The Leon Levine Foundation Awards $3.25M to Expand Career-Connected Learning Across the Carolinas

The Leon Levine Foundation today announced $3.25 million in grants to 15 nonprofit organizations across North and South Carolina through the inaugural Carolina Career-Connected Learning Challenge, a bold initiative designed to help more students move successfully from education into meaningful, livable-wage careers.

The investment comes at a pivotal moment for students across the Carolinas. In North Carolina, only 31 of every 100 ninth-grade public school students are projected to graduate, enroll in college, and earn a degree or industry-valued credential within six years. The barriers are even greater for low-income and first-generation students. At the same time, AI and other technological advances are rapidly reshaping the workforce, narrowing many traditional entry points into professional careers. TLLF designed the Career-Connected Learning Challenge to support organizations demonstrating strong potential to bridge these gaps.

“This initiative reflects the kind of catalytic philanthropy we believe is necessary for the future,” Tom Lawrence, president and CEO of The Leon Levine Foundation, said. “The scale and quality of the response confirmed that there is extraordinary innovation already happening across the Carolinas. We have the opportunity to help shape a more connected, forward-looking approach to education and workforce development that supports underserved Carolinians, employers, and communities alike.”

Launched earlier this year as the Foundation’s first open request for proposals, the challenge sought bold ideas for helping students in grades 7–14 navigate the path from classroom to career. The initiative focused on expanding access to workforce-aligned learning, postsecondary credentials, hands-on employer experiences, and career pathways that can lead to long-term economic mobility in a rapidly changing economy shaped by AI and automation.

The response was overwhelming. The Foundation received 130 submissions from organizations across the Carolinas, invited 32 finalists to the second round, and ultimately selected 15 partners for one-year general operating grants ranging from $150,000 to $300,000.

The selected partners serve urban and rural communities across both Carolinas and support career pathways in high-demand fields, including healthcare, advanced manufacturing, aviation and aerospace, skilled trades, technology, construction, and education.

2026 Carolina Career-Connected Learning Challenge Grant Recipients

North Carolina: Accelerate Buncombe; Guilford Apprenticeship Partners; The Industrial Commons; NAF; Prelude; Road to Hire; The ROC Charlotte; Rural Opportunity Institute; She Built This City.

South Carolina: AMIkids; Digital Promise; Habitat for Humanity of York County; LaunchGVL; Medical University of South Carolina Foundation; South Carolina Technical College System.

The initiative reflects the Foundation’s broader workforce strategy, which focuses on creating clearer, better-defined pathways into careers that provide economic opportunity for underserved Carolinians in a rapidly evolving labor market.

“At a time when the traditional path from education to employment is becoming more uncertain, we have an opportunity to help build something better,” Russ Altenburg, education program director at The Leon Levine Foundation, said. “The organizations selected through this challenge are not simply preparing students for graduation, they are helping young people build the skills, networks, credentials, and real-world experiences that lead to long-term economic mobility. We believe career-connected learning can become one of the most powerful levers for expanding opportunity in our community.”