The William T. Grant Foundation has awarded its fifth group of Youth Service Improvement Grants (YSIG) to community-based organizations in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Each of the 10 grantees – selected from a pool of 77 applicants – will receive $25,000 to carry out improvement projects over the next two years.
The foundation’s Youth Service Improvement Grants are designed to improve the lives of youth by supporting community-based organizations that work directly with youths ages 8 to 25. The grants fund small- to medium-size organizations that have demonstrated measurable success, but that lack the funds to expand and improve.
Applications are accepted in the spring and fall; decisions on spring 2009 applications will be made in August 2009. Applications for the fall 2009 cycle will be accepted starting in July with a final deadline in September, and a decision by February 2010.
The fall 2008 YSIG grantees are:
* The American Place Theatre, New York, to improve the elementary school component of their Literature to Life arts education program.
* Community Works, New York, to strengthen the literacy component of their Making a Difference arts and literacy program.
* Girls for Gender Equity, Brooklyn, N.Y., to improve their Urban Leaders Academy after-school program, which includes a mix of academic and extracurricular activities.
* Groundwork, Brooklyn, N.Y., to implement a professionalism improvement project for the college and high school students who make up the front-line staff of Groundwork for Youth, an after-school and summer program for elementary and middle school children.
* Harlem Children Society, New York, to improve their Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (HCS-STEM) program for underserved high school students.
* iMentor, New York, to improve the Alumni Pairs component of their New York City mentoring program by hiring a full-time AP program coordinator.
* New Haven Ecology Project, New Haven, Conn., to ensure consistent program quality for all of their middle school programs.
* South Asian Youth Action, Elmhurst, N.Y., to revamp their SAT Preparation Program.
* VISIONS Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired, New York, to improve their Summer Youth Work Experience Training program, which places participants into paid summer internships.
* Christian Herald Association, New York, to restructure their Kids with a Promise after-school program.
The William T. Grant Foundation supports research to understand and improve the settings of youth ages 8 to 25 in the United States.
Contact: Sarah Martino, (212) 752-0071 ext. 325, smartino@wtgrantfdn.org
