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Deadline: Aug 15, 2026

AKA EAF Community Assistance Award

Alpha Kappa Alpha Educational Advancement Foundation, Inc.®

Deadline

August 15, 2026 @ 11:59pm CST

Notification: December 2026

Program Thrust

Empower Our Families

One-time award. Must not have received EAF funding previously.

Contact

Alexandria Brown, EAF Program Coordinator | (773) 947-0026 Ext. 7 | abrown@akaeaf.net

https://www.akaeaf.org

Required Documents Checklist

Narrative Statement (Project Name, Need/Rationale, Objectives, Procedure, # of Participants, Target Impact Audience, Relationship to AKA Program Initiative, Expected Outcome, Method of Evaluation with timeline)

Budget (Total Funds, Use of Requested Funds, Other Funding Sources)

Two (2) Letters of Support

Copy of IRS 990 or Audit

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Project / Activity Name— Required

Need / Rationale— Why this project is needed

Across metro Atlanta and surrounding Georgia counties, caregivers—mothers, fathers, grandparents, and kinship caregivers—are raising children without the knowledge, support network, or concrete resources they need to parent effectively, often while navigating economic instability, legal barriers, co-parenting conflict, and the lasting effects of incarceration. Research grounded in the Strengthening Families Protective Factors Framework shows that when caregivers build social connections, knowledge of parenting and child development, social-emotional competence, concrete support in times of need, and parental resilience, children's educational outcomes, emotional health, and long-term well-being improve dramatically—yet too few programs build this capacity directly with parents, and even fewer reach the fathers and men whose presence is essential to the family. Furthering Fathering serves these caregivers through two connected pathways: our Fostering Family Leaders (FFL) curriculum builds the five protective factors directly with parents and caregivers, while our CONNECT Barbershop initiative meets fathers and men where they already gather, creating a trusted, culturally grounded space to engage them in parenting, legal navigation, brotherhood, and family leadership. Since inception we have served over 500 caregivers and family members and reached 1,208 individuals through 19 community events—95 Black/African American participants, with needs spanning legal legitimation (47 clients), program participation (83), life coaching (31), employment navigation (29), and brotherhood/fellowship support (31+24 clients). Despite this demand, we lack consistent capacity to scale the Empowering Parents Network—expanding our parent cohort programming and deepening CONNECT's reach into barbershops across the region. This grant will directly fund that expansion, building capacity among parent leaders and recruiting from within the program's success to grow a network of like-minded caregivers who give back to support other parents through the program and throughout the community.

Objectives— Measurable goals

Furthering Fathering Corporation proposes to expand its Empowering Parents Network, a family-strengthening initiative designed to equip parents and caregivers with the knowledge, relationships, resources, and leadership skills necessary to strengthen their families and advocate for their children. The project brings together two complementary programs Fostering Family Leaders (FFL) and CONNECT in the Barbershop aimed to reach mothers, fathers, grandparents, kinship caregivers, and other adults raising and supporting children throughout Metro Atlanta and surrounding Georgia communities.

At the heart of this work is a simple belief: parents should not only receive services; they should develop the capacity, confidence, and connections to become leaders within their families and communities.

Fostering Family Leaders develops parents and caregivers as informed advocates, community leaders, and partners in their children's educational journey. FFL is grounded in the Strengthening Families Protective Factors Framework, which emphasizes parental resilience, social connections, knowledge of parenting and child development, concrete support in times of need, and the social-emotional competence of children. These protective factors are recognized as family strengths that support healthy child development and stronger outcomes for children and families.

Through FFL we intend to engage at least 20 parents and caregivers in a 9-session experience centered on the Five Protective Factors, parent advocacy, family leadership, and stronger connections to resources. A Parent Café will create an additional safe space for caregivers to connect and uplift one another, while FFL participants move from learning to action through Community Action Projects that allow parents to identify real needs and develop solutions that benefit children and families in their own communities.

While FFL engages the broader caregiving community, CONNECT Barbershop provides an intentional pathway for reaching fathers and men who are often underrepresented in traditional parent engagement programs.

CONNECT takes family strengthening into a trusted and culturally relevant community setting which has always been the barbershop. Rather than waiting for fathers to enter conventional service environments, Furthering Fathering meets men where relationships and conversations are already happening. Through our partnership with Royal Roots Barbershop, East Point, GA we have had great success running 2 cohorts within the last year and looking to reach more men in and around Metro Atlanta.

Through facilitated conversations and cohort-based engagement, fathers and father figures understand attachment needs, improve their communication with their child and significant other, become more engaged in co-parenting, relationships, accountability, child development, and personal growth. Participants are also connected to concrete resources addressing barriers such as legitimation, reentry, employment navigation, family support, and other community services.

The barbershop becomes more than a location; it becomes an entry point into a larger network of support, brotherhood, resources, and continued family engagement. Fathers who enter through CONNECT can ultimately become mentors, parent leaders, volunteers, and ambassadors who encourage other men to become more actively involved in the lives of their children.

The program will conclude with a celebration to include certificates of completion and stipend incentives.

Procedure— How you will implement the project

Furthering Fathering will implement the Empowering Parents Network through four phases:

Phase 1 (Months 1–2): Outreach & Recruitment — Community outreach through church partnerships, schools, re-entry facilities, and our digital intake platform. Caregivers are recruited into FFL parent cohorts, while fathers and men are engaged through CONNECT Barbershop partner shops. Staff conduct intake assessments for each participant.

Phase 2 (Months 2–8): Program Delivery — Enrolled caregivers participate in weekly FFL sessions, a 9-session evidence-informed curriculum building the five protective factors: parental resilience, social connections, knowledge of parenting and child development, concrete support in times of need, and social-emotional competence of children. Simultaneously, CONNECT Barbershop delivers 12 men's engagement sessions across 4 partner barbershops, creating a culturally grounded space for fathers and men to explore parenting, legal rights, brotherhood, and family leadership. Graduating parents are invited to become trained Parent Leaders.

Phase 3 (Months 3–9): Parent Leadership & Wrap-Around Services — Trained Parent Leaders co-facilitate new cohorts, mentor incoming parents, and lead community engagement. Case managers connect parents and fathers to concrete support: legal navigation for legitimation and child support, employment coaching, counseling, and housing referrals.

Phase 4 (Months 9–12): Evaluation & Reporting — Pre/post parent surveys, session attendance tracking, and 90-day follow-up assessments measure program impact. All data is managed in our AlwaysConnected platform, enabling real-time outcome reporting for every enrolled caregiver and father.

Number of Participants— Who and how many

Target Impact Audience— Who benefits

Relationship to AKA Program Initiative— Connect to 'Empower Our Families'

This project directly fulfills the "Empower Our Families" programmatic thrust of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.® As an organization founded by and for women of service, AKA understands that families and children thrive when caregivers—especially the mothers and women who anchor them—are equipped, connected, and supported. The Empowering Parents Network honors that truth by building capacity directly with parents and caregivers through the five protective factors, and by recruiting from within the program's success to grow a network of like-minded parent leaders who give back to their community.

Our FFL curriculum aligns with AKA's commitment to education, civic engagement, and family preservation. Our CONNECT Barbershop initiative extends that commitment to fathers and men, meeting them in a culturally trusted space and engaging them as present, responsible parents. By empowering caregivers and engaging fathers, we strengthen the whole family—exactly the transformational change AKA EAF supports.

Expected Outcome— Measurable results

During the grant period, Furthering Fathering expects to:
• Engage 20 parents and caregivers in the Fostering Family Leaders (FFL) cohort, providing structured learning around parent advocacy, family leadership, and the Five Protective Factors.
• Host one Parent Café for parents and caregivers to build relationships, share experiences, strengthen resilience, and identify available community supports.
• Engage fathers and father figures through CONNECT Barbershop, impacting at least 10 families through facilitated conversations focused on parenting, communication, co-parenting, family leadership, and connection to resources.
• Achieve 80% of completing FFL participants reporting increased confidence in parenting, advocating for their children, and understanding resources available to support their families.
• Achieve 80% of the CONNECT participants will walk away with a better understanding of attachment needs and better emotional control when engaging with their child/family.
• Identify and develop 2–3 emerging Parent Leaders from participating families who can remain engaged, support other parents, take part in our Parent Advisory Committee and contribute to future cohorts and community activities.
• Connect at least 10 participating families to appropriate concrete supports or community resources based on identified needs.
• Track participant attendance, assessments, referrals, resource connections, and applicable outcomes through AlwaysConnected (alwaysconnected.info) to measure progress and strengthen follow-up.
• Small incentive to each participant completing the program.

Method of Evaluation (with Timeline)— How you will measure success

Evaluation Timeline:

Month 1: Baseline pre-survey administered at enrollment (parenting confidence, protective factors, social connections, legal/employment status, household stability)
Months 2–9: Session-by-session attendance and engagement tracked via AlwaysConnected digital platform; facilitator fidelity checklists completed each session; CONNECT Barbershop engagement logs maintained per shop
Month 6: Mid-point check-in surveys for all active caregivers and fathers
Month 9: Post-survey administered to completers measuring all baseline indicators, including the five protective factors
Month 11: 90-day follow-up assessment (phone/email) for program graduates
Month 12: Final outcome report compiled with aggregate data, individual case summaries, and narrative impact stories

Tools: AlwaysConnected CRM platform (tracks enrollment, attendance, goals, referrals); pre/post survey instruments adapted from the Strengthening Families Protective Factors Framework; facilitator fidelity observation forms; CONNECT Barbershop engagement logs.