dip is easy to fix in October and hard to fix in April.
Staff and leaders change, and progress can slip when they do. Organizational Strategy helps your board and leaders stay steady from year to year.
Looking Ahead
Operating a 21st CCLC Program
Continuing Year to Year
Plan for Life After the Grant
Every grant ends, but your students still need you. New partners and funding take time, and programs that wait until the last year often run short.
Dr. TAS Tip: Invite one new partner to visit your program each semester. People support what they have seen for themselves.
Future funders should know your nam
Plan for Life After the Grant
Every grant ends, but your students still need you. New partners and funding take time, and programs that wait until the last year often run short.
Dr. TAS Tip: Invite one new partner to visit your program each semester. People support what they have seen for themselves.
Future funders should know your name before you ask. Media Visibility helps your community and funders get to know you.
Is 21st CCLC Funding Right for Your Organization?
Who Can Apply?
How the Funding Works
How the Funding Works
Schools, churches, community groups, and businesses can all apply for 21st CCLC funding. This funding adds to what you already offer. It cannot pay for programs or staff you already fund. Using it that way can mean paying the money back.
How the Funding Works
How the Funding Works
How the Funding Works
The money comes from the federal government and goes to each state's education agency. Each state runs its own grant contest and sets its own schedule and rules. That is why the timing is different from state to state.
What the Funding Pays For
What You Need Before Applying
What You Need Before Applying
21st CCLC grants pay for afterschool and summer programs. These programs offer schoolwork help, activities like art and science, and family events for students who are not yet on grade level in reading and math. Most of these students attend schools in high-poverty areas. Funding can cover costs like staff, transportation, and snacks.
What You Need Before Applying
What You Need Before Applying
What You Need Before Applying
This is a reimbursement grant. Your organization spends first and is paid back later. Before you apply, it also helps to have written policies and trained staff. You will also need a simple way to track your program's information and send yearly reports to the state.
Why Work With Dr. TAS
Dr. TAS has run a 21st CCLC program as its director, so she knows the daily work. That includes paying costs before the state pays you back and getting ready for state visits. She has also written 21st CCLC grants that were funded, for a church and for a nonprofit. At the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, she wrote state standards and curriculum. She also made sure the books schools used matched new state standards. That means she can help you choose curriculum that fits what students need to learn. When you work with her, you get someone who has written the plan, run the program, and worked inside the state system.
