The William T. Grant Foundation has awarded Youth Service Improvement Grants (YSIG) to five community-based organizations in New York City. The organizations will each receive $25,000 to implement projects over the next two years to help improve the quality of their youth programs. These grantees were selected from a pool of 41 applications received in spring 2011.
Our Youth Service Improvement Grants share the goal of our research grants—improving the lives of young people. These grants support medium-sized organizations that have already had some success, but lack the funds to make needed improvements. Applications are accepted twice a year, in the spring and fall. The next deadline for applications is March 14, 2012. Applications will be accepted through our online system beginning December 12, 2011; guidelines and instructions are available in the Funding Opportunities section of the website.
The five grantees from the spring 2011 application cycle follow.
Free Arts NYC
Liz Hopfan
Free Arts Day Improvement
2011–2012
$25,000
Free Arts NYC plans to improve its Free Arts Day (FAD) program, which promotes arts engagement among underserved and homeless New York City youth. Free Arts Days are daylong festivals at which 75–100 kids are paired individually with a mentor/volunteer. The pair then completes a series of arts projects, which are centered on a common theme. Each festival closes with a live performance by a music, theater, or dance troupe. Performers are hired on a single-contract basis and may not be invested in the goals of the program. Through this improvement, Free Arts NYC will establish ongoing partnerships with performers and collaborate with them to develop programming. The performers will engage in a strategic planning process with Free Arts staff to establish goals, structure, and methods to promote participant engagement and integrate performances with each day’s themes and activities.
Dancewave, Inc.
Diane Jacobowitz
Dancewave Company Service Improvement Project
2011–2012
$25,000
Dancewave wants to improve its Company I and II programs, in which 32 teen members train with professional guest choreographers and attend intensive rehearsals and dance classes. Dancewave’s recent relocation to downtown Brooklyn changed its participant demographics—youth are now more ethnically and economically diverse, which has led to some conflict and disruption in communication. Dancewave also wants to formalize the education component of its program. The David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality and a consultant with experience in intercultural communication will be hired to address these issues. Dancewave plans to develop a structured monthly discussion series to review choreography and technique and negotiate any conflicts. The series will be paired with an educational resource packet for youth. Staff will also be trained in conflict resolution and dialogue facilitation.
Futures and Options
Patricia Machir
Pre-Internship Curriculum Improvement Program
2011–2012
$25,000
Futures and Options wants to improve its Pre-Internship Program, which serves 100 middle and high school students who have not yet acquired the age or skill level to be placed in internships. Through the program, youth are prepared for professional environments and exposed to different career options. After review by an outside consultant, Futures and Options learned that its existing curriculum lacked cohesion, clear objectives, relevancy, and developmental appropriateness. To address this, Futures and Options will hire Workforce Professionals Training Institute (WPTI) to develop and implement a new curriculum along with training outlines, exercises, and resources for staff. WPTI will also create an instructors’ guide and student workbooks.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Scot Medbury
Garden Apprentice Program
2011–2012
$25,000
Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) wants to improve its Garden Apprentice Program, a year-round internship offered to 60 middle and high school students. The paid interns work with professionals on horticultural and environmental projects with the aim of developing leadership and job skills, self-confidence, and good work habits. The Garden wants to improve interns’ financial literacy and professional skills so that they can better manage their finances and obtain jobs after the internship. BBG will work with Career Internship Network to develop curricula for workshops on personal finance and professional communication. The organization will also meet with other organizations in the field to discuss best practices in financial and professional literacy.
Multicultural Music Group
Luis Mojica
Symphonic Youth Program (SYP) Curriculum/Classroom Management Development
2011–2012
$25,000
Multicultural Music Group (MMG) wants to improve its Symphonic Youth Program (SYP), an after-school instrumental and vocal music training program operating in five middle and high schools in the Bronx and Harlem. SYP needs an improved curriculum to meet the needs of continuing and new students and MMG also wants to train staff to better manage classrooms. MMG will hire expert music and classroom educators as consultants to revise the curriculum so that it is appropriate for all levels of talent and consistent from school to school. The consultants will also conduct an intensive two-week training camp for SYP staff before the program begins and weekly professional training workshops for 10 months.