$1 Million for Public School Communities Across the Midwest
What if public school came with a network for life?
The Steen Foundation has secured a $1 million global investment to expand economic opportunity for public school communities across the Midwest through climate technology, entrepreneurship and workforce development. Young people will gain access to capital, technology, mentorship, entrepreneurship support and professional networks, while companies and institutions will be challenged to create meaningful opportunities and economic benefits for public school students, educators and families.
For Young People: Share Your Interest →https://forms.gle/DirNhHDdTiQbNEYW9
For Companies & Institutions: Join the Network →https://forms.gle/SL9DEcvPyjFyH9jeA
About the Investment
The $1 million investment comes through the Emerging Climate Champions Award, a $25 million global initiative sponsored by the Enlight Foundation and The Patchwork Collective and managed by Lever for Change, an affiliate of the MacArthur Foundation.
Twenty-five youth-led organizations will each receive $1 million in flexible, multiyear funding to advance climate solutions. For The Steen Foundation, the award represents something bigger: a global investment in what young people can build when they are trusted with meaningful resources, relationships and decision-making power.
“Someone invested in me before they could possibly know what that investment would become. Now we get to make that same bet on another generation.”
— Jeremiah Steen, Founder, The Steen Foundation
Jane Goodall Institute: Building With Communities
The Jane Goodall Institute will support participating young people with training informed by Tacare, its community-led conservation approach. The model emphasizes engaging, listening, understanding and facilitating, helping young leaders develop solutions alongside communities rather than simply designing solutions for them.
For Steen, the partnership brings his journey full circle.
Where It Started
Before founding The Steen Foundation, Jeremiah Steen began his leadership journey as a teenager through the Jane Goodall Institute’s Roots & Shoots Fund II Fellowship. That early opportunity gave him access to resources, relationships and people willing to take his ideas seriously. He later founded The Steen Foundation, a youth-led organization working at the intersection of youth leadership, workforce development, climate innovation and economic opportunity. Today, the Foundation is using its $1 million investment to help create that kind of access for another generation.
For Public School Students & Alumni(ages 16-30)
You don’t need to have everything figured out. Start with an idea.
We’re looking for public school students and eligible alumni across the Midwest with an idea, project, concept or problem they want to solve, particularly ideas connected to climate, technology and their communities. Tell us where you’re from and what you’re thinking about.
Complete the Youth Letter of Intent →https://forms.gle/DirNhHDdTiQbNEYW9
For Companies & Institutions
50 Companies. Open the Network.
We’re inviting 50 companies and institutions across the Midwest to help build a stronger economic network around public school communities. We’re asking participating organizations to intentionally recruit, develop and consider public school students and alumni, and to think beyond hiring. What could your organization open? Internships. Apprenticeships. Company tours. Technology. Mentors. Professional networks. Entrepreneurship support. Educator benefits. Family discounts. Cultural experiences. Tickets. Transportation. Or something we haven’t imagined yet. Open the stadium. Open the laboratory. Open the boardroom. Open the theater. Open the factory. Open the network. Tell us what your organization is willing to contribute and whether you’ll join our founding convening.
Complete the Business Letter of Intent →https://forms.gle/SL9DEcvPyjFyH9jeA
Why This Matters
A young person can have talent and ambition and still never encounter the person, capital or institution capable of opening the next door. We want to change that. Our goal isn’t simply to prepare public school students to compete for opportunities. It’s to connect public school communities to the capital, employers, experiences and professional relationships that shape economic opportunity in the first place. Because developing public school communities isn’t charity. It’s an economic strategy.