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OneGoal Among Initial Nonprofits to Receive Support from New Organization ‘Chicago Beyond’

Funds to Fuel Enhanced Delivery Model and Innovation Projects to Serve More Students Better

CHICAGO, April 5, 2016 – A new, privately held organization, Chicago Beyond, launched today and announced their more than $7 million commitment to support OneGoal, to improve the lives of Chicago’s young people. Over the next three years, the fund will support OneGoal’s efforts to serve an increased and broader set of students in Chicago, with nearly $3 million going directly to a set of our partner schools to ensure they can pilot opportunities to launch OneGoal for more students in their buildings.

Led by Liz Dozier, a lifelong educator and former high school principal, Chicago Beyond will invest in innovative ideas and scalable programs to amplify impact in two areas that are flip sides of the same coin – youth violence and educational attainment. Chicago Beyond’s support of OneGoal is part of their effort to invest in and expand programs with the capacity and willingness to serve a significant number of young people immediately. Each investment will be rigorously evaluated to learn from and share results with the public and philanthropic community at large.

“As an educator, I have seen firsthand the extraordinary potential that lies within Chicago’s kids,” said Managing Director Dozier. “Chicago Beyond believes that by investing in and measuring proven programs and new ideas, we can learn and do more for the future of our youth. Our investment in OneGoal will not only help us reach more children, but also generate critical lessons on how to take effective programs to scale here in our city and beyond.”

“We fundamentally believe that all students have the ability, and deserve the opportunity, to earn a college degree.” Said Jeff Nelson, CEO of OneGoal “We’re thrilled to be among Chicago Beyond’s first nonprofits to receive support as it will enable us to increase our impact, reach a broader group of students, and engage in rigorous evaluation to ensure we become more effective and efficient as we grow.”

Students enrolled in OneGoal perform better in high school and are more likely to enroll and stay in college. Chicago Beyond will support OneGoal’s ability to provide college supports for students in 11th and 12th grades and through their first year of college. With Chicago Beyond’s investment, OneGoal will develop enhanced delivery models and build innovation capabilities to improve programming over time. The investment will also generate knowledge on the impact of OneGoal’s programming on a broader range of students than the organization typically serves.

“We’re incredibly grateful to be included in Chicago Beyond because it reflects our shared belief in Chicago students’ potential and commitment to educational innovation.” Said Sarah Berghorst, Executive Director, of OneGoal – Chicago. “Today OneGoal-Chicago reaches 4,000 students in 60 Chicago Schools. This support will enable us to dramatically increase our growth within our existing school as well as build innovation capabilities in our model.”

About OneGoal

OneGoal is a college access and success organization that is working to dramatically increase the percentage of students from low-income communities who complete college.

We recruit high-performing teachers – those already working in high schools in low-income communities – and provide them with the training and support to become OneGoal Program Directors and implement our three-year college success model with a cohort of Fellows (students), beginning with in-school daily classes in their junior and senior years and continuing with remote support through the first day of sophomore year of college.

OneGoal serves approximately 6,500 Fellows in in Chicago, Houston, New York and Massachusetts and will be expanding into Atlanta in FY 2017.

About Chicago Beyond

Chicago Beyond also launched their GO Innovate challenge, which will award up to $2 million each to winners with innovative ideas crowdsourced from the nonprofit sector in Chicago, the nation and around the world. Awardees will be selected from applicants that offer innovating programming in two areas: Reengaging Opportunity Youth and Supporting College Matriculation and Graduation.

Chicago Beyond invests in strategies to help young people from Chicago’s under-resourced neighborhoods succeed in school, career and life. Their goal is to support the most promising ideas and work with the public sector to bring the best initiatives to scale. Working in close partnership with the University of Chicago’s Urban Labs, Chicago Beyond will evaluate the impact of initial investments in order to better understand what works, for whom, and why. For information about the programs Chicago Beyond is supporting and more, please visit: ChicagoBeyond.org.

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