Grant Awards, Ceremonies and More

Once your YAC decides which youth organization(s) to grant to, plan on having a special ceremony or congratulatory written letter for the grantee(s).  If your YAC group has access to a facility big enough to hold a large group of people, consider utilizing this space for a grant award reception.  Invite local news stations, community leaders and the grantee(s) along with a few youth from the organization(s) your YAC is funding.  Make sure to serve light refreshments at the reception and create an agenda for those who attend.  A reception can boost community relationships with YAC and amongst organizations.  This is beneficial for your YAC’s image and relationship with the organization(s) your group chooses to fund. 

If your YAC group is not able to host such an event, hold a YAC meeting in which each member composes a hand-written letter congratulating the organization(s) that will receive funding.  Tell the organization(s) how excited your group is to help fund their efforts for youth and why your group decided to choose them.  Tell them why you enjoy funding youth efforts and why you think YAC helps the community.  Always remember to commend their efforts and thank them for the hard work they do for youth. 

If your YAC needs resources (Grant Cycle letters templates, YAC letterhead, etc.), contact us at yac@arcf.org or visit the YAC page on our website at www.arcf.org.

A Smooth Grant Cycle

After your YAC decides how many grants to give away, how many organizations to give to and how much it can/is willing to grant, the next step is making sure the grant cycle goes as smoothly as possible.  Remember: life is full of ups and downs so plan for problems to arise and your group will be able to handle them calmly rather than frantically.

 Tips for conducting a smooth grant cycle:

1.  Review the current grant application to ensure it is up-to-date and that the questions are relevant to what your YAC is looking for.
2. Identify a timeline for the grant cycle period in which your YAC will accept applications.
3. Communicate to the public the appropriate grant amount to apply for.
4. Develop a one page Fact Sheet that details the above information, along with the criteria for the proposals.
5. Develop a press release to send out to media outlets to promote your grant cycle (Consider utilizing other mediums to advertise your grant cycle (webpage, email, Facebook, have your affiliate ED send to their network, etc.)
6. Monitor your grant proposals as they come in to ensure completeness and accuracy.
7. Schedule a time and date for reviewing grants (be sure to allow plenty of time for the committee to have a healthy and fruitful discussion).
8. Develop a grant review score sheet to evaluate and rate the proposals.
9. Develop your final funding decisions based on the majority of the review committee’s approval.
10.  Develop a process for announcing and awarding the grants (i.e. grant award letter, grant reception and presentation, etc.)

What NOT to do:

- Wait until the last minute to determine who and how many organizations to fund or how much money your YAC can give

      - Schedule a grant review meeting that does not give your YAC enough time to review all proposals and make an informed and thoughtful decision

      - Fail to promote the open grant cycle through all appropriate communication channels

      -  Fail to have clear application instructions and criteria for applicants to read and follow

If your YAC needs resources (i.e. Fact Sheets, grant applications, grant review score sheets, etc.) to help with the grant cycle, contact us at yac@arcf.org or visit the YAC page on our website at www.arcf.org.