DOVER — Thirty nonprofit programs that work to improve the lives of Latinos and all Delawareans have received a total of $554,050 in 2021-22 grants, awarded by the Arsht-Cannon Fund of the Delaware Community Foundation.

With the ACF mission to provide educational opportunities to Hispanic Delawareans, grants were given to support lifelong language and literacy learning ($70,000); pre-K through career/college preparation ($150,000); arts and cultural education ($27,450); health education ($74,600); educational advocacy ($72,000); and community collaborative programs ($160,000).

“Despite the multiple challenges and hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic, Delaware’s nonprofits are coming out of the last 18 months with a better understanding of the Latino youth and adults they strive to support and of the strategies needed to extend their reach and ultimate success,” Dr. Christine Cannon, executive director of ACF, said in a prepared statement.

First-time ACF planning grants were given to several nonprofits to develop and pilot strategies that will expand program access to Latino children and families throughout Delaware. These grants support nonprofits focused on integrating culturally and linguistically relevant approaches within their successful education-based programs. Funding supports team-planning and, often, the hiring of bilingual staff.

The following were the recipients of these grants:

• English as a Second Language Network — $4,000 for eight La Colectiva de Delaware programs transitioning during COVID-19.
• Read Aloud Delaware — $25,000 for bilingual LENA Start programs.
• Choir School of Delaware — $15,000 for the after-school program.
• ChristianaCare Gene Editing Institute — $20,000 for Seeds of STEM high school program.
• Delaware College Scholars — $25,000 to recruit Latino students from Kent and Sussex counties.
• Delaware Shakespeare — $15,000 for statewide community tours of a bilingual “Twelfth Night.”
• Supporting Kidds — $35,000 for its Latino grief-support expansion to Sussex County.
• Hispanic American Association of Delaware — $17,600 for Amigas Activas y Saludables program in New Castle County.
• American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware — $6,000 for promotion/availability in English of “Entre Nosotr@s” radio program.

Ongoing ACF program grants (intermittently funded within the last few years) continue to maintain and expand a variety of education-based programs (language, literacy, kindergarten through college readiness, arts, advocacy and family support and navigation). Funding maintains consistent program quality, growth and impact by supporting bilingual staffing and needed resources.

These grants include:

• Literacy Delaware — $15,500 for its ESL program and tutor training in southern Delaware.
• Reading Assist — $25,000 for the Reading Assist Intervention Programs at Las Americas ASPIRA Academy and Sussex Montessori.
• Rodel — $25,000 for Delaware Readiness Teams’ Latino community engagement.
• TeenSHARP — $40,000 for the Striver program for Latino students in New Castle County.
• The Delaware Contemporary — $6,000 for Building a Creative Future's Latino arts career scholarship program.
• Rodel — $41,000 for Advancing Education Funding Equity for English Learners program.
• Delaware Campaign for Achievement Now — $25,000 for the Juntos Delaware Fellowship.
• First State Community Action Agency — $71,400 (given in early 2021) to the Sussex County relief program.
• La Esperanza — $65,000 for the Resource Navigation and Family Coaching Program.

Latino partnership grants support critically important programs that have adapted with the needs and growth of Delaware’s immigrant families over the last seven to 10 years. The Arsht-Cannon Fund has consistently supported these partners:

• Polytech Adult Education — $25,393 for the Family Literacy Program in Kent County.
• National Alliance for Mental Illness–Delaware — $22,000 for the Hispanic Services Initiative.
• Friends of the Milton Public Library, the Dover Public Library and the Route 9 Library & Innovation Center — $6,450 to plan and provide the annual Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations.