Children's Defense Fund (CDF) Freedom Schools®

2027 Sponsor Application for New Partners

Application Deadline: September 28, 2026

Nonrefundable Application Fee: $175

The Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) Freedom Schools® program partners with organizations to sponsor and deliver high-quality comprehensive programming for children and families at no cost to participants. Sponsor

organizations are responsible for securing the financial resources to operate program sites at no cost to families and paying licensing fees to the Children's Defense Fund to offset program costs.

A CDF Freedom Schools Sponsor Application cannot be reviewed until the application fee has successfully processed. All applicants can submit their application fee by ACH or credit card. If you would like to request an invoice for your application fee, please email Mary Fennell at mfennell@childrensdefense.org.

Ella Baker Child Policy Training Institute Orientation and Trainings

For the 2027 program year, all orientation and training sessions will be in-person and virtual. All in-person training sessions will be held at CDF Haley Farm and the Knoxville Convention Center.

Mandatory Attendance:
All program staff are required to attend training sessions according to the official CDF Freedom Schools program calendar.

Licensing & Compliance:
Implementing a CDF Freedom Schools program without fully trained staff is a violation of the CDF Freedom Schools licensing agreement and the copyright protections for the program's model.

Orientation and Training	Required Participants	Dates
January Orientation and Training (Virtual)	Executive Directors (ED) Project Directors (PD)	January 20, 2027
March Administrative Leadership Institute (In-person)	Executive Directors (ED) Project Directors (PD) Site Coordinators (SC)	March 12-14, 2027
National Training (In-person)	Site Coordinators (SC) Servant Leader Interns (SLI)	June 2-5, 2027

January Orientation and Training for Executive Directors and Project Directors

Dates: January 20-21, 2027

Location: Virtual - CVENT Attendee Hub

The Executive Director and Project Director Orientation and Training will be a fully virtual institute for

first-and second-year Executive Directors and Project Directors. It will be both synchronous and asynchronous content. All registered participants will have access to training through our virtual attendee hub and must attend live. This training is mandatory as outlined in the licensing agreement.

March Administrative Leadership Institute

Dates: March 12-14, 2027

Location: CDF Alex Haley Farm and Junior Achievement Center

The March Administrative Leadership Institute will be in-person for first-and second-year Executive Directors, Project Director, and Site Coordinators. Directors who have served longer than two years will not be invited to attend in person, but those that still wish to attend in person will be assessed the additional person fee of $900, pending space availability. Participants are expected to arrive on Thursday, March 11th and training begins on Friday, March 14th. CDF Freedom Schools program fees will cover the cost of lodging (for required attends only), meals, and round-trip ground transportation.

Participants are expected to arrive on the 11th and training begins on the 12th.

National Training for Site Coordinators and Servant Leader Interns

Dates: Wednesday, June 2-5, 2027

Location: Knoxville Convention Center (KCC), University of Tennessee Conference Center (UTCC), and CDF Alex Haley Farm

National Training will be in-person for first-and second-year Servant Leader Interns ONLY and all Site Coordinators. All Site Coordinators and Servant Leader Interns will arrive on Tuesday, June 1st and will depart on Sunday, June 6th. For National Training, CDF will provide complimentary round-trip ground transportation to and from the airport, and CDF Haley Farm, from CDF Freedom Schools official hotels within the reserved block. CDF will also cover the costs of all lunches and three out of four dinners during training dates. All CDF Freedom Schools sponsoring organizations will be responsible for transportation to and from Tennessee, booking hotel rooms, and securing meals outside of training hours (e.g., breakfast, meals on designated travel days). The CDF Freedom Schools National Office will provide details on registration and room blocks. This training is mandatory as outlined in the licensing agreement.

Section II: Program & Site Information

A site is the physical location of your program. Programs can choose to operate across multiple sites, with at least 30 scholars at each site. How many sites will your program serve?

Across ALL sites...

...How many children do you estimate serving in Level I (grades K-2)?

Must be a number value

...How many children do you estimate serving in Level II (grades 3-5)?

Must be a number value

...How many children do you estimate serving in Level III (grades 6-8)?

Must be a number value

...How many children do you estimate serving in Level IV (grades 9-12)?

Must be a number value

Total number of scholars to be served:

Must be a number value

Section III: National Operational Fees Payable to CDF

For 2027, the following fees are due to the Children's Defense Fund:

Application Fee - $175
National Program Operation Fee - $285 per scholar
Registration Fee for Non-required Program Staff (if applicable) - $900 per person
Late Registrant Training Fee (if applicable) - $100 per person

It is mandatory for all required CDF Freedom Schools program staff to receive training through the Ella Baker Child Policy Training Institute. Please note, sponsor organizations will be assessed an additional fee of $900 for each non-required training attendee. An additional fee of $100 will be assessed onto all late registrations.

Every sponsoring organization should have an Executive Director (ED) and a Project Director (PD). The same person may serve as the ED and PD. You can sponsor multiple CDF Freedom Schools sites across your community, but each site must have a minimum of 30 scholars to be considered 1 site. Each site is required to have 1 Site Coordinator (SC).

For larger sites, additional SCs may be needed. See the chart below for a breakdown of the recommended number of SCs and the required number Servant Leader Interns (SLI) at a site.

Any program staff beyond these allowances are considered non-required staff. Therefore, a $900 registration fee will be applied per non-required staff member.

breakdown

Short Answer Response

Provide a detailed description of your organization below, including: (1) mission, (2) services it provides, (3) history of working on behalf of children, (4) organizational governance. (Your response must be 150 – 200 words).

Tell us about your community: What are your community’s demographics?

(Your response must be 150 – 200 words).

How will operating a CDF Freedom Schools program benefit your community? In other words, what are the expected measurable outcomes of the program? (Your response must be 150 – 200 words).

How will your organization be an asset to the CDF Freedom Schools movement? Additionally, why do you believe your organization will be a great CDF Freedom Schools partner? (Your response must be 150 – 200 words).

Identify community resources and organizations you plan to partner with to support the operation of your CDF Freedom Schools program this summer. Describe how these partnerships will specifically support your site, for example: partnering with the local free library for weekly community field trips and partnering with local community recreation center to utilize the community pool for weekly swimming classes.

Tip: Consider the partnerships necessary to provide afternoon activities, field trips, and meals for the scholars (Two meals and a snack are required each day). (Your response must be 150 – 200 words).

Parent Engagement: What is your plan for weekly parent meetings? What organizations might you partner with to provide supportive programming for parents/ families? Have you ever offered parent

programming? (Your response must be 150 – 200 words).

All CDF Freedom Schools sponsoring organizations are responsible for hiring program staff. Outline your planned recruitment strategy for hiring your staff. We highly recommend connecting with local colleges and universities early in your hiring process. (Your response must be 150 – 200 words).

Section IV: Signature

I hereby certify that, to the best of my knowledge, all information in the enclosed application is true and correct. Please initial:

Central Gulf Coast CDF Freedom Schools Program on the National Day of Social Action.

How will you submit the application fee? You can pay now by credit card, or request an invoice (to pay by ACH upon receipt).

There is a 3% processing fee to all credit card payments.

Freedom Schools Application Fee

Application Fee Amount

Credit Card Fee Amount

Total Payment Due

Payment Information

Credit Card Information

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Card Number

MM

YY

Code

Total Charge - Fee and Payment Fees

USD

Billing Information

Country

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City

State

Zip / Postal Code

Business Email Address

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