Love Our Mission?
Help support scaleLIT! There are three ways to contribute to scaleLIT. From sponsoring our annual event to becoming a member to donating, your pledge is instrumental to our mission of helping under-resourced adult learners become economically successful. See below for our impact.
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Beyond Books is our annual celebration of adult literacy. Interested in attending or becoming a sponsor? Click here to learn more.
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scaleLIT is more than a membership organization. We are a movement. Join us and change the narrative around adult literacy. Click here to learn more.
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When you give to scaleLIT, you give directly to under-resourced adult learners. From tech tools to job training and everything in-between, your gift helps us achieve our mission. Click here to donate.
Donate and help unlock
brighter futures for our community
Donate today and strengthen the systems that connect literacy, digital skills, and workforce opportunity.
scaleLIT focuses on strengthening the coordinated network that adult learners rely on every day. Just as last year’s campaign underscored digital literacy as a gateway to opportunity, this year we’re lifting up the systems that make digital access and workforce mobility possible for thousands of adults across Cook County.
Adult learners use technology to apply for jobs, access public benefits, manage health care, enroll in classes, and stay connected. But none of this is possible without coordinated support from educators, workforce partners, and community organizations working together.
Your gift helps:
Expand digital literacy training and essential tech skills
Strengthen partnerships across AJCs, literacy programs, and workforce providers
Increase access to tools and resources for adults facing digital or economic barriers
Build a more equitable ecosystem where learning truly leads to opportunity
When we Scale Up Opportunity, we create connected pathways that help adult learners build confidence, stability, and long-term economic success. Thank you for supporting scaleLIT’s work and helping strengthen adult education, digital access, and workforce opportunities across our region.
Join us in making a difference for those striving to pursue their personal and professional goals.
Give the gift of knowledge, confidence, and opportunity.
Digital Literacy
3,500+
Digital Learners
5,600+
Northstar Learning Hours
3,700+
Certificates and Badges Awarded
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In FY 2024, scaleLIT saw 78 organizations utilize Northstar Digital Literacy to expand their digital curriculum. Northstar is a self-paced platform that includes assessments and modules in various digital skills, allowing users to earn badges and certificates as they learn. All Level 2 member organizations and any American Job Center with onsite Navigators can receive Northstar access under scaleLIT’s subscription.
Our commitment to promoting digital literacy resources and training resulted in a 106% increase in digital learners from the previous fiscal year and a 62% increase in badges and certificates awarded.
scaleLIT relaunched the Digital Learning Lab in 2024, focusing exclusively on promoting digital inclusion and building capacity for nine organizations from Chicago's South and West communities. Practitioners providing direct support—job training or adult basic education programs—were brought together to form a learning community of three cross-agency cohorts. scaleLIT Navigators participated alongside practitioners from member organizations to reframe the importance of digital literacy as an essential life skill.
Our Career Pathways Navigators identified a significant gap in existing digital literacy training in their community. Many existing digital offerings did not cover fundamental skills, such as turning on a computer, creating a resume in Google Docs or Microsoft Word, or sending a professional email.
To bridge this gap, scaleLIT launched weekly drop-in digital literacy sessions using Northstar starting in February 2024. These sessions provide essential digital skills and support job seekers in accessing the resources they need for career advancement. By integrating basic digital training into the career pathways framework, scaleLIT aims to empower individuals and enhance their professional and economic success.
At the end of FY 2024, in the first five months of these drop-in sessions, we hosted 84 drop-in sessions, totaling over 200 in attendance.
Service Integration: Career Pathways
2,000+
Outgoing Referrals from Navigators
11,000+
Community Members at Outreach Events
300+
Individuals supported by Navigators
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scaleLIT’s Career Pathways framework establishes a streamlined network of services connecting lower-level literacy instruction to workforce development training and job placement. To job seekers, Navigators serve as experts on the resources and programs in their community and a reliable point of contact who can advocate on their behalf. They fulfill this role by sending referrals to the appropriate programs and leveraging their partnerships to ensure job seekers receive timely service and feel supported. This year, we saw a 55% increase in referrals provided by Navigators.
scaleLIT addresses the critical issue of equitable access to adult education and workforce development programs. The education, public workforce, and social service systems are interconnected and interdependent, but enrollment into each system is often unclear. Navigating these systems can be inaccessible to our target populations: individuals with low skills or disabilities, those experiencing homelessness, migrants and refugees, and justice-involved job seekers. ScaleLIT Navigators help make these systems more accessible to Chicagoland residents who might struggle to identify or access services independently.
Career Pathways In Action: Meet R
In February 2024, R connected with the Wheeling Navigator, Mandeep, and shared that they were returning citizens who wanted to pursue higher education and were hopeful to begin a healthcare career. Mandeep arranged several appointments and attempted to connect multiple times, but she was unsuccessful.
R reconnected with Mandeep in May and shared their family and housing insecurities. R did not know where to turn, so Mandeep shared up-to-date resources immediately. R was grateful to have Mandeep as a direct point of contact for support.
R began researching healthcare programs and expressed interest in phlebotomy classes. R was living in a homeless shelter in Tinley Park and requested support closer to their service area. Mandeep connected R with Candace, the Navigator in Harvey, to share additional education and housing support. R was incredibly grateful for the support, connection, and kindness they received during this distressing time despite the missed appointments and interruption in outreach.
R is not unique in this experience. Many job seekers our scaleLIT Navigators support are experiencing challenges at home that hinder their ability to follow their career goals. Our Navigators are equipped with a deep knowledge of their community and remain ready and willing to lead with empathy and walk with these clients as they pursue individual success.
Service Integration: One-Stop Operation
6,000+
Referrals sent on Airtable
3,800+
Survey Responses
1,200+
Customers Served
4.84
Customer Satisfaction
Scale of 1-5 for Overall Onsite Satisfaction
60
Organizations using Airtable for Referrals
9.53
Net Promoter Score
Scale of 1-10 for Likelihood to Recommend Services
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scaleLIT is contracted by the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership to be the One-Stop Operator (OSO) and assist in coordinating and overseeing the AJCs in Chicago and suburban Cook County. As OSO, scaleLIT is committed to creating an equitable and inclusive public workforce system where diverse community members can access education and job training to achieve socioeconomic upward mobility.
In addition to receiving the award to promote service integration in Local Workforce Innovation Area (LWIA) 7, serving Cook County, scaleLIT was also contracted to take over OSO responsibilities for St. Clair County in southern Illinois.
In FY2024, scaleLIT’s OSO prioritized expanding technology tools—a universal referral platform and a learning management system—to promote service integration.
scaleLIT brought additional technology, namely Owl Cameras and live translation devices, to ensure customers can more easily access the resources and services offered at the AJCs.
OSO started implementing Owl Cameras for AJC partner meetings to accommodate both partners who preferred in-person networking onsite and partners who could only attend virtually. Onsite service providers can now use Owl Cameras to accommodate customers who are physically present during workshops and events while also providing a virtual component to those who cannot visit the center.
In response to the recent influx of migrants and refugees in our communities, scaleLIT purchased live translation devices to ensure all job seekers, regardless of language barriers, can access the services available at their local AJC. The Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership also purchased devices for use at events, workshops, and one-on-one appointments.
We also brought tablets to all ten AJCs to ensure customers can receive timely service and provide feedback on the resources and accommodations received during their visit.
Membership Highlights
90+ Member Organizations
$1,000,000 in total pass-through grants distrbuted
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Our organization continues to drive meaningful impact by supporting members through various essential benefits. Through our advocacy efforts, we champion adult education, workforce development, and digital inclusion by engaging with elected officials and leading coalition meetings to ensure our priorities are heard at every decision-making level.
Foster connection and collaboration by hosting networking events that unite members, partners, and critical change-makers
Support professional growth by offering targeted training sessions that equip members with the latest best practices and valuable insights tailored to their needs
Curate resources and tools—particularly in digital literacy and adult education—help expand members' curriculum offerings and enhance their ability to serve diverse learning communities
Together, these efforts help create a more inclusive, informed, and well-resourced network, empowering our members to make a lasting impact in their communities.