ACF Grants for 2020-19 FY
2019-2020 Arsht-Cannon Fund Awards $592,772+ to Benefit Latino Communities in Delaware
Latino families in Delaware have improved access to quality educational programs and services as a result of close to $600,000 in grants from the Arsht-Cannon Fund (ACF), an endowed fund at the Delaware Community Foundation.
Since 2007, the ACF has invested over $9 million to expand and improve educational opportunities and access to healthcare for Latino families – improving life for all Delawareans.
“This work is possible only through our close partnerships with a growing number of very dedicated non-profit organizations who are hiring bilingual staff and who practice cultural humility,” Dr. Christine Cannon, ACF Director said.
ACF 2019-2020 grants focus on supporting life-changing opportunities through education. These opportunities are planned to change lives during the most critical times of development with the most effective, relevant and accessible programs. Several areas of funding “support” family literacy, academic and socio-emotional learning and arts and cultural education. These supports include those that advance family health, educational advocacy, and collaboration among program providers.
Our grants include:
Language learning that continues an 11-year history of support to Family Literacy programs.
o ESL at the Lutheran Church of Our Savior in eastern Sussex County ($40,000 over 2 years)
o Family Literacy at Polytech Adult Education in Kent County ($40,000 over 2 years)
o Conversation Circles – “Word Wise” – at 3 New Castle County libraries (Route 9, Kirkwood and Bear) ($10,000)
Youth education focused on developing families from early childhood through young adulthood
o Delaware Readiness Teams ($20,000) to support Latino parents in preparing their young children for kindergarten
o Reading Assist Institute ($20,000) to provide reading tutors for English Learners at Academia Antonia Alonzo School
o Summer Learning Collaborative ($30,000) to provide Tyler’s Camp to Latino middle school children in Sussex County
o Nativity Preparatory School of Wilmington ($20,700) to improve the access and success of an increasing number of Latino boys by providing 12 years of support to them and their families
Arts and Cultural Education
o The Delaware Contemporary’s Building a Creative Future Program ($6,000), an outreach arts education afterschool program for teens in Wilmington
o Delaware Art Museum’s “Relational Undercurrents: Contemporary Art of the Caribbean Archipelago” exhibit with bilingual guides and support for the African Caribbean Festival ($7,250) June-September, 2019
o Annual Hispanic Heritage Celebrations ($7,425) in September-October, 2019 at Route 9 Library and Innovation Center, Dover Public Library and Milton Public Library with support of Friends of each library and the Delaware Hispanic Commission
Health Supports to Learning with a focus on strengthening physical, psycho-social and family health through education
o Vision to Learn ($15,000) to expand free eye exams and glasses for an additional 100 Latino children statewide
o National Alliance for Mental Illness – Delaware (NAMI-DE) Hispanic Services Initiative ($22,397) to educate, support and navigate families affected by mental illness
o Autism Delaware’s Family Peer Support Services ($25,000) to support bilingual services to Latino families caring for children affected by autism
o Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence’s Community Health Worker Collaborative Project ($10,000) to provide professional staff and healthcare partner education
o Sussex Sports Center Foundation, Inc. ($5,000) to support the operation of Sandhill Fields in Georgetown for the health and socialization of Latino families
o AIDS Delaware –Delaware Teen Idol contest ($5,000) to share talent and HIV prevention information with expanded inclusion of Spanish-speaking families
o Family Counseling Center of St. Paul’s ($15,000), La Esperanza Community Center ($5,000) and Westside Healthcare ($4,000) to provide professional staff education
Educational Advocacy
o Education Equity Delaware ($25,000) to advocate, educate, and engage around needs of ELs
Community Collaborative Partnerships
o La Colectiva de Delaware ($130,000) to administer and develop an initiative in southern Delaware that builds capacity within and among a growing number of nonprofit, for-profit, governmental and funder organizations. Funding supports the Director’s salary, communications, convening costs and the development and piloting of collaboratives.
o La Colectiva-inspired Family Coaching and Navigation Program ($130,000) anchored at La Esperanza Community Center.
The Arsht-Cannon Fund was established in 2004 through the gift of the estate of the Honorable Roxana Cannon Arsht and S. Samuel Cannon. The endowed fund supports Delaware’s Hispanic families, ultimately improving the lives of all Delawareans.
“The Arsht-Cannon Fund continues to create a tremendous impact on our communities,” DCF President and CEO Stuart Comstock-Gay said. “Creating opportunity for all citizens, and building a more diverse, healthy community is imperative to the DCF’s mission.”