Partners & FUNDERS
Partner with Project Exploration: Invest in the Future of STEM
Our corporate and foundation partners play a vital role in creating transformative opportunities for young people historically underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), including students from low-income communities, students of color, and girls and young women. Through generous financial investments, volunteer engagement, and strategic partnerships, these organizations help Project Exploration expand access to high-quality STEM education, strengthen communities, and create pathways to educational achievement, career exploration, and economic mobility.
Project Exploration’s 4 Program Models
We invite companies, foundations, and community partners to invest in Project Exploration’s four interconnected program models.
Youth-Science Pathways
Expanding equitable access to transformative STEM education by serving approximately 1,500 K–12 students annually through engaging, hands-on, culturally relevant learning experiences that spark curiosity, build confidence, strengthen STEM identity, and inspire young people to envision themselves as future scientists, engineers, innovators, and leaders.
Project Exploration delivers year-round STEM programming through school-year, spring break, and summer learning opportunities at Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Park District locations, and our community-based STEM Learning Centers, bringing high-quality STEM education directly into the neighborhoods where young people live, learn, and play.
Our Youth-Science Pathway provides an intentional progression of age-appropriate STEM learning experiences designed to meet students at different developmental stages:
Launch (Grades K–2)
Introduces young learners to STEM through playful exploration, hands-on discovery, creative problem-solving, and foundational scientific thinking.
Discover (Grades 3–5)
Deepens curiosity and confidence through collaborative STEM investigations, experimentation, engineering challenges, and opportunities to develop critical thinking and teamwork skills.
Explore (Grades 6–8)
Engages middle school students in increasingly complex, real-world STEM experiences, including engineering, robotics, coding, environmental science, and emerging technologies, while introducing STEM career possibilities.
Pursue (Grades 9–12)
Connects high school students to advanced STEM learning, career exploration, mentorship, leadership development, and opportunities that prepare them for postsecondary education and future careers.
Through signature programs such as Sisters4Science, Brothers4Science, Explore Engineering, Environmental Science, Coding, Robotics, and Emerging Technology Experiences, students develop technical knowledge alongside creativity, collaboration, communication, and problem-solving skills.
More than a series of STEM activities, our Youth-Science Pathway is a sustained investment in young people’s futures. By creating opportunities for students to engage with STEM across grade levels, seasons, and learning environments, Project Exploration builds lasting relationships, supports continued participation, and helps young people develop the confidence, skills, and sense of belonging needed to pursue future educational and career pathways in STEM and beyond.
STEM Ecosystems
Strengthening collaboration among schools, educators, community organizations, and industry partners to expand equitable access to STEM learning opportunities across Chicago.
Community Ecosystems
Strengthening Chicago’s West Side, with a deep-rooted focus on the Austin community, through resident-driven partnerships, collaborative initiatives, and place-based strategies that connect youth and families to resources, safe spaces, supportive relationships, and meaningful opportunities. By bringing together residents, schools, community organizations, businesses, and local leaders, we work to expand access to opportunities, elevate youth and community voices, and advance stronger, safer, and more connected neighborhoods across Chicago’s West Side.
Youth Employment & Workforce Development
Creating meaningful pathways to economic mobility by employing more than 200 young people annually through a progressive youth employment and workforce development model. Project Exploration provides paid employment, comprehensive workforce training, hands-on professional experience, leadership development, coaching, mentoring, and individualized support services that help young people successfully transition from early career exploration to greater professional responsibility and long-term career opportunities.
Our youth employment pathway is designed to support young people at different stages of their educational and professional journeys:
STEAMExplorers (Ages 14–15)
Introduces younger teens to the world of work through career exploration, foundational workplace skills, hands-on STEM experiences, teamwork, and early leadership opportunities.
Junior STEAMbassadors (Ages 16–17)
Builds upon these foundational experiences through paid employment, structured workforce training, mentorship, and increased responsibilities supporting STEM programs, community initiatives, and youth engagement.
STEAMbassadors (Ages 18–24)
Advances into more substantial professional roles, gaining experience in STEM facilitation, program implementation, community engagement, project management, and leadership while strengthening technical, interpersonal, and career-readiness skills.
Beyond Employment: Pathways to Future Success.
At every stage, young people receive ongoing coaching, mentoring, professional development, and connections to educational and career resources. Our goal extends beyond providing a paycheck. We prepare young people to successfully pursue their next steps, including college, career and technical education, apprenticeships, sustainable employment, entrepreneurship, and careers in STEM and other growing industries.
Through this intentional progression, Project Exploration transforms early work experiences into opportunities for leadership, career advancement, economic independence, and long-term success.
How to Partner
Whether through grantmaking, corporate sponsorship, employee volunteerism, mentorship, or strategic collaboration, your partnership can help remove barriers, expand opportunity, and empower the next generation of STEM leaders.
Interested in becoming a partner? We welcome the opportunity to explore how your organization’s philanthropic priorities and expertise can align with Project Exploration’s mission and community impact.
Please contact Natasha Smith-Walker, Executive Director, at [email protected] to discuss partnership and investment opportunities.
Impact of Giving
Investing in the Youth-Science Pathway is an investment in educational equity, opportunity, and the future STEM workforce. With the support of corporate, foundation, and community partners, Project Exploration can expand access to high-quality, year-round STEM learning for young people who have historically faced barriers to participation in these fields. Our programs do more than introduce students to science and technology—they cultivate STEM identity, build confidence, strengthen critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and create sustained pathways from early curiosity to educational achievement and future career opportunities.
Our impact demonstrates the power of sustained engagement: Project Exploration’s evaluation findings have documented a 34% increase in STEM identity, a 42% increase in STEM career interest, and a 30% increase in student confidence. These outcomes reinforce the importance of providing young people with consistent opportunities to explore, discover, and pursue their interests.
Through financial investment, employee engagement, mentorship, and strategic partnerships, funders help us reach more students, deepen their learning experiences, and ensure that geography, race, gender, or household income do not determine who has access to STEM opportunities.
Together, we are not simply preparing young people to participate in the future of STEM. We are investing in their potential to shape it—while building a stronger, more inclusive STEM workforce and creating opportunities for generational economic mobility across Chicago’s West and South Sides.
Current Project Exploration Partners
Past Project Exploration Partners
