Grant Application
Summer Application Due: 4/5/24
Requirements:
Application must be written by youth
Project must be youth-led (planned and run by high school aged youth, grades 9-12)
Project must have at least one youth leader who lives or goes to school in San Francisco
Project must have a Fiscal Sponsor
Steps to Submit:
Download the fillable pdf application
Fill out the application
Submit via Google Form
Grant Project Roles
Youth Leaders:
Youth leaders are 18 years old or under and in high school or below.
Responsibilities include:
Attend YEF meetings (Interview, Grantee Orientation, Spending Meetings, etc.)
Manage the grant (Make purchases, Maintain and submit documentation, etc.)
Maintain communication with YEF, FS, and AA regarding project and grant
Youth Member:
Youth members are 18 years old or under and in high school or below.
Responsibilities include:
N/A, youth members are not responsible for anything in relation to the YEF grant process. They only need to do the project itself.
Adult Allies:
The AA for the high school project should be 18 or older
Responsibilities include:
Be a safety net for the Youth Leaders in case things fall through the cracks
Dedicate time to the project through managing relations with team members and staying informed about the project
Assist with tasks that require an adult's involvement.
Fiscal Sponsor Representative:
Organization representative with the ability to generate invoices and make changes to the organization Certificate of Insurance.
Responsibilities include:
Generate invoices each month with purchasing
Handle fronting money for reimbursement (determine purchase methods with youth leaders)
Uphold communication with YEF and project team
Fiscal Sponsor Org
The fiscal sponsor organization must be a 501c3 NPO or for profit business with insurance that fulfills YEF's requirements. Read more in the Fiscal Sponsor section.
Grant Cycle Timelines
Winter Cycle Timeline (Up to $10,000) [CLOSED]
App deadline: 9/15
Interviews: 10/18 OR 10/23
Decision Announcements: week of 11/13
If selected...
Orientation: 12/2
Onboarding Deadline: 12/8
Projected Spending Start Date: 12/20
Spending Deadline: 3/31
Project End Date: 4/5
Grantee Celebration: 5/17
Spring Cycle Timeline (Up to $10,000) [CLOSED]
App Deadline: 2/2
Interviews: 2/28 OR 3/4
Decision Announcements: week of 3/18
If selected...
Orientation: 3/23
Onboarding Deadline: 3/29
Projected Spending Start Date: 4/10
Spending Deadline: 5/31
Project End Date: 6/5
Grantee Celebration: 5/17
Summer Cycle Timeline (Up to $2,500) [OPEN]
App Deadline: 4/5
Interviews: 4/24 OR 4/29
Decision Announcements: week of 5/6
If selected...
Orientation: 5/11
Onboarding Deadline: 5/17
Projected Spending Start Date: 5/29
Spending Deadline: 6/21
Financial End Date: 6/24
Project End Date: 8/5
Grantee Celebration: 5/17
Filling Out the Application
Common Application Mistakes
Not including enough information. Fill out all parts of the application! Do not leave relevant parts of the application blank or it will not be processed, including all demographic sections.
All applications must include a listed Fiscal Sponsor. The fiscal sponsor listed should know and agree to take on that responsibility prior to the application being submitted.
Including too much information. Be sure to be clear and concise as to not confuse readers about what your project is. Include information that is relevant to your project. Anybody should have a clear idea about what your project is and the steps your team will make to achieve your goals.
Errors:
Contact information: double check spelling of names, phone numbers, and emails. YEF will need to use those to contact project team members. For teacher or organization employees, ask for a number or email that they check regularly.
Math: Double check your numbers. Round numbers are better than specific. Be sure to remember to factor in tax in your budget, but estimate up on the funding you need. (It's better to have too much money to spend than too little!)
Budget Categories
Although Community Funders do not take your budget into consideration when reviewing applications, your itemized budget must fit into YEF's guidelines and budget categories.
YEF does NOT reimburse for the following:
tips/gratuity
bulk packs of plastic water bottles
adult wages
costs outside of San Francisco
Be sure to include tax in your calculations while building your budget
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us!
Read through the following 6 budget categories and what items go in which below.
Youth Wages
Amounts of money that will be given to youth on your project team.
Usually in the form of a check written by the Fiscal Sponsor org.
Youth receiving more than $599 must provide a W-9
Ex. Ayden, $500
Materials & Supplies
Any items that you need to make your project happen, including those are that intangible.
Ex. zoom subscription, poster printing, writing utensils
Facilities
Costs for venue rentals
Invoice needed
Ex. dance studio costs, event hall costs
Honorarium
Amounts paid to guest contributors as a gift
Needs to be in the form of a check
Ex. Guest speaker, $100 or cooking instructor, $250
Food & Drinks
Food to be eaten by your youth team or community you are serving
Must be eaten in some type of event (granola bars to put into a giftbag would go in materials & supplies)
Ex. catering for event, snacks for youth team meeting
Other
Gift cards, transportation, entry fees, large electronic items, social media ads, etc.
Things that don't go into any of the other 5 categories go in Other.
FAQs:
Q: Is the budget submitted in the application final?
A: Nope! YEF understands that things change. Whether prices of a specific item went down and your project has excess money or if your project decides to pivot ideas, as long as the items purchased make sense for what your project's goal is (and do not break any of YEF's requirements) it's viable. Depending on the grant cycle you're awarded funding, you will also have the option of potentially doing a budget modification. With all that being said, it is still super important to aim to be as specific and accurate as you can be with your budget listed on your original application.
Q: My project has college-aged youth. Is it possible for us to pay them youth wages?
A: Unfortunately, YEF funds must be given directly to youth. This means that YEF cannot reimburse for any money adults receive for being a part of the project team. Generally, as long as the youth are still high school aged (even if they are 18), they are eligible to receive youth wages. Similarly, gift card prizes must go directly to high school aged youth or younger. The only way adults can receive monetary compensation is through the Honorarium role, such as payment for being a guest speaker or instructor.
Q: I'm purchasing carbonated drinks for our end of project party. Would that go in Materials & Supplies or Food & Beverages?
A: That would go in Food & Beverages. Typically, food items that belong in Materials & Supplies will not be consumed during a team meeting or event. For specific inquiries, contact us just to be sure!
Q: If plastic water bottles are not allowed, what about plastic cans of juice or other beverages?
A: Since YEF is funded by DCYF, we must follow some of the city's guidelines. However, this rule only pertains to plastic single use water bottles like those found in Costco or other wholesalers. You can purchase any other type of beverage in packs.
Q: What if I want to pay tips for a team dinner?
A: Sadly, due to requirements from our own funder, YEF cannot reimburse for tips or gratuity. Someone on your project team will have to pay the amount out of pocket. One way you can use the grant money to pay for tips/gratuity is by putting money into youth wages and then use that to pay for tips "out of pocket".
Q: What are "Costs outside of SF"? Can I purchase things online that aren't made in San Francisco?
A: Online purchases do not have to be based in San Francisco. Items purchased on Amazon, Etsy, or any other online stores can be reimbursed for. An example of a purchase that would not be reimbursable is a train ticket from Los Angeles to Las Vegas or entrance fees to an out of state conference.
Not sure which category an item goes in? Reach out for questions regarding budget categories.
How Are Grantees Chosen?
Written Application Evaluation
Community Funders process the applications by:
Reading the narrative questions in small groups
Presenting the information learned to the entire team
Deciding as a team which finalists to invite for interviews
[TEMPLATE] Individual Application Reflection SheetWritten Application Individual Reflection
[TEMPLATE] Presentation Planning I Sheet (Application)Written Application Scoring Rubric & Minimum Threshold
Finalist Interviews
Community Funders do finalist interviews by:
Working in small groups to conduct interviews
Learning more about projects in the applicant presentation
Asking questions regarding any interests or concerns
Presenting the information learned to the entire team
[TEMPLATE] Individual Interview Reflection SheetInterview Scoring Individual Reflection
[TEMPLATE] Presentation Planning II Sheet (Interview)Interview Scoring Rubric & Minimum Threshold
Decision Making
Our decision-making process is completely youth driven. Only the Community Funder team make funding decisions on which projects get awarded. YEF Adult Staff have no say in who gets granted or not.
In order for a project to be funded, all Community Funders must agree on the decision. Generally, Community Funders do not make decisions on whether or not a project is fully granted the requested amount. In most cases, projects are funded their total requested amount.
Lens of Responsibility
CFs are stewards of the city money designated to support the youth of San Francisco
Focus on underrepresented, low income, and marginalized youth
Consensus Decision Making
Everyone on the Community Funder team has to agree that the final funding decision works for them
Conflicts of Interest
CFs check applications at the start of the grant cycle to see if they know anyone applying.
If they do, they will recuse themselves from deliberations over that project throughout the grant review process.