Sponsor a Site

Getting Started

Thank you for your interest in joining the CDF Freedom Schools® family!

The curated resources below are meant to help your organization learn more about the benefits of hosting a program, as well as the application, training, fiduciary, and programmatic requirements that accepted sponsor organizations must uphold. The steps to applying are as follows:

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Step 1 – Review CDF Freedom Schools® video

CDF Freedom Schools Call to Action from Mrs. Marian Wright Edelman

Step 2 – Attend CDF Freedom Schools® Application Informational Session

Learn more about becoming an official CDF Freedom Schools partner by joining our informational session on Wednesday, August 28, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. EST. Registration is required, so be sure to sign up here.


Step 3 – Submit a CDF Freedom Schools® Application

If you are an organization applying as a first-time CDF Freedom Schools sponsor, please click here.

If you are renewing your sponsorship to operate a CDF Freedom Schools program, please click here.

This application is only for organizations that operated a CDF Freedom Schools program in 2023, 2024, or applied to facilitate a program within the last two years.


Step 4 – Review CDF Freedom Schools® Calendar

Abbreviated 2025 program operating calendar below

August 2024

2023-2024 End of Year Report Deadline
August 15, 2024

2025 Application Release
August 19, 2024

Virtual Application Informational Session
August 28, 2024, 4:00 pm-5:00 pm ET

September 2024

Labor Day – CDF Office Closed
September 2, 2024

2025 CDF Freedom Schools Sponsor Application Deadline
September 30, 2024

October 2024

2025 CDF Freedom Schools Application Review & Response
Application Interviews & Notification Letters Sent Out

January 2025

New Year’s Day- CDF Office Closed
January 1, 2025

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day – CDF Office Closed
January 20, 2025

Ella Baker Child Policy Training Institute: Executive Director and Project Director Orientation & Training (In person at CDF Haley Farm)
January 24-26, 2025

March 2025

Ella Baker Child Policy Training Institute: Site Coordinator Orientation & Training (Virtual Training Session)
March 20-23, 2025

June 2025

CDF Founder’s Day – CDF Office Closed
June 7, 2025

Juneteenth – CDF Office Closed
June 19, 2025

Ella Baker Child Policy Training Institute: National Training for Site Coordinators and Servant Leader Interns (In person at CDF Haley Farm)
June 3- 8, 2025

July 2025

Independence Day – CDF Office Closed
July 4, 2025

National Day of Social Action (NDSA)
July 16, 2025