Deadline: 14 June 2019
The Youth Service America (YSA) is inviting applications for the 2019-2020 Lead Agency Grants Program to activate youth volunteers on 11th September National Day of Service & Remembrance, MLK Day of Service and Global Youth Service Day.
Funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the Lead Agency program offers youth development organizations, community-based organizations, and schools/school districts grant funding, capacity-building training, and ongoing support to effectively engage young people in meaningful service and civic action activities.
Lead Agencies are a vital part of creating a culture in which all young people have the opportunity and support to find their voice, take action, and make an impact in their communities. YSA collaborates with their Lead Agencies to ask all young people to get involved, teach them how to be active citizens, remove barriers to their participation, and show them that they really can make a difference as individuals and as a generation.
The primary role of a Lead Agency is to convene a coalition of partners who will collectively activate youth – especially those in middle and high school in under-served communities who aren’t usually asked to participate. Lead Agencies convene partner coalitions of:
- organizations with young people – youth development and afterschool programs, K-12 schools, colleges and universities, and faith-based organizations, etc.
- organizations with opportunities to serve – community-based organizations, government agencies, volunteer programs, etc.
In turn, these coalitions activate youth, ages 5-25, to lead service or service-learning projects through which they:
- build youth-adult partnerships that create connections with caring adults who encourage young people to use their Sparks (passions, interests, and skills) to help others,
- provide opportunities to learn and practice 21st Century Skills (Collaboration, Communication, Creativity, and Critical Thinking),
- strengthen their community by working towards achieving the Global Goals (17 UN Sustainable Development Goals), and
- LeadASAP (through Awareness, Service, Advocacy, and Philanthropy projects).
Focus Area
Institute topics will focus on the areas of:
- capacity building to facilitate and sustain meaningful Day of Service projects;
- personal leadership development as a nonprofit or education professional; and
- ‘train-the-trainer’ sessions to prepare applicant with the content, techniques, and activities to deliver interactive and effective training to at least 60 people.
Funding Information
$9,000 is the possible grant amounts for Lead Agencies activating youth volunteers for 9/11 Day, MLK Day, and GYSD.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants should focus on engaging middle and high-school aged youth, especially those from under-served communities.
- Applicants may work locally, regionally, statewide, multi-state, or nationally and must be based in the United States.
- Grantees leading 9/11 Day activation are required to coordinate at least one project focused on veterans or military families, and at grantees leading MLK Day activities are required to coordinate at least one project focused on economic opportunity and financial literacy.
- All grantees are also required to record and report names of all volunteers for each day of service.
How to Apply
Interested applicants can apply via given website.
For more information, please visit https://ysa.org/grant/leadagency/
