Sesame Workshop
Project Title
For project support of Sesame Street Season 58 and a library-based initiative focused on connection, caring, and community participation
Date
Sep. 10, 2026
Duration
24 months
Description
Sesame Workshop is the educational organization behind Sesame Street and a long-standing leader in research-based children’s media. Building on a historic partnership that began when Carnegie supported the research that led to the creation of Sesame Street, this initiative will help young children develop empathy, belonging, and cooperation, skills that support community participation. The project responds to growing concerns about social isolation, declining trust, and the need for opportunities that bring children and families together in trusted community spaces. With Carnegie support, Sesame Workshop will develop Season 58 of Sesame Street around its Connection and Caring framework and introduce a new library set as a recurring community hub. The grant will also support the creation of library resources, caregiver materials, librarian training, and in-person programming at four Carnegie-affiliated library systems. These efforts will combine Sesame’s national reach with libraries’ local presence to help children and families experience belonging, connection, and community participation.
Website
Project Title
For general support
Date
Jun. 05, 2025
Duration
12 months
Description
Joan Ganz Cooney’s visionary report, “The Potential Uses of Television for Preschool Education,” served as the blueprint for the founding of Sesame Street and the then-called Children’s Television Workshop in 1969. Today, Sesame Workshop—a long-standing legacy grantee—operates at the intersection of education, media, and research, developing a holistic curriculum that includes academic fundamentals, social-emotional development, and healthy habits essential for children’s growth. With the continued support of the Corporation, Sesame Workshop will advance its efforts in media content development and dissemination both in the United States and internationally. During the grant year, key activities will include the distribution of Season 56 of Sesame Street and the planning for Season 57 in the U.S.
Website
Project Title
For support of a national public education campaign to inform parents of young children about participating in the 2020 Census
Date
Jun. 04, 2020
Duration
12 months
Description
Every ten years the United States Constitution mandates a full enumeration of all people living in the country. The data from the decennial census is used to determine not only political representation, but also the distribution of $1.5 trillion in federal funding for a variety of core state programs, including public schools, childcare, foster care, and school lunch programs. Yet, in 2010, two million children between ages 0-5 were miscounted or left out of the census, resulting in significant underfunding for communities with young children. Founded in 1969, Sesame Workshop produces educational content that reaches millions of children and families around the world. Its diverse programming provides crucial lessons on health, social-emotional development, and social tolerance. With Corporation support, Sesame Workshop will partner with the Ad Council to broadcast a series of bilingual public service announcements to encourage nationwide participation in the 2020 Census, with an emphasis on young children and other hard to count populations.
Website
Project Title
For the Joan Ganz Cooney Fund for Vulnerable Children/Sesame Street in Communities, in honor of the 50th Anniversary of Sesame Workshop
Date
Mar. 07, 2019
Duration
12 months
Description
The mission of Sesame Workshop (the Workshop) is to help children everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder. Today, the Workshop is an innovative force for change, creating and delivering high-quality educational media, formal education, and social impact programs that supports the critical needs of millions of children and families in more than 150 countries. In honor of Sesame Workshop’s 50th Anniversary in 2019, the Carnegie Corporation, one of the Workshops original funders, will support the Joan Ganz Cooney Fund for Vulnerable Children (JCGFVC) initiative, specifically the Sesame Street in Communities (SSIC) program, a national model to support vulnerable children’s physical, cognitive, and socioemotional growth through national and local service providers.
Website
Project Title
For general support
Date
Mar. 08, 2018
Duration
12 months
Description
Sesame Workshop is now active in more than 150 countries serving vulnerable children through a wide range of media, formal education, and philanthropically-funded social impact programs, each grounded in rigorous research and tailored to the needs and cultures of the communities we serve. Sesame Workshop is one of the four finalists selected for their work in educating displaced children by conflict and persecution including in countries including Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria for the 100 & Change, $100 million grant which will be awarded by the MacArthur Foundation in December 2017 . With Corporation support, Sesame Workshop will continue to focus on the needs of the most vulnerable children through early education programs, health lessons, and tools for touch situations.
Website
Project Title
As a one-time only grant for the Joan Ganz Cooney Prize
Date
Jun. 12, 2014
Duration
37 months