Pathways with Purpose Through Career-Connected Learning
The U.S. Chamber Foundation is awarding up to $365K to employer‑led consortia driving stronger K–12 and workforce alignment. This initiative fuels industry‑designed career pathways and high‑quality work‑based learning.
The U.S. Chamber Foundation, with support from the Pathways and Workforce Funder Collaborative (PWFC), is seeking an employer-led consortia to lead regional or statewide collaborations with State Education Agencies (SEAs) and Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to create meaningful alignment between K–12 education and industry workforce needs.
About the Grant
Selected consortia will receive $295,000 to $365,000 over one year to develop and implement scalable, employer-driven strategies that bridge the gap between education and workforce needs. In addition to funding, grantees will receive comprehensive technical assistance, dedicated coaching, and access to the U.S. Chamber Foundation's extensive network of resources and expertise.
Focus Areas
All grantees will be expected to address two core topics:
Aligning Curriculum and Credentials to Labor Market Needs — Using data-driven, industry-led approaches to align career pathway programming with in-demand jobs and credentials of value.
Experiencing the World of Work (Work-Based Learning) — Expanding access to quality work-based learning experiences such as internships, apprenticeships, job shadowing, and other career immersion opportunities co-designed with employers.
Applicants may also propose additional innovative strategies that extend or enhance these core areas.
Who Should Apply?
This opportunity is open to employer-led organizations—such as chambers of commerce, industry associations, employer coalitions, economic development organizations, and other industry intermediaries—that partner with one or more SEAs and/or LEAs.
Applicants must demonstrate active employer leadership and identify one or more employer champions.
The U.S. Chamber Foundation anticipates selecting approximately four to five consortia.
Examples of eligible anchor organizations include:
A chamber of commerce
A statewide or regional industry- or sector-based association
An employer coalition or collaborative
An economic development organization
An industry intermediary working on behalf of multiple employers
Other employer-led entities
All eligible entities must demonstrate a formal partnership with SEAs and/or LEAs.
Requirements of Grant Funding Support
The anchor organization (applicant) must demonstrate active leadership by employers/industry and identify one or more employer champions in their proposal who will play a meaningful role in the partnership and project efforts.
The anchor applicant must demonstrate substantive collaboration with one or more SEAs and/or LEAs. Letters of commitment or memoranda of understanding should demonstrate the education partners' commitment to co-designing and implementing employer-aligned career pathways and programming, including curriculum, assessments, work-based learning experiences, credentialing, and other pertinent design elements.
Proposals must include concrete plans to address both Aligning Curriculum and Credentials to Labor Market Needs and Experiencing the World of Work (WBL).
Recipients of this funding must dedicate adequate staffing capacity to achieve the programmatic activities and goals outlined in their proposal and the requirements outlined in this RFP. This must include at least part-time support from two to three team members, including a dedicated project manager to own the work on behalf of the employer-led community partnership. The proposed staffing model should ensure accountability and redundancy in the event of a change in employment or re-assignment.
Applicants should demonstrate the capability to organize and lead efforts at a regional (e.g., continuous or non-contiguous multi-county or LEA area) or statewide level, with the potential to reach and impact a significant number of learners.
Selected applicants will be expected to track and report on key metrics related to program implementation, learner outcomes, and partnership effectiveness. See “Expected Outputs and Outcomes” section below for more detail on both required and flexible performance reporting elements. (Note: no identifiable student information will be required.) In addition, selected applicants will be required to provide a final report in August of 2027 to detail activities, milestones, outcomes, and outputs, as well as key learnings to be shared with the field. A report template will be provided.
Applicants should articulate a commitment to leveraging and engaging in the technical assistance and peer sharing opportunities provided by the Foundation, as well as detail any specific technical assistance needs and interests associated with their proposed project’s success. Note: Details regarding technical assistance needs and/or interests will not be used against applicants in scoring their proposals but are intended to illuminate specific needs and interests to help the Foundation and its partners provide targeted and relevant assistance to grant recipients.
The selected entity must be capable of receiving funding and will be responsible for confirming all funds are used solely for appropriate 501(c)(3) activities. Recipient entities are prohibited from engaging in political activity, lobbying activity, and advocacy related to specific legislative proposals with U.S. Chamber Foundation funding.
Selected applicants will be expected to engage regularly with other cohort members, share best practices and challenges, and contribute to the collective learning of the group.
Selected applicants will be expected to work with the Foundation to document outcom, and other studies, and promising practices and may be asked to participate in webinars and other dissemination activities to promote replicable practices.
Key Dates
Selection Process
Proposals will be evaluated on organizational capacity, employer leadership and engagement, partnership quality, feasibility and quality of the action plan, potential scale and impact, and sustainability and scalability. The U.S. Chamber Foundation reserves the right to ensure diversity among the cohort in terms of geography, industry sector, and strategy.
Expected Outputs and Outcomes
We encourage you to innovate. Though this grant period is just one year in duration, system-level improvements made in partnership with employers should lead to a measurable increase in the number of learners making confident decisions about careers, participating in quality WBL, and effectively navigating pathways that prepare them for successful transition to meaningful and gainful employment (i.e., a quality job with family-sustaining wages). However, we encourage innovation and flexibility. Break the mold. Push boundaries. But ensure that success is measured, captured, and reportable.
In your application, the U.S. Chamber Foundation asks that you propose performance measures that best fit your proposed innovations or scaled efforts. We expect that applicants minimally address the following three proposed outputs and describe how they intend to measure them. For each output listed below, applicants should propose at least two measures. Applicants are welcome to suggest alternative outputs and measures that are more consistent with their plans or that are in addition to those suggested below.
Example measures may include:
Number of new or improved programs of study and/or courses offered.
Number of students enrolled in new or improved programs of study and/or courses.
Example measures may include:
Number of employers providing approved opportunities.
Number and percentage of students participating in new or improved co-curricular activities.
Example measures may include:
Number and percentage of students attaining an approved credential of value and by type.
Number and percentage of students attaining two or more approved credentials of value.
Project Timeline
Questions and Submission
All questions must be submitted to workforce@uschamber.com by 5 p.m. ET on April 8. Responses to questions will be posted on this website by 5 p.m. ET on April 13.
Want to learn more? Join our informational session on March 20 at 1 p.m. ET. Register here.
All submissions must be received through the online application (accessed on this page) by 5 p.m. Eastern on April 20. We encourage you to use the fillable Project Proposal Form PDF to craft your responses, but all proposals must be submitted through the online application.
