Youth for Community Improvement (YCI) Fund
Application Deadline: April 29, 2022
Youth for Community Improvement (YCI), an advisory committee of the Greater Worcester Community Foundation comprised of area high school students, requests proposals from Worcester County nonprofit organizations.
Proposals must speak to youth voice to be considered. Youth voice is the empowerment of young people through leadership roles, holding decision making power, and/or involvement of youth in program organization.
Areas of Interest
After an extensive community learning process, funding priorities are determined annually by each YCI class. The 2022 areas of interest are:
Mental Health support for young people
- Projects/programs that reduce stigma, empower young people and address the ongoing mental health needs of young people
- Projects/programs that address the impacts of COVID on young people
Basic needs for our community
- Projects/programs/events that help provide clothing, food, shelter and/or menstrual products to those in need
Career & education pathways and opportunities for high school students
- Projects/programs/events that that help young people explore and learn more about post-secondary opportunities
Community Building
- Projects that foster community building/unification
- Opportunities for community leadership
- Projects/events that build on the socio-emotional and resilience of our communities
Scope and Limitations
Grants will not exceed $4,000. Total project budgets may not exceed $25,000.
Application Forms and Instructions
The application form is online. The first time an organization applies to the Foundation through our online application system, it creates an Organization Account to use for each application going forward. Please use the same account you have previously used, or create a new one if this your first time applying online. You may contact Foundation staff to find out if your organization already has an account in our system.