Given the effects of the pandemic and the varying educational conditions across the region, the Foundation will maintain an intentionally broad funding strategy for 2023. Tinker welcomes promising projects from across the region that:

• Promote foundational learning recovery and acceleration. After extended school closures and inconsistent access to remote learning, many students have fallen well below grade-level standards. We welcome projects that seek to address these gaps.
• Secure student re-enrollment and retention. School closures have caused lower registration rates in some educational communities, and experts fear many more students may drop out in the coming months and years because of academic and other pandemic-related challenges. We seek projects that address this challenge, with a particular focus on the most vulnerable students.
• Evolve curricula and teaching approaches. There is a window of opportunity to introduce new practices and shift educational priorities. We invite projects that involve work with school systems, educational leaders, and families to promote basic learning and implement evidence-based pedagogical approaches that increase educational equity and quality moving forward.

The education program will provide grants to civil society organizations in Latin America aiming to achieve these objectives. Some examples of interventions to be prioritized may include:

• Diagnostics and accelerated learning plans
• Teacher training and coaching
• Tutoring and complementary activities
• Interventions that support student social and emotional well-being and learning as part of broader educational initiatives

We welcome projects at different stages of implementation, ranging from experiments and pilots of new models to impact evaluations for promising projects to strategies for scaling up proven interventions.

Applications to the Education program for this cycle should reflect the following criteria. You may also refer to Tinker’s general grantmaking guidelines for all other considerations.

• Geography. The Education program invites projects from all Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries in Latin America.
• Funding and Project Duration. From $20,000 to $100,000 per year and up to two years of support, depending on the scope and scale of the project. We will consider projects of up to three years in extraordinary cases where projects focus on securing longer-term changes.
• Educational Level. Tinker will prioritize projects focused on the primary school education, where early evidence suggests learning gaps are most significant. Promising secondary education programs may be considered.
• Type of Organization. Civil society organizations founded and based in Latin America will be prioritized. However, regional and international organizations with substantial on-the-ground presence and a proven track record of collaboration with local stakeholders may apply.
• School System. We anticipate that many projects will involve direct work with school systems and educational communities. The Foundation generally encourages projects that engage public school systems and students, although exceptions may be made for efforts that take place outside the school setting or through private or community-based schools that serve marginalized or vulnerable populations.
• Populations Reached. Given longstanding inequities in access to education in the region and the disproportionate impact of pandemic school closures among already marginalized communities, the Foundation will prioritize projects that engage students with the following characteristics: residents of rural and low-income urban communities, Indigenous and/or Afro-descendant students, girls, and migrants and internally displaced people.