Open Monday, September 23 - Friday, October 4, 2024

Youth Social Action Project

Request for Proposals

We invite 501(c)3 youth-serving organizations serving middle and high school students to apply for funding for youth social action projects. These projects are defined as those in which youth identify and develop a plan to address a social issue in their community.

RFP Orientation

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Download the Orientation Powerpoint Presentation

Introduction

Metro United Way (MUW) is committed to cultivating opportunities for youth in our seven-county region to be leaders and change agents in their communities. A Youth Social Action Project involves youth identifying and developing a plan to address an issue in their community. This youth empowerment project is meant to encourage collaborative, responsible, and critically engaging citizenship (The Critical Thinking Consortium, 2010). This youth-centered initiative encourages collaboration and the redistribution of traditional power dynamics between youth and adults.

Any organization/agency that works with/serves youth (ages 10-24) can apply for up to $5,000 in funding to support a youth social action project in partnership with youth in their respective agency/organization/community. Applications should demonstrate your ability to ensure equity within youth-adult partnerships; youth are involved in designing the project and demonstrate a clear intent to ignite positive agency and organizational or community change.

Once applications are submitted, the Review Committee will evaluate them. Based on their recommendations and feedback from our Community Impact Cabinet, agencies will be selected to receive funding. Only one application per organization will be accepted.

The grant review committee will include representatives from:

Metro United Way Youth Success Team
The Book Works Neighborhood Youth Board

KEY DATES

Application Opens: Monday, September 23rd at 9:00 a.m.
Applications Due: Friday, October 4th at 11:59 p.m.
Awards Announced: Friday, December 13th

KEY DETAILS

To qualify for YSAP, your organization must:

Be a 501(c)(3) organization or fiscally sponsored by one.
Serve young people in one or more counties of Metro United Way’s seven county service region: Harrison, Clark & Floyd Counties in Indiana and Jefferson, Bullitt, Oldham & Shelby Counties in Kentucky.
Be a youth-serving organization working with young people between the ages of 10 and 24 inclusive.

Expectations if your organization receives the grant:

At least one representative from your organization must be present at the YSAP Kick-Off meeting.
Must be responsive and available to schedule multiple check-ins with the Youth Success Team.
Must submit a project plan to the Youth Success Team.
Must complete a final report by December 31st, 2025.

Funding may be used for the following:

Food/supplies to support project-planning meetings with youth
Youth stipends
Direct project costs (NOTE: no more than 50% of funds can be used for staff personnel cost)

Before applying, you must:

Request login credentials through the Credential Registration Portal HERE.
You will receive the credentials on September 23rd or within 1 business day of completing your request, when the application opens.

Key Definitions

Community Change: A process by which communities mobilize to affect change through commitment, assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation (CDC, 2021).
Equity: Meeting individuals/communities/etc. where they are and providing resources/opportunities according to their needs to produce equal outcomes (United Way, 2021).
Organizational Change: When an organization significantly changes how it operates to better serve its users, clients, or community (Ovington, 2024).
Positive Agency: The feeling of being in control of one’s body, mind, and environment One’s belief that they can positively change the world for the better (Tapal et al., 2017).
Social Action: Activities in which youth engage and contribute to a positive difference to individuals, community, and/or the environment (Youth Social Action Toolkit, n.d.).
Social Action Project: A project in which youth identify and develop a plan to address a social issue in their community. This project should encourage collaborative, responsible, and critically engaging citizenship (The Critical Thinking Consortium, 2010).
Youth-Adult Partnerships: A partnership where adults work in full partnership with young people to identify, work, and address a common concern (Advocates for Youth, 2009; Zeldin, Christens & Powers, 2013).
Youth-Initiated Leadership: Anytime a young person takes control, manages, directs, and leads activities with their peers or adults (Texas Network of Youth Services, n.d. ).
Youth Voice: The active, distinct, and concentrated ways young people represent themselves throughout society (Freechild Institute for Youth Engagement, 2023).

Youth Social Action Project Examples

Below, we have provided two examples of youth-centered social action projects to inspire the design and implementation of your proposed social action project.

Kentucky Youth Advocates (KYA) Reform Louisville project

KYA worked with a group of young people to focus on empowering youth of color (from neighborhoods negatively impacted by violence and justice system involvement) to realize their power in speaking up for change and teaching youth healing strategies they can employ to address the trauma of violence in the community. The group decided the best way to implement the project is to release the content through TikTok.

The team of young adults worked on a series of 30 TikTok videos posted every day in November 2023. These videos aimed to target youth and young adults, particularly during school breaks, so they chose November to post them. The videos focused on essential self-preservation skills and tools intended to help the audience work toward healing. These videos followed the SPIRE model: spiritual, physical, intellectual, relational, and emotional healing. The videos included physical activities such as basketball, boxing, and breathing exercises. Additionally, content was centered around spending quality time with children through activities like coloring, walking, playing, and watching cartoons. Other videos they have made included artwork, cleaning/cleansing their space, affirmations, and will be complete with different healing strategies.

The Bookworks

In the spring of 2024, a team of 11 young people (13 to 21 years old) developed and led a community-wide event, called the 502 Change Fest, within the Beechmont Community Center to connect youth to resources and organizations centered around harm reduction, youth safety, and mental health. The team was inspired to organize this event after attending a Narcan training facilitated by the Louisville Metro Public Health and Wellness Department. Their goal was to promote awareness around the types of violence youth may experience, connect youth with resources they may need but may not be able to get, and create opportunities for young people to get involved with organizations or programs in the community.

The team divided themselves into three different teams to tackle program planning, marketing, and organizational outreach and together organized and implemented the event ideas. A total of 14 community organizations took part in this social action event, 75 youth participated and were served, six training’s were provided to prepare youth to be better advocates in their communities, and 22 hygiene kits were distributed.

Additional Social Action Project Resources and Examples

Questions?

The Youth Social Action Project is a fantastic opportunity to make a positive impact, and we look forward to your organization’s participation.

If you have any questions or encounter issues during the process, please contact TJ Delahanty at tj.delahanty@metrounitedway.org.