Youth Service Improvement Grants

Program Overview

The Youth Service Improvement Grants (YSIG) program supports activities to improve the quality of direct services for young people ages 5 to 25 in the five boroughs of New York City. The goal is to strengthen existing services by helping youth-serving nonprofit organizations address challenges or remedy problems at the point of service, where staff and youth interact.

Download the complete 2024 Application Guidelines

YSIG urges applicants not only to discuss their organizations’ promise and potential, but to identify gaps or challenges in the services they provide. We ask applicants to be critical and reflective, to consider why and how complications exist, and to articulate how they intend to improve the ability of their programming to provide positive impact on youth.

Examples of problem areas for improvement include: inadequate curriculum, gaps in the service skills of frontline staff, or a limitation in current services that adversely affects participants’ experiences. Beyond these examples, we welcome other compelling needs for service improvement.

Awards

The Foundation aims to award six new Youth Service Improvement Grants annually.

In addition to grant support, the Foundation also provides grantees access to technical assistance, including one-on-one support as your organization works toward successfully implementing the improvement project. In addition, three cohort-wide “learning community” meetings allow for peer-based learning and coaching, as well as opportunities to discuss challenges, seek advice from peers and colleagues, and collaborate across projects in a supportive space.

Eligibility

The YSIG program awards grants only to youth-serving community-based nonprofit organizations physically located in any of the five boroughs of New York City whose staff have direct programmatic contact with youth at the point of service. Applicants must meet all organizational criteria to be eligible. Organizations previously funded under either of the Foundation’s Youth Service Grant programs cannot apply again for at least 18 months after the end of their award.

Organizational Criteria

Serve youth ages 5 to 25.
- At least 80 percent of youth participating in the services targeted for improvement must be in this age range.
- The applicant’s staff must have direct contact with youth at the point of service.
Have their own 501(c)(3) tax-exemption.
- If operating under fiscal sponsorship, confirmation of fiscal sponsorship agreement is required.
- 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 is part of the group.
The applying organization (not the fiscal sponsor) must have an operating budget between $250,000 and $5 million in the prior year (e.g., 2023), if the organization serves youth only.
- 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 $5 million.
Have audited financial statements or certified financial statements, ideally 2023 or 2022, from the applying organization or from the fiscal sponsor if the organization is operating under fiscal sponsorship.
Have a 990 for the applying organization (or explain your exemption). Or, if operating under fiscal sponsorship, the fiscal sponsor much have a 990.

Additional Considerations: Reducing Inequality Criteria

The YSIG program is aligned with the Foundation’s broader focus on reducing inequality in youth outcomes. Inequality in New York City is 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. We seek to help improve the quality of direct service programs provided by youth-serving non-profit organizations that confront these challenges.

Meeting the criteria below is not a requirement for funding. However, applicants who fulfill at least one reducing inequality criteria in addition to all organizational criteria described above will receive priority consideration.

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
Any organization that fits the organizational eligibility criteria and has an established youth-serving program in one of the identified 11 community districts may apply for special consideration. Serving some youth from the 11 community districts in locations outside of the community districts does not meet the priority consideration.
Have existing well-defined programming tailored specifically to Mexican-descent youth or LGBTQ+ youth.
Many programs serve Mexican-descent and LGBTQ+ youth, but only those organizations with programming specifically designed for these populations are eligible for priority consideration under this criterion.
Have leaders (executive directors or CEOs) who are people of color and/or members of the LGBTQ+ community.

What We Do Not Support

The YSIG program only supports improvement activities at the point of service for youth. We do not support:

General operations.
Planning, needs assessment, and evaluation proposals.
Program improvement activities not focused on changes at the point-of-service, such as board development or financial system updates.
Capital fund projects, scholarships, endowments, lobbying, real estate purchases, or awards to individuals.
Expansions or additions to programming, including changes that simply increase the number of slots in a program or result in new programming. As such, all proposed budgetary items must be directly related to the proposed improvement.
Public and private schools.
Organizations that are based outside the five boroughs of New York City.

Review Criteria

Applications for Youth Service Improvement Grants are reviewed by a dedicated volunteer committee of Foundation staff once a year. Committee members have a diverse range of expertise, including finance, communications, and nonprofit administration. Thus, applications should be written to address an educated lay audience. If you use acronyms that may not be familiar to a lay audience, please be sure to spell them out the first time. If you use terms that are not commonly known, please provide relevant context and explanations.

Strong proposals will make the case that the quality of youth services would improve if the issue were resolved, and will clearly describe a feasible, sustainable, and appropriate improvement.

Applications will be reviewed against the following criteria:

Clear description of the organization’s mission and current youth services

The applicant provides a clear, compelling explanation of how the current program with direct point-of-contact services create positive and meaningful experiences for youth.

Compelling rationale for improvement

The applicant clearly identifies a problem at the point of service and explains how the problem has adversely impacted the experiences of participants.
The applicant details how they identified the problem and clearly articulates its likely causes.
The applicant makes a strong case that the quality of services to youth would significantly improve if the problem were addressed.

Strength of the improvement plan

The improvement plan effectively addresses the problem: it is targeted specifically at the causes of the problem, it is likely to be effective, and it is sustainable.
The improvement activities can feasibly be implemented within the one-year grant period, which begins on September 1 of the award year.
The applicant identifies a capable staff member or manager to oversee the improvement plan and track progress across the timeline. This is different from staff working to implement the improvement.
The applicant outlines a compelling plan to collect and use information to determine whether the improvement project is successful.
The applicant makes the case that the improvement can be sustained operationally and financially.
If additional funds will be required to continue the improvement after the grant period, the applicant provides a feasible plan to achieve sustainability.