Youth approve $57,000 in grants to youth-led community projects
by Nela Reyes Lee
Philanthropic Services Officer, Sacramento Region Community Foundation
The Grants Advisory Board for Youth (GABY), a local grantmaking advisory board comprised of youth between the ages of 12 and 19, recently approved $57,000 in grants to youth-led community projects that will be carried out in Sacramento and Yolo counties. After reviewing all funding requests, the GABY awarded Youth HOPE grants to 24 youth-led projects. The funded projects address a range of issues impacting youth, including environmental education, cultural literacy, and health and wellness.
The Youth HOPE grant opportunity is made possible through a partnership between the Sacramento Region Community Foundation and Sierra Health Foundation's REACH youth program. The GABY awards grants for projects that are planned and carried out by young people ages 10 to 19. In order to be considered for funding by GABY, projects must incorporate significant youth involvement throughout all stages, including project planning, grant application completion and project implementation. Since its inception in 2002, the GABY has granted more than $256,000 to 127 youth-led projects throughout the Sacramento region.
“I had the opportunity to make real-life decisions that can greatly make a difference in the community,” said Julia, 15, a three-year GABY member. Rohan, 16, another three-year GABY veteran said, “Facilitation and management skills are just some of the things I've learned by participating in the GABY program.”
For more information about the GABY program, please contact (916) 921-7723 or gaby@sacregcf.org. To view a complete list of the 2007-2008 Youth HOPE grant recipients, please visit the Sacramento Region Community Foundation's Web site.
The Sacramento Region Community Foundation is an advocate for quality of life, dedicated to connecting people who care with charitable causes. An effective steward of the region's charitable assets since 1983, the foundation's mission is to serve as a leader and trusted partner in expanding philanthropic activity and enhancing its impact for the betterment of our communities.
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Capital Region Ready by 21 to host April 28 community convening
by Suzanne Mayes
Project Consultant, Capital Region Ready by 21
As a community of concerned adults, we try to do everything we can to ensure our children and youth are physically and emotionally safe, have opportunities to learn how to make healthy choices, and are able to connect with the assets and resources they need to be successful in college, work and life. Despite our best efforts, research shows that only four out of 10 young people are doing well in the areas of productivity, health and connectedness when they reach their early 20s. As a community we must face this challenge, understand what works and join forces to ensure our youth have the supports, opportunities and services they need to prosper and contribute where they live, learn, work and play.
With leadership and cooperation from the city and county, school districts, neighborhood and community-based organizations and Sacramento philanthropy, we have created the Capital Region Ready by 21 Coalition to address this challenge. The coalition is a nonpartisan collaboration of adults and youth dedicated to helping our community make sure all young people are Ready by 21™: ready for college, work and life. We believe everyone in the community has a role to play and all youth should be seen as valuable resources in the community. They deserve ongoing nurturing and support from caring adults and peers; high-quality, meaningful opportunities for involvement; and access to challenging and engaging learning experiences.
On April 28, the Capital Region Ready by 21 Coalition is hosting a community convening called Commitment for Success to begin building a vision of shared accountability for changing the outcomes for our youth. During the convening, coalition representatives will present our compact, which identifies specific commitments and strategies community members can adopt to make an impact in their spheres of influence. Participants also will learn about the city of Sacramento's newly created Office of Youth Development and its plans to ensure all youth receive the supports they need to forge a successful path into adulthood.
Capital region youth who have participated in a series of policy trainings will present information about their issues of concern and discuss opportunities for adult involvement in the initiative. Most importantly, convening participants will be asked to sign the coalition's compact and commit themselves and their organizations to adopt specific strategies to increase the odds for youth success and be publicly accountable for keeping those commitments.
For more information about the Capital Region Ready by 21 Coalition, contact us at (916) 231-5333 x29 or Readyby21cr@yahoo.com. Online registration for the convening will begin March 21. See the Youth Development Network Web site for information.
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Youth and adults address youth violence prevention, school improvement
by Jim Keddy
Director, PICO California
On Feb. 24 and 25, more than 130 youth leaders and 100 adults from throughout the state gathered in Sacramento to discuss strategies on youth violence prevention and school improvement, and to build relationships with some of the state's highest-ranking public officials. Young people and adults from the Meadowview Partnership, a REACH-funded initiative, participated and played key leadership roles in the two-day event.
On the first evening, youth and adult leaders came together to learn from one another regarding their efforts to reduce youth violence and to win the policies and resources necessary for long-term change. In Union City, for example, community leaders are urging their city council to set aside $1 million from a proposed $5 million public safety measure for youth prevention and intervention services. In Oakland, grassroots leaders are working with city officials to develop the Oakland Strategy, modeled after a successful effort in Boston in which outreach workers visit young people involved in gangs and violence and seek to help them create a way out through jobs and other services.
Youth leaders Curtis, Lisa and Shuntae
from the Meadowview Partnership
participated in the PICO event.
In addition to violence prevention, the gathering focused on efforts to raise high school graduation rates. In San Diego, parent and student leaders are challenging their local school district to raise graduation and college-going rates at Lincoln High. In Sacramento, leaders are working with educators to carry out home visits to students at the middle and high school levels whose attendance and grades suggest they are at risk of dropping out. This dropout prevention work is moving forward quickly in the Meadowview community through REACH support.
After an evening of learning and community building, the participants met the next morning with the following public officials:
- State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell
- Paul Seave, State Director of the Gang and Youth Violence Policy Office of the Governor
- California Secretary of Education Dave Long
- State Senator Darrell Steinberg, chair of the Select Committee on High School Graduation
In each meeting, youth gave testimony about their experience and concerns, and asked questions of the public officials regarding their current plans. The officials left the meeting impressed by the energy and focus of the participants.
PICO California, a statewide network of community organizing efforts, coordinated the event. The gathering was a step forward in a campaign led by youth and adults affiliated with PICO to win a greater investment of public resources in youth development and education. The PICO affiliate in Sacramento is Area Congregations Together (ACT). For more information, contact Jim Keddy at jim@picocalifornia.org.
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Improve your program with a REACH grant
by Katy Pasini
Communications Associate, Sierra Health Foundation
Would you like more youth to have access to your program? Do youth in your program have ideas about how to make it even better? If so, a REACH Program Improvement grant may be waiting for you!
From the creation of youth advisory councils and youth centers to neighborhood beautification projects and mentor training, Program Improvement grants are funding projects and programs that benefit young people and their communities throughout the capital region.
REACH Program Improvement grants are available to nonprofit organizations that work with youth ages 10 to 15 in the California Capital Region. Grants up to $10,000 are awarded to improve the quality of youth programs or increase the number of youth who participate in quality programs. Application materials for the Spring 2008 grant cycle are available on the REACH Web site. Applications are due to Sierra Health Foundation by noon on May 15. This will be the last Program Improvement grant cycle in 2008, so now's the time to apply!
Applicants are required to have participated in a proposers' conference call within 12 months of the application due date. During the call you'll receive information to help you submit a successful grant application. A conference call for this grant cycle will be held on April 14 from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Register for the call now!
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Funding Opportunities
The Sacramento Cooperative Community Fund invites applications for micro-grants from eligible not-for-profit and cooperative organizations in the Greater Sacramento area. Grants from $50 to $800 are available to promote nutrition or health, support a healthy environment, meet basic human needs or promote the cooperative movement. Applications are due March 31. Information is on the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op Web site.
REACH Program Improvement grants up to $10,000 are available to nonprofit organizations in the California Capital Region to improve the quality of youth programs or increase the number of youth who participate in quality programs. Applications for the Spring 2008 funding cycle are due to Sierra Health Foundation by noon on May 15. Download application materials on the REACH Web site.
The Staples Foundation for Learning offers educational funding three times per year to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations that support or provide job skills and/or education for all people, with a special emphasis on disadvantaged youth. Proposals for the September 2008 grant cycle are due between June 2 and June 16.
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Resources
Solving California's Dropout Crisis is a February 2008 report from the California Dropout Research Project Policy Committee. The purpose of the project is to inform policymakers and the public about the nature of — and potential solutions to — the dropout problem in California.
A Handbook for Program Staff, Teachers, and Community Leaders, 2nd Edition from the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities is Youth Engaged in Leadership and Learning (YELL) curriculum designed for schools, programs and community leaders to support youth participation, promote effective policies and practices to strengthen communities and support young people's personal growth.
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Calendar
April 28
5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Commitment for Success
Capital Region Ready by 21 Coalition community convening
Samuel Pannell Meadowview Community Center, Sacramento
Get information on the YDN Web site.
May 15
Noon
Spring 2008 Program Improvement grant applications due
Download application materials on the REACH Web site.
July 9
REACH Regional Youth Development Conference
Save the date! See future issues of REACH e-news for details.
E-mail story ideas, helpful tips, resources and calendar items to us at REACH.
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