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Overview

The Afterschool Alliance is a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of afterschool programs and advocating for quality, affordable programs for all children. It is supported by a group of public, private and nonprofit organizations that share the Alliance's vision of ensuring that all children have access to afterschool programs by 2010.

The Alliance was formed on the belief that afterschool programs are critical to children and families today, and that the need for programs is not adequately addressed. In communities today, 14.3 million children take care of themselves after the school day ends, including almost four million middle school students in grades six to eight. Just 6.5 million children are in afterschool programs - but the parents of another 15.3 million children say their children would participate in afterschool - if a program were available.

Creating more afterschool programs, increasing program quality and moving toward long-term sustainability requires building strong public will in support of afterschool. The Alliance was created to conduct this public awareness and advocacy work and to serve as a national voice for afterschool.

Vision, Mission & Goals

The Alliance has a broad vision for afterschool, a defined mission and key underlying goals:

Vision: The Alliance works to ensure that all youth have access to affordable, quality afterschool programs by the year 2010.

Mission: To engage public will to increase public and private investment in quality afterschool program initiatives at the national, state and local levels.

Goals:

• To be an effective voice for afterschool in effortsto expand quality afterschool programs.
• To serve as an information source on afterschool programs and resources.
• To encourage the development of local, state and national afterschool constituencies and systems.
• To communicate the impact of afterschool programs on children, families and communities.

History

The Afterschool Alliance was founded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, J.C. Penney Company, Inc., the Open Society Institute/The After-School Corporation, the Entertainment Industry Foundation and the Creative Artists Agency Foundation.

The Alliance grew from public awareness efforts undertaken by the Mott Foundation through an unprecedented, public-private partnership with the U.S. Department of Education to expand afterschool programs through the 21st Century Community Learning Centers afterschool program. The federal government provided grants to local communities for afterschool programs, while the Mott Foundation funded training, evaluation and public awareness activities. The Foundation and the Department's efforts caught the attention of several outside entities with a shared interest in achieving afterschool for all. These groups came together in September 1999 to create the Afterschool Alliance.

Today, the Alliance works with a broad range of organizations and supporters, including policymakers and policymaker associations, advocacy groups, afterschool coalitions and providers at every level, business and philanthropic leaders, technical assistance organizations and leaders representing a variety of interests, each with a stake in afterschool.