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:
Step 1 – Review CDF Freedom Schools® video
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 27, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. EST. Registration is required.
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 2024, 2025, or applied to facilitate a program within the last two years.
Step 4 – Review CDF Freedom Schools® Calendar
Abbreviated 2025 program operating calendar below
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 23, 2025
August 2025
2026 Application Release
August 11, 2025
Virtual Application Informational Session
Wednesday, August 27, 2025, 4:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. EST
September 2025
2026 CDF Freedom Schools Sponsor Application Deadline
September 29, 2025
October 2025
2026 CDF Freedom Schools Application Review & Response
Application Interviews & Notification Letters Sent Out
October 1, 2025
This webpage is updated as dates are confirmed.