Brief Description:

United Way of Olmsted County is a community change organization that fights for the health, education, and financial stability of every person in our community. We recognize there are systemic influences that present some parts of our community with opportunities, while presenting others with barriers. When dismantling those systemic barriers, UWOC aims to support communities in implementing self-determined solutions.

After a 1.5-year process lead by Black community members, United Way of Olmsted County is opening this Request for Proposals to invest in culturally specific youth development programs. We invite applications from Black-led organizations that focus on serving Black youth.

The proposal period begins January 4th. We invite you to review our Request for Proposals below and consider applying.

Description:

We are investing in Black-led programs that provide high quality youth development programming for Black youth, because when young people have access to the resources they need, it helps transition them into stable adulthood. Our youth empowerment grants provide grantees multiyear funding to operate youth development programs for Black youth in middle and high school.
When we say youth development programs, we mean out-of-school time activities that connect youth to caring adults, opportunities to develop new skills, build healthy relationships, and support academic achievement. A high-quality program will serve primarily Black youth from low-income households and use current best practices in the youth development field. They will also result in one or more of the following outcomes:

Improving or maintaining positive social skills
Improving or maintaining positive physical, mental, and emotional health
Improving or maintaining satisfactory grades and/or attendance at school
Improving or maintaining leadership and/or career-affiliated skills

We have identified the following best practices and invite applicants to discuss if they utilize them: the 5 key elements of developmental relationships, starting programming early in a young person’s life, one-on-one vs group mentoring, supporting positive identity formation and critical consciousness, supporting positive relationships with caregivers, and how Black culture influences their work. Please review our research section for more information on what we consider high-quality programming.

Begin Accepting Applications Date:

1/04/2023

Deadline Date (CST Time Zone) :

2/15/2023 11:59 PM