Prospective Grantee FAQ's

No, SparkYouth is not currently accepting grantee applications.

Applications for SparkYouth's 10th Cohort of Grantees were due Friday, March 8 and are currently under review. Selections will be made June 2024. Funding will begin January 2025.

Our next selection process will begin in Winter 2027.

To ensure an equitable process, we are not accepting phone calls or meetings to discuss funding at this time.

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Other Youth Development Funders:

• Arbor Rising
• Brooklyn Org
• Laureus Foundation
• Pinkerton Foundation
• Youth Inc.

Only organizations that meet all of the following criteria are eligible. Organizations must:

• Have as their primary mission the provision of direct services to low‐income children or teens for a period of time sufficient to enhance education or life skills and constitute a life‐transforming activity;
• Have an operating budget between $150,000 and $1.5 million per fiscal year;
• Be a certified 501(c)3 non‐profit organization;
• Be independent and not a subsidiary or branch of a national organization, unless they are a wholly independent program;
• Be located and operate within New York City;
• Be under 10 years old at application and have remained in continuous operation;
• Be working toward expanding the programing services either within the population served, or to include new populations of young people.

While SparkYouth NYC appreciates the struggles all organizations face as they launch new programming, our mandate is to support and bolster emerging organizations with a primary focus on youth. An application from an organization over ten years old and/or with a budget over $1.5 million will be disqualified.

Unfortunately, no. SparkYouth only supports organizations whose sole mission is to exclusively work with youth (1-24 years).

Because SparkYouth NYC raises funds each year from its supporters to distribute to the member organizations, the actual amount distributed varies from year to year, but has recently been in the range of $50,000‐80,000 per calendar year. We are unable to guarantee a particular grant amount year to year.

Yes. However, as a result of our requirement that organizations be under 10 years old at the time of application and our 3 year funding period, organizations generally only have the opportunity to apply twice.

SparkYouth grantee organizations become a part of a cohort of innovative NYC nonprofits that receive 3 years of unrestricted funding, capacity-building support tailored to each organization’s needs (ie strategic planning, leadership coaching, Board support, fundraising training), and access to networking opportunities with the SparkYouth community. We are thrilled to offer this support, and in return, we ask that our grantees are active participants in the cohort and use the opportunities provided to strengthen their organizations.