The City of Cambridge will divide $70,000 in funding to selected nonprofit math enrichment programs over the course of the next year.
Each selected organization can receive up to $25,000 in its first funding year, with the potential to receive an extended grant for an additional year.
The funding opportunity comes through the Cambridge STEAM Initiative, an initiative under the Department of Human Services which partners with local organizations to support equal opportunities in STEAM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math). The initiative also works in collaboration with the Cambridge Public Library and Cambridge Public Schools.
The call for proposals, which are due Friday, is directed at out-of-school time programs in Cambridge that provide math enrichment to students from early childhood to Grade 12. The grant is particularly aimed at “serving young people historically excluded from STEAM opportunities,” the request for proposals says.
Sharlene Yang, director of the Cambridge STEAM Initiative, spoke to the barriers that Black and Hispanic students, students from lower-income families, and English Language Learners face in math programming.
“Fewer role models, unequal access to advanced coursework, and programs that don’t reflect students’ lived experiences and cultural backgrounds all contribute to the sense that math is simply ‘not for them,’” Yang said.
Recent data from standardized state tests, reveal a persistent racial and socioeconomic achievement gap in Cambridge – one that includes, but is not limited to, math outcome data.
In last year’s data from the Department of Elementary and Middle School Education, 25% of Black students, 26% of low-income students, 38% of Hispanic or Latino students, and 18% of English Learners in Grades 3-8 were meeting or exceeding grade-level expectations in math. That’s compared to 74% of white students meeting or exceeding expectations in the same year.
For the same age group, the gap between White and Black students has widened in recent years, growing by 9 percentage points between 2019 and 2024, and another 6 points between 2024 and 2025.
Yang added that out-of-school time STEAM experiences make math more accessible by demonstrating to young people how math can “show up in the music they love, the food they cook, or the community they live in.”
Jordan Harvey, the Executive Director of Tutoring Plus, a free after-school tutoring program, echoed the importance of programming targeted at high-need students.
“Most of our programming happens in schools where maybe academic performance is lower than other schools,” Harvey said. “Having free high-quality tutoring ends up being really impactful for families who can’t access that otherwise.”
This is the second round of funding for organizations through the Cambridge STEAM Initiative. Three Cambridge-based math organizations – Cambridge Math Circle, Tutoring Plus and The Young People’s Project – were awarded $60,000 collectively each year for the past two years. Each of those organizations prioritizes Black students and high-need students.
Selected organizations’ use of the funding will depend on the needs of each program. Some might use it to “offset the costs of hiring” or “invest in materials or professional development” while others might “be piloting a math enrichment experience for the very first time,” Yang said.
In the previous funding cycle, for example, The Young People’s Project piloted an after-school program at Peabody School and Fletcher Maynard Academy, while Cambridge Math Circle offered free instructional slots to students from marginalized communities.
Tutoring Plus used previous funding almost explicitly on “staff time” to cover free sessions as well as “curriculum development,” Harvey said.
Yang said that this year she is “especially excited” about organizations that are not strictly centered around math, but “are interested in making math more intentional and central to what they already do.”
“We want to meet organizations where they are and grow together,” Yang said, referencing general afterschool programs, music programs and community gardens as examples.
The Request for Proposals form can be found here and selected organizations will be announced at the end of September.
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