The following list represents our currently funded initiatives.

 


Project
Focus Area
Type/Funding

After School All-Stars

Providing middle schoolers with career visits, trips to high school options fair, STEM programming and other courses to prepare youth for the 21st century workforce.

Middle School Out-of-School Time Programs

$423,000/ 3 years

Afterschool Activities Partnership (ASAP)

Afterschool Activities Partnership (ASAP) expands the traditional scope of afterschool activities by providing curriculum, training and volunteer support for clubs and cross-site opportunities around Philadelphia, including the Philadelphia Youth Chess Challenge, Scholastic Debate League, Philly Plays Scrabble, Drama, and the After School Directory. Through partnerships and program activities, ASAP cultivates communities of youth for whom extracurricular passions are a gateway to improved school performance and postsecondary success.

Middle School Out-of-School Time Programs

$140,000 / 24 months

Artwell

Artwell provides arts education and creative reflection that supports young people in discovering their strengths, facing complex challenges and awakening dreams. Artwell’s Art of Growing Leaders program introduces ten- to fourteen-year-olds to multicultural rites of passage and fosters creative leadership skills, building on the unique strengths in each youth to benefit their communities.

Middle School Out-of-School Time Programs

$120,000 / 2 years

Boys' Latin

Boys' Latin is a single-gender college preparatory school. Extended day activities provide additional reading, math and extracurricular programming for 375 twelve- to fourteen-year-olds.

Middle School Out-of-School Time Programs

$100,000 / 12 months

Building 21

Building 21 designs, implements and operates innovative new career pathway high schools in partnership with school districts to meet the present needs and future goals of all learners by empowering networks of learners to connect with their potential career passions. Students begin their exploration in their first year and, as they move through high school, connect with more extensive and intensive opportunities to pursue their chosen pathways.

Career Pathways

$675,000 / 2 years

Center for Employment Opportunities

Effective and comprehensive employment services to men and women under criminal justice supervision.

Career Pathways

$250,000 / 12 monhts

City Year

Support for a City Year Team at Duckery elementary school focusing on reducing early warning indicators for middle school students.

Middle School Out-of-School Time Programs

$660,000 / 3 years

Coded by Kids

Support for after school programming in tech fields.

Middle School Out-of-School Time Programs

$50,000 / 1 year

Education Law Center

To provide legal advocacy to support children who have denied access to Pre-K to 3rd grade services

Early Learning

$150,000 / 2 years

EducationWorks: PowerCorps PHL

On the job training for disconnected youth with the goal of preparing them for employment and/or college.

Career Pathways

$500,000 / 1 year

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Photo: YouthBuild Philadelphia

 

H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest | 1930-2018

Philadelphia lost another civic giant this week with the passing of H.F. Gerry Lenfest, who died last Sunday at the age of 88. Reflecting on his life and legacy, it’s nearly impossible to imagine the Philadelphia of today without the incomparable leadership and largesse of Gerry Lenfest. The businessman and entrepreneur turned philanthropist extraordinaire ranks among the city’s most highly-respected and influential civic leaders, and the philanthropic path he blazed with his wife Marguerite will certainly have a profound impact on the fabric of our city for decades to come.

The Lenfests became wealthy from the sale of their cable business in 2000, and were among a new breed of donors whose mission was to give away the vast majority of their fortune during their lifetime.  In less than 20 years, the couple‘s giving has exceeded $1.3 billion. While the Lenfest’s philanthropy touched on a range of issues, Gerry is perhaps best known in Philadelphia for his financial support and leadership of some of the city’s major arts and cultural institutions, including The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Curtis Institute of Music, The Barnes Foundation, and the Museum of the American Revolution. His giving also made headlines recently when he purchased Philadelphia Media Network (owners of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News and Philly.com) and donated it to a newly-created nonprofit, the Lenfest Institute for Journalism, the first-of-its-kind organization dedicated to developing and supporting sustainable business models for great local journalism. 

In addition to establishing The Lenfest Foundation, the couple also created a philanthropic legacy for the next generation by endowing foundations for their three children – Diane, Chase and Brook. Last year the Lenfests joined a distinguished roster of donors to be honored with the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy. The award citation noted their innate modesty and hailed them for embodying the essence of generosity, altruism, and dedication to the common good.

A public celebration to honor Gerry Lenfest is being planned for the fall at the Academy of Music.

 

Read more about the incredible life and legacy of Gerry Lenfest: