Opportunity Project
Dalio Education created the Connecticut Opportunity Project (CTOP) as a social investment fund to invest in and help strengthen non-profit organizations in Connecticut serving youth who are severely off-track or disconnected from school and employment.
CTOP’s support is designed to help grantee partners more effectively prepare the young people they serve to succeed in a post-secondary pathway that leads to meaningful employment.
Through CTOP, grantee partners receive long-term, general operating support along with organizational coaching and technical assistance to help them develop their capacities in seven areas of organizational development, as defined in the Performance Imperative framework created by the Leap Ambassadors. Ongoing support is conditional on performance relative to milestones that are established collaboratively with grantee partners and that help to track and drive progress toward developing the highest levels of effectiveness.
The gift of having CTOP as a funder is that they are more than just funders; they are partners. The Portfolio Directors provide technical assistance and support to help COMPASS leadership navigate challenges, increase organizational effectiveness, and achieve our goals. CTOP has made me a better leader and my team more effective.
– Jackie Santiago, CEO, COMPASS Youth Collaborative
The three major goals of CTOP’s Ten-Year Social Investment Strategy are the following:
- Increase the number of active service slots1 across multiple youth-serving organizations working effectively, reliably, and sustainably with young people who are severely off-track or disconnected from 0 (in 2019) to 1,080 (by 2024) and to 2,500 by 2029;
- Engender measurable improvements in young people’s lives and prospects – specifically, in their successful engagement in a post-secondary pathway that leads to sustained participation in gainful employment; and
- Contribute to advancing ethnic and racial equity by working to address systemic racism and structural dynamics that intensify challenges for severely off-track and disconnected youths who identify as Black or Hispanic.
In aggregate, CTOP's grantee partners delivered 754 active service slots during the 2021-22 grant year, up from 387 in 2020-21 and on pace to achieve the target of 1,080 active service slots by 2023-24. Currently, CTOP invests in the Connecticut Violence Intervention Program in New Haven; Domus Kids in Stamford; COMPASS Youth Collaborative, Forge City Works, Our Piece of the Pie, and the Roca Hartford Young Women’s Program in Hartford; and Catalyst CT in Bridgeport.
COMPASS Youth Collaborative
Dalio Education's CT Opportunity Project Portfolio Director:
Samantha Miller
COMPASS Youth Collaborative interrupts violence in the City of Hartford by building transformative relationships with youth at the center of the violence. COMPASS Peacebuilders provide youth the tools to create sustained behavior change and transition successfully to adulthood.
For more information visit: www.ctopportunityproject.org/partners/compass/ and compassyc.org
Domus
Dalio Education's CT Opportunity Project Senior Portfolio Director:
Amanda Olberg
Domus builds loving relationships with young people facing adversity, empowering them to pursue their path to self-sufficiency.
For more information visit: www.ctopportunityproject.org/partners/domus/ and www.domuskids.org
Catalyst CT
Dalio Education's CT Opportunity Project Senior Portfolio Director:
Adhlere Coffy
Catalyst CT works “diligently to be a part of the solution to reduce youth and gun violence, advocate for healthier communities, and create a positive impact that extends far beyond today for the underserved and marginalized youth, families, and neighborhoods throughout Southwestern CT and beyond.”
For more information visit: www.ctopportunityproject.org/grantees/ryasap/ and www.catalystct.org
CTVIP
Dalio Education's CT Opportunity Project Senior Portfolio Director:
Adhlere Coffy
Connecticut Violence Intervention and Prevention (CTVIP) is a group of trusted, trained community members that disrupt, prevent, and stop the spread of violence which results in trauma through crisis intervention and proactive relationships with the highest-risk youths and the institutions that impact their lives in the Greater New Haven area.
For more information visit: www.ctopportunityproject.org/grantees/ct-violence-intervention-program/ and www.ctintervention.org
OPP
Dalio Education's CT Opportunity Project Senior Portfolio Director:
Adhlere Coffy
Our Piece of the Pie®, Inc. (OPP®) empowers youth with the key competencies needed to overcome barriers and succeed in education and employment.
For more information visit: www.ctopportunityproject.org/partners/our-piece-of-the-pie/ and www.opp.org
Roca, Inc. Hartford Young Mother's Program
Dalio Education's CT Opportunity Project Senior Portfolio Director:
Amanda Olberg
Roca's mission is to be a relentless force in disrupting incarceration, poverty, and racism by engaging the young people, police, and systems at the center of urban violence to address trauma, find hope, and drive change.
For more information visit: www.ctopportunityproject.org/grantees/roca-young-mothers/ and rocainc.org
Forge City Works
Dalio Education's CT Opportunity Project Senior Portfolio Director:
Amanda Olberg
Forge City Works serves people in the Hartford community who have barriers to employment by providing job training in the food and hospitality industry to help them achieve sustainable careers.
For more information visit: www.ctopportunityproject.org/grantees/forge-city-works and forgecityworks.org
To learn more about CTOP, please read our latest annual report or visit www.ctopportunityproject.org.
1An active service slot is a position in a program occupied by a participant who meets the program’s enrollment criteria and is receiving the kinds and levels of services needed to deliver intended outcomes, as hypothesized in the organization’s theory of change.