Blog & Media
Relationships in Real Time
Don Carpenter is the Lerner Foundation’s Executive Director. In his previous and current roles, he oversees programming for the Aspirations Incubator, a six-year pilot initiative focused on long-term mentoring relationships. The Aspirations Incubator model is unique in youth development, and its principled approach to meeting students “where they are” has proven to be effective and advantageous during the COVID-19 crisis. Read Don’s reflections here as we learn and adapt programming in real time.
Media
Spending It All: How a Small Foundation’s Big Bet Is Changing Lives
By focusing on patience, flexibility, and a willingness to forge relationships with grantees, a Maine foundation discovered that focused investments over many years can yield meaningful success.
Read more in The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Maine Policy Review
Building Youth Resiliency and Aspirations During a Crisis: Lessons Learned from Maine’s Aspirations Incubator During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Educate Maine Conference
A key component of the Aspirations Incubator model for raising youth aspirations in rural Maine is developing student leadership and resiliency skills by embedding a practice of engaging student voice and choice in program design and activities. Hear from 2 high school students about how applying the skills and experience they have gained from four years in their Aspirations Incubator program has created opportunities to see themselves as leaders and to be seen and valued in their schools and communities in new leadership roles. Also, learn from the Trekkers Training Institute about effective strategies your teams can take for engaging middle school and high school youth.
To access the video, use the following password: EM2021
The Aspirations Incubator seeks to mentor middle and high school age students and open their eyes to possibility
News Center Maine
Blog
The Hardest Thing About Making a Big Bet? Letting Go
Then and there, the board decided to embark on what would become a six-year pilot project called the Aspirations Incubator.
Making a Big Bet and Moving from Transactional to Transformational Philanthropy
The Lerner Foundation had only been making grants for five years when the winds shifted—the Board of Directors decided it was time for a profound change in our priorities.