Youth Service Capacity-Building Grants (United States)

Deadline: 20-Sep-23

Applications are now open for the Youth Service Capacity-Building Grants (YSCG) program to strengthen the organizational infrastructure of small nonprofit organizations in the five boroughs of New York City that provide direct services to young people ages 5 to 25.

The long-term goal of the YSCG program is to help build stronger, more stable youth-serving organizations that tackle inequality in youth outcomes. These grants provide general operating support so that small nonprofits can determine the best way to address capacity-building needs that have been identified through a formal or informal assessment. Capacity-building needs may include:

• Financial management
• Board recruitment and development
• Human resource management
• Staff training
• Fundraising
• Strategic planning
• Information technology
• Leadership development
• Communications
• Evaluation systems.

Strong proposals will make the case that addressing the capacity-building need will result in a strengthened organization that can yield stronger services for youth.

Award Details

• Awards are $60,000 each and provide general operating support to allow grantees the flexibility to allocate the funds for organizational capacity-building needs over a 3-year term that begins on March 1, 2024.
• The award provides $30,000 in the first year to get the work off the ground, $20,000 in the second year, and $10,000 in the third year. In the third year, the grantee is required to obtain new matching funding of $10,000. They invite organizations to leverage the Foundation’s award to obtain new funding partners.
• The Foundation aims to award three new Youth Service Capacity-Building Grants annually.

What they do not support?

The YSCG program does not support:

• Capital fund projects, scholarships, endowments, lobbying, real estate purchases, or awards to individuals
• Public and/or private schools
• National or international organizations
• Organizations that are based outside of the five boroughs of New York City

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must meet all of the following criteria:

• Serve youth ages 5 to 25.
  • At least 80 percent of youth participating in services must be in this age range.
  • If the organization also serves adults, at least 80 percent of the service recipients must be youth ages 5-25.
  • The applicant’s staff must have direct contact with youth at the point of service.
• Have their own 501(c)(3) tax-exemption or utilize a fiscal sponsor that is a registered 501(c)(3). If an applying organization is separately incorporated but tax-exempt through a group ruling (religious institutions), the applicant should supply the 501(c)(3) letter of the parent organization and documentation that it is part of the group.
• Have an operating budget between $250,000 and $1 million.
  • If the applying organization serves youth and other populations, its operating budget must be less than $20 million and its youth services budget must be between $250,000 and $1 million.
• Have most recent financial statements reviewed by an auditor, per New York State law requirement. If the organization’s annual budget is under $750,000, then certified public accountant’s reviewed financial statements are required.
• Have filed IRS Form 990.

Reducing Inequality Criteria

• The YSCG program is aligned with the Foundation’s broader focus on reducing inequality in youth outcomes. Inequality in New York City is multifaceted, reflected in racial and economic segregation across boroughs and neighborhoods, in inadequate services for Mexican-descent youth and LGBTQ+ youth, and in a lack of racial, ethnic, gender identity, and sexual-orientation diversity among executive directors and CEOs of youth-serving organizations. They seek to build the capacity of youth-serving nonprofit organizations that confront these challenges.
• Eligible youth-serving, nonprofit organizations must meet one of the following criteria related to the Foundation’s focus on reducing inequality in youth outcomes:
  • Currently provide youth services in one of the eleven community districts identified as having the highest community risk to child well-being by the Citizens’ Committee for Children:
    • Bronx:
      • CD 1 – Mott Haven
      • CD 2 – Hunts Point
      • CD 3 – Morrisania
      • CD 4 – Concourse/Highbridge
      • CD 5 – University Heights
      • CD 6 – East Tremont
      • CD 7 – Bedford Park
      • CD 9 – Union Port/Soundview
      • CD 12 – Williamsbridge
    • Brooklyn:
      • CD 5 – East New York
      • CD 16 – Brownsville
  • Have existing well-defined programming tailored specifically to Mexican-descent youth or to LGBTQ youth:
    • Many programs serve Mexican-descent and LGBTQ+ youth, but only those organizations with programming specifically designed for these populations are eligible for consideration under this criterion.
  • Have leaders (executive directors or CEOs) who are people of color and/or members of the LGBTQ community.

For more information, visit William T. Grant Foundation.