Sesame Workshop has been named one of four finalists for the MacArthur Foundation 100&Change US$100-million grant competition. More than 1,900 foundations applied, and the winner will be announced in December.

If selected as the recipient, Sesame Workshop plans to use the money to bring early education to refugee children in the Syrian response region. It will work with the International Rescue Committee to bring educators into the area equipped with Sesame’s educational content. The aim of the partnership is to reach more than nine million children through broadcast in the region and bring direct services to the 1.5 million who are most vulnerable.

The other finalists include the Catholic Relief Services with its plan to improve orphanages in Guatemala, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Lebanon and Moldova; Harvest Plus with the plan to fortify staple crops in Africa to end hunger in the region; and Rice 360 Institute for Global Health seeks to improve newborn survival in Africa.

All of the finalists will be answering public questions online weekly starting on September 29, then each will present their proposals during a live stream on December 11. The money will be distributed to the winner over six years.