Policy & Advocacy Resources

• Afterschool STEM Hub: Curated tools, policy updates, and community learning to support quality STEM in afterschool and summer programs. https://www.afterschoolstemhub.org/ 

• Afterschool Alliance Policy Landscape Page: A snapshot of federal and state policy issues affecting afterschool, plus timely advocacy priorities and updates. https://www.afterschoolalliance.org/policy-current.cfm 

• STEM Education Coalition: A national coalition tracking STEM education legislation and mobilizing stakeholders around shared federal policy goals. https://www.stemedcoalition.org/ 

• The STEM Pulse | Your 30-Minute, Monthly STEM Pulse Check: A short monthly webinar with policy and field updates from Afterschool STEM Hub, STEM Education Coalition, and STEM Ecosystems/TIES. Sign up here 

• STEM Ecosystems Online Community of Practice: Member space to share advocacy alerts, resources, and peer discussion across STEM learning ecosystems. Sign up here 

• AAUW: Research and advocacy focused on gender equity in education and the workforce, including STEM participation and pay equity. https://www.aauw.org/ 

• American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS): Science policy news, analyses, and advocacy resources from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. https://www.aaas.org/ 

• NSTA Advocacy Page: Policy priorities and action tools from the National Science Teaching Association, including alerts and ways to contact decision-makers. https://www.nsta.org/advocacy 

• Code.org Advocacy Page: Campaigns, data, and guidance to expand equitable K–12 computer science policies and funding in states and districts. https://advocacy.code.org/ 

Funding Resources

• STEM Education Funding Opportunities: A list of STEM education funding opportunities curated by the Afterschool Alliance. https://www.afterschoolalliance.org/stemfunding.cfm 

• Project Lead The Way (PLTW) STEM Grants: Grant opportunities and application details to help schools and districts implement or expand PLTW programs. https://www.pltw.org/stem-grants 

• Current NSF Opportunities: Start here for active solicitations and key guidance relevant to STEM education proposals. 
  • NSF STEM K-12 (STEM K-12) | NSF - U.S. National Science Foundation: NSF funding program focused on research and development to improve K–12 STEM teaching and learning. 
  • Guidance: Updates on NSF Priorities | NSF - U.S. National Science Foundation — A quick read on NSF’s current priorities to help you align proposals and language with agency direction. 

• STEM Grant Resources: This website provides a free guide to 100+ STEM grants, a listing of available grants, and courses to help your organization write winning grant proposals. https://stemgrants.com/ 

• AI Tools to Transform Your Grant Finding and Proposal Writing: NGCP webinar focused on practical suggestions for using AI to speed up prospecting, drafting, and editing—plus cautions to keep proposals accurate and funder-aligned. https://ngcproject.org/resources/ai-tools-transform-your-grant-finding-and-proposal-writing 

• Scholarship Tax Credit Information: Background and examples of how tax-credit scholarship programs may create funding pathways for afterschool and summer learning. 
  • Afterschool Alliance: Tax Credit Scholarship: Overview of how tax-credit scholarships can be structured and what to watch for when considering them as an afterschool funding source. 
  • Potential funding opportunity for afterschool and summer in 2027 Scholarship Tax Credit: Brief explainer of a proposed/anticipated tax-credit scholarship funding opportunity and what it could mean for programs planning ahead.