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NOLA Youth Master Plan Grant Opportunity:
Deepening Supports Our Orleans Parish Youth
ABOUT
VISION
Implementation of the Youth Master Plan (YMP) will improve the well-being and outcomes of our New Orleans youth. The plan’s strategies will be activated through the engagement and support of existing organizations in Orleans Parish that serve young people from birth through 24 years.
BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW
There are 112,000 children and youth of New Orleans worthy and waiting for investment in their success and well-being. Our young people face many challenges rooted in poverty and inequity, and we must acknowledge that they are part of the solution, not the problem.
In the spring of 2022, community leaders in New Orleans met to discuss how we as a community can and must do better to serve them. United Way of Southeast Louisiana (UWSELA) identified an opportunity to implement key strategies in the YMP. The plan, created by youth leaders, is a ten-year comprehensive roadmap for creating and sustaining a positive, youth-development-focused, results-oriented New Orleans that works for all our young people. Learn more about the YMP here.
In July 2022, the NOLA Coalition – a broad group of over 400 nonprofits, civic organizations, and businesses, including UWSELA – announced a two-part, concurrent strategy to address crime and quality of life in New Orleans. The Investment in Youth Support Service pillar seeks to and raise $15M from new funding sources over the next three years ($5M per year) to be distributed across eligible youth-serving organizations through three competitive grant cycles.
The deadline for submitting applications is September 22, 2022.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR FUNDING
- Value existing relationships programs have with their funders, therefore no interruptions of in-place funding plans will occur that in any way appears to shift funds from planned program to this new initiative
- Pursue only new funding sources intended for this initiative, not borrowed from prior committed investments
- Grant size is informed by funds in hand at cycle opening and does not include pledged amounts
- Invest in what works as demonstrated by data and information
- Recognize, acknowledge, and enhance what currently exists rather than seeking only new opportunities
- Coordinate across systems and networks to build better together, efficiently, and effectively
- Build provider capacity to deliver results, and use them to scale up through diverse funding opportunities
- Focus on strengths and assets of children, youth, families, and communities
- Actions and decisions reflect inclusion of all across developmental stages of birth - 24 years
GRANT CRITERIA
- All participating youth-serving organizations or sponsoring organizations must be headquartered and operate within Orleans Parish.
- Funds can be used to start, expand or enhance a program.
- Proposals must be submitted by verified public or charitable nonprofit (tax-exempt) organizations or sponsored by such an organization (fiscal agent).
- Note: For-profits and agencies organized primarily for religious, fraternal, governmental, political, or to redirect funds are not eligible for funding.
- Collaborations are welcome to apply; however, a lead 501(c)(3) organization must be identified and provide nonprofit documentation and an eligible budget for the collaboration.
- To ensure equity and inclusion in grant distribution, we will prioritize organizations that have NOT received dedicated NOLA Coalition funding.
- Cycle 1 grant funds prioritize organizations serving youth of color from birth to 24 years old living at or below the ALICE Threshold, and/or to organizations with operating budgets below $500,000.
- Proposed projects must be designed to be completed within the scope of the grant timeline
- A project may focus on a wide variety of youth issues or be narrowly focused. Nevertheless, proposed programs must align with at least one of the five priority solutions of the YMP: We strongly advise that you read the YMP before applying.
- SJ1 (Safety & Justice) Invest in preventive interventions that are culturally appropriate, evidence-based, and designed to promote healing, prosocial behavior, and the development of healthy coping skills in young people.
- SJ2 (Safety & Justice) Expand utilization of restorative approaches across all systems (schools, community programs, detention, etc.) to include everyone impacted by conflict, crime, and violence, and reduce youth involvement with detention centers and the adult criminal justice system.
- SJ5 (Safety & Justice) Coordinate a network of support for families that provides physically and emotionally safe spaces for caregivers to talk about challenges and victories of raising a family and use the principles of adult-learning, family support, and resource-sharing.
- ES2 (Economic Stability) Expose young people to career and technical education opportunities that increase their awareness of post-high school career pathways, and provide them the training and relationships needed to make an informed choice between viable post-graduation options.
- L6 (Learning) Increase funding for learning and enrichment that falls outside of the K-12 system, including early childhood education, out-of-school-time programming, and college/credential/career preparation programming.
- Funded organizations will be required to provide progress reports. UWSELA and the CYPB will provide training on reporting requirements and tools after notice of award.
- Funded organizations must submit their program information to the New Orleans Youth Alliance’s Program Guide.
- Grant submissions must be submitted electronically by September 22, 2022, by 4:00 p.m. CT. Applications with a time signature later than 4:00 p.m. CT will be considered for Cycle 2 Funding. Notification of grant award will be sent the week of October 24.
→ PLEASE NOTE: A virtual informational session was held for applicants to learn more about the application process and required forms. Click here to review the recording or review the training PowerPoint (pdf).
→ USE OF FUNDS: Grants must be used to support youth-serving (birth-24) programs or projects that align with one or more of the YMP’s identified priorities with required reporting. Organizations have the flexibility to direct these funds in ways that best support the program or project; however, funds may not be used to support capital projects.
GRANT AWARDS
- Cycle 1 grant funds prioritize organizations serving youth of color from birth to 24 years old living at or below the ALICE Threshold, and/or to organizations with operating budgets below $500,000.
- Grant awards range from $25,000 to $75,000.
- Funded organizations with budgets under $200,000 will be invited to participate in free capacity-building training to increase their ability to apply for future funding opportunities.
- The deadline for submitting applications is September 22, 2022.
- If awarded a grant in the first cycle, funding will begin November 1, 2022 through October 31, 2023.
GRANT CYCLE TIMELINE
CYCLE 1 – overseen by United Way SELA
- Opens September 7, 2022
- Application Training – September 7, 2022
- Applications due – September 22, 2022
- Notification of Funding – Week of October 17, 2022 (Update: Week of October 24, 2022)
- Funding timeline – November 1, 2022 – October 31, 2023
More information on future funding opportunities through the coalition will be available at NOLACoalition.info.
AWARD SCHEDULE
Organizations will receive award funds in three installments:
- 65% of grant total upon award
- 25% of remaining grant award upon submission of a six-month mid-term report
- Remainder of funds upon submission of a final report
INSTRUCTIONS
IMPORTANT: Before preparing your application, please read the following instructions carefully and provide all requested information.
Application
- Cover Page – Complete Cover Page. Collaborative applicants should complete a cover page for each organization in the collaborative.
- Application Questions – Answer the questions as completely as possible. We recommend using Word to write your answers and then copying and pasting your responses into the spaces provided.
Application Attachments – In addition to the electronic application, the following must be uploaded to the website along with your application to be considered complete.
- Organization’s W-9
- Organizations completed ACH form
- Nonprofit Documentation: Acceptable documentation of nonprofit status includes the following:
- 501(c)(3) Determination Letter
- For Catholic Churches
- Copy of the IRS determination letter provided by the Group Ruling for Catholic Churches,
- Plus a copy showing your listing in the Official Catholic Directory. (Other churches with a similar status may submit such ruling and proof that the individual church is included in the ruling.)
PLEASE NOTE: Articles of incorporation, bylaws, tax ID numbers, or Secretary of State certificates indicating incorporation will not be accepted as appropriate documentation.
- Fiscal Agent Form: If your organization does not currently have nonprofit status, you may still apply for a Youth Master Plan Grant by having a 501(c)(3) organization agree to act as your sponsor and fiscal agent for the duration of the project. To be considered, you must submit
- Fiscal agent form from the sponsoring organization detailing your sponsor and fiscal agent agreement
- Most recent Annual Audit Report
- Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN)
For-profit organizations may not apply using a fiscal agent.
Deadline
- All application materials must be submitted electronically by September 22, 2022, by 4:00 p.m. by uploading documents and clicking the submit button at the bottom of this form.
- This is a rolling grant process in which applications may be submitted at any time. However, for Cycle 1, grants considered for funding must be submitted by 4:00 p.m. CT on September 22, 2022. Any applications submitted after 4:00 p.m. will be considered for Funding Cycle 2.
More Information
CONTACT
Please direct general questions about the Cycle 1 framework or the process to Grants@UnitedWaySELA.org.
More information on future funding opportunities through the coalition will be available at NOLACoalition.info.
APPLY
Forms
After completing your application, please upload application, along with your supporting documents, using the webform below.
IMPORTANT: Please carefully review these documents prior to uploading your documents.
→ Download the NOLA YMP Grant Application (pdf) *Updated
→ Download the Fiscal Agent Form (if applicable) (docx)
→ Download the ACH Form (if needed) (docx)
See instructions, grant criteria, review the PowerPoint (pdf) and/or watch the training for more information.