The Osa Foundation supports organizations that empower human potential in underserved communities by creating Opportunities, offering targeted Support and improving Access to resources.                 

The Osa Foundation’s work is grounded in the following values:

  • Self-reliance: We value the dignity of hard work and consider self-reliance and sustainability to be the ultimate goal of our philanthropy.

  • Equity: We believe that every person should have access to the resources needed to pursue and achieve their full potential. We will examine the pervasive and institutional barriers to equitable access of resources and employ this lens in our grantmaking.

  • Diversity: We value and respect the diversity in our society. We acknowledge our obligation to examine our own biases and will work to stand up for social justice.

  • Innovation: We value critical, original thinking and creative problem solving.

  • Integrity: We value honesty and transparency: accordingly we endeavor to conduct our work in a manner consistent with the highest ethical standards.

We seek to support grantee organizations that embody these beliefs and values.

To learn more about our story and investment philosophy, please click here.

Current Program Priorities

The Osa Foundation currently partners with organizations and initiatives operating in underserved communities that promote the following drivers of opportunity. 

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1. Education to Career       

Vision:  High school and college graduates have the information about career pathways, career readiness skills, and job experiences they need to enter the  workforce on a path to a financially sustainable career.

Funding opportunities: We support

  • programs that provide training and support to youth in progressive post-secondary pathways;

  • programs that work with youth to expose them to and offer guidance on career opportunities and to cultivate their career readiness skills; and

  • systemic efforts to create an infrastructure in the Chicago and Tucson areas that affords students a seamless transition from high school to a variety of post-secondary options.

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2.  College Access, Completion and Success

Vision:  First-generation and low-income students who aspire to pursue a college degree are given the support needed to ensure that they enroll in and graduate from college.

Funding priorities:  We support

  • programs that provide first-generation and low-income students with the supports needed to gain access to college and persist through graduation; and

  • systemic efforts in the Chicago and Tucson areas to ensure that these students are appropriately supported by local institutions of higher education, respective school districts, state departments of education, and other relevant systems.

 

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 3.  Education Innovation

Vision:  Public school students benefit from educators who are encouraged to employ evidence-based, innovative approaches in their classrooms, equipped to leverage technology to meet the needs of all their students, and empowered to have a voice in policy decisions that will impact their ability to educate their students.

Funding Priorities:  We support

  • cutting edge programs that leverage technology to improve instruction and student learning;

  • programs that support teachers and principals to bring innovations to their schools and classrooms; and

  • efforts to equip teachers to be advocates for policies that will improve instruction and student learning.

 

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4.  Student Engagement  

Vision:  Public school students are consistently present and engaged in school, despite the significant barriers to engagement which are prevalent in urban education systems.

Funding priorities:  We support

  • programs that address the physical and mental health challenges of public school students, alleviating barriers to attendance and engagement;

  • experiential learning programs that foster the development of social and emotional skills and student agency; and

  • programs that expose students to a wide array of career paths, motivating students to stay engaged in school.

 

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We seek to catalyze innovative ideas and programs.  Accordingly, a portion of our program portfolio supports pilot programs and early stage organizations.  We we may renew grants for multiple years when programs are demonstrating significant impact, our funding is not meant to carry on indefinitely.

The Osa Foundation recognizes the difficulty in taking advantage of opportunities when basic human needs are unmet. Therefore, we typically set aside a small portion of our annual giving budget for food, shelter and emergency medical care.

Our primary geographic focus areas are Chicago, IL and Tucson, AZ. In Tucson, our grantmaking may extend to areas adjacent to education that affect educational outcomes. In Chicago, we are entertaining a limited number of new grants, primarily related to K-12 Education Innovation and Education to Career.

 

Application Process

The Osa Foundation currently accepts grant proposals on an invitation only basis. Through a rigorous assessment process, we identify and select results-oriented organizations whose programs and infrastructure bring innovation, excellence and sustainability to bear in executing their mission. The Osa Foundation makes grant decisions on a rolling basis pursuant to its grantees’ preferred timeframes.

Upon invitation, please submit the following proposal materials electronically to Amy Sauer, Strategic Advisor, The Osa Foundation at amy@theosafoundation.org. 

Narrative: (suggested length is 3 pages)

  • The purpose of your request, including description of the program, population served, and results to date

  • A specific description of the results that you intend to achieve with this grant and description of measurements or indicators you will use to gauge your impact, including targets. If awarded a grant, you will be asked to report on these results at the end of the grant cycle.

  • A brief overview of the organization, including

    • Organization’s mission, vision, and strategic goals

    • Organization’s history of accomplishments, growth, and impact, as well as populations served.  For requests for general operating support, this information may be duplicative of the information requested in the first bullet and responses can be integrated into one response.

See Required Attachments here.

To learn more about when you will hear from us regarding your grant request submission, please click here.

Grant Reporting

All grantees are asked to submit a grant report at the end of the grant period.  Your grant award letter will indicate the suggested timeframe for submitting your report. The grant report shall include a discussion of your accomplishments for the grant period compared to the stated goals and targets that you previously laid out in your proposal.  Please also share lessons learned and an identification of where you fell short of your goals or identified areas for improvement or opportunity.  The suggested length is two pages.

Our Current Grantees:

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Education to Career:

Accelerate U (Chicago)

Braven (Chicago)

Genesys Works (Chicago)

i.c. stars (Chicago)

JobPath (Tucson)

One Million Degrees (Chicago)

Progressive Pathways Fund (Chicago)

Rebuilding Exchange (Chicago)

Sunnyside High School EV CTE Program (Tucson)

Youth Job Center (Chicago)

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College Access, Completion, and Success:

Chicago Scholars (Chicago)

High Jump (Chicago)

iMentor (Chicago)

National Louis University - Learn & Earn in Three (Chicago)

OneGoal (Chicago)

Partnership for College Completion (Chicago)

Scholarships AZ (Tucson)

Sunnyside Unified School District, University of AZ and Pima Community College Tri-School Partnership (Tucson)

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Grantee Blogs

We are honored to highlight blogs written by our grantees. We invite you to read how they are making an impact. We look forward to showcasing recent blogs from other grantees each month. 

Featured Blog

Accelerate U, National Louis University, Chicago | September 2024

How To Build Successful College/Employer Partnerships

The headline of a recent CNBC article caught my attention: “Why the current job market has been such a bad match for the college degree and recent grads.” In the article, journalist Kevin Williams talks to a broad cross section of experts and outlines a concerning and widening gap between the skillsets of college graduates and the hiring needs of employers.

The disconnect between college curricula and workplace expectations isn’t new problem, nor is the notion that universities and employers need to work together more closely to fix it. Fundamentally, partnerships between higher education and employers are an executional challenge. How do we get all the pieces of the puzzle — the urgency of the employer, the needs of the learner, and the design constraints of the higher education institution — to fit together?

While the dynamics of successful college-employer partnerships are complex and always evolving, I'm optimistic about models like the one we’re building at Accelerate U at NLU.

Partnership For College Completion

October 2024

PCC Launches Newest Report Emphasizing the Need for Investment in Illinois Community Colleges

The Partnership for College Completion hosted an engaging and important discussion about its latest report, Advancing Adequacy-Based Funding for Community Colleges in Illinois, on Wednesday, Sept. 25, at South Suburban College.

The report focuses on the funding deficit of Illinois’ community college system and suggests new pathways to ensure these institutions have the resources they need for students. The event presented the origins and details of the report, then two panels that added the first-hand perspective of attending and working at a community college.

The Springboard Collaborative

May 2024

The Impact of Strong Family-Educator Partnerships in Reading Proficiency

While tutoring and extended school days should be pillars of any school-based literacy strategy, they fail to achieve peak value if they overlook the potential to nurture high quality home reading habits. Engaging families in their children’s learning is the only wide-reaching, cost-effective, and culturally-responsive way to increase instructional time and accelerate learning recovery. Springboard Collaborative strongly believes that school-based reading supports must be complemented by at-home practices in order to yield sustainable reading outcomes.

iMentor

November 2023

What is the Role of a Mentor?

Characterized by rapid change, increasing specialization, and the intertwined nature of professional networks, the role of a mentor has never been more critical. For young people setting out on their journeys, either in the academic or professional realm or in their personal lives, mentors can be the guiding star, offering insights drawn from lived experiences. They are not just advisors but catalysts that accelerate growth and open doors to new opportunities. I’ve had the privilege to be a mentor over the past two years through iMentor, and it’s an opportunity you should experience, too.

LEAP Innovations

January 2025

PERSONALIZED, POWERFUL, POSSIBLE: WHAT 2025 holds for students, teachers, and technology

As we welcome 2025, the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and educational innovation is reshaping how we think about teaching, learning, and school systems. At LEAP Innovations, we envision a future where personalized learning, powered by cutting-edge technologies, equips every learner to thrive. 

Through AI advancements, the potential of personalized learning to address long-standing challenges in education—from equity to accessibility and engagement—feels promising. 

We’re predicting what 2025 holds for learning and the potential for AI to redefine the educational landscape. While AI will be an incredible tool, educators remain the cornerstone of personalized learning. We’ve paired each prediction with a Next LEAP—tangible next steps for educators to accelerate their learning.

Boys To Men Tucson

September 2024

BOYS TO MEN IS CHANGING LIVES

“I saw violence in the home as a kid,” McKenna said. “I just didn’t see violence, but there were also subtle versions of misogyny.”

McKenna, 29, is working to combat that with Boys to Men Tucson. The nonprofit is helping local boys by providing safe and nurturing spaces. Boys to Men Tucson, which was formed in 2018, served 371 young men in 2023. Seventy mentors were kind enough to donate more than 12,000 hours in 2023.

“We need to get beyond what society deems culturally appropriate,” McKenna said. “It’s beyond considering violence and how violence is not OK. It’s also about how that it’s OK for boys to cry and to be emotional.

i.c. stars/New Moms

October 2024

i.c. stars chicago hackathon focusing on black maternal health

Tech company I.C. Stars and non-profit New Moms have partnered for a unique program to give mothers a chance to create a career in information technology.

The I.C. Stars Hackathon is part of their Tech Pathways program, and gave 12 moms the chance to learn about career advancement in technology. It's sponsored by Pfizer, who is looking to help improve Black maternal mental health.

Aimiuwu, who is also a mom of five, said all you need is the willingness to work hard. She said the condensed version of the program is more manageable for those with kids.

Each group gets to present their ideas to a panel and even have the opportunity for Pfizer to take it on. Aimiuwu said it's places like this where moms can learn to dream without limits.

Contact Us: 

Please direct all correspondence and communication to: 

The Osa Foundation
info@theosafoundation.org

Robin Lavin
President
robin@theosafoundation.org

Amy Sauer
Strategic Advisor
amy@theosafoundation.org

 

 

© 2019 | The Osa Foundation Built by Matthew Zients