Children, Youth & Families Capacity Building Grant Program

The Children, Youth & Families Capacity Building Grant Program aims to empower underserved youth by enhancing the effectiveness and sustainability of nonprofits. By funding capacity-building projects, the program supports organizations focused on youth development, fostering leadership, and addressing barriers to success. Grants are available to agencies in Sudbury and surrounding areas, with a preference for those that prioritize direct engagement with youth. This initiative strives to create a positive impact on the future of children, youth, and families.

Investing in the future of Children, Youth & Families
The CY&F Capacity Building Grant Program is designed to help young people realize their full potential and become caring, productive citizens. The focus is on underserved youth who face economic and/or personal barriers to success. The program provides proven youth-serving nonprofits in our geographic catchment area with funds for capacity building projects designed to strengthen the agency’s core capacities. The program provides capacity building grants designed to
strengthen a nonprofit agency’s overall effectiveness and long-term sustainability.
Funding Objectives
CY&F grants support Capacity Building projects that enhance operations, management and/or governance to strengthen a nonprofit agency’s overall effectiveness and long-term sustainability so it may better serve children, youth and families in our area. The intent of the program is to build organizational leadership and management capacity in a way that will help good agencies become stronger and more financially stable.
In addition, the Foundation supports the concept of Positive Youth Development, an approach that emphasizes building the positive attributes and support systems young people need to be successful. According to positive youth development practitioners, the best youth programs nurture young people’s strengths rather than focus on negative behaviors. We encourage our grant partners to enhance their programming through a positive youth development lens.
Grant Tracks
Applicants to the Children, Youth & Families Program must be seeking funding for a project that fits one of the following Capacity Building grant tracks:
Strategic and/or Business Planning Examples: professional services for growth planning, organizational assessment and design, community needs assessment, market studies, business plans.
Board or Staff Development/Training
Examples: board skills and leadership training, staff professional development training, executive coaching, succession planning
Fund Development Plans & Systems
Examples: professional services for structuring of fundraising programs, support systems and training
Communications Plans & Systems
Examples: professional services for a marketing and communications assessment and the development of a comprehensive plan, support systems and training
Program Evaluation
Examples: professional guidance to develop or enhance evaluation tools, systems and training

Eligibility

Agencies must serve children and youth (birth to age 22) Primary focus: Agencies who serve a broader age constituency may be eligible for a capacity building grant targeted toward youth-serving programs within the organization and will be asked to provide data on the percent of total programming directed to children and youth only. Content Areas: Successful grant applicants will be nonprofit organizations (or, in some
cases, a program within an organization) who address such issues as early health and learning, literacy, academic enrichment and support, skill building, drop-out prevention, college/job readiness, or career exploration; or who focus on personal/behavioral enrichment including leadership development, self esteem building, mentoring, promotion of healthy behaviors, emotional health supports, etc.Agencies offering parenting education and support programs are also eligible to apply.Program Intensity: We support organizations that offer a medium-to-high level of
engagement with children and youth as determined by the number of hours and depth of contact the programming involves.We also support programs featuring a continuum of supports that encourage strong relationships between youth and caring adults.Agencies must meet geographic criteria
Nonprofit organizations must be located in Sudbury and the contiguous communities including
Acton, Concord, Framingham, Hudson, Lincoln, Marlborough, Maynard, Natick, Stow and Wayland.Organizations based outside of these communities whose programming substantially benefits residents from one or more of the towns listed may also apply.They will be asked to provide data on the percent of total youth programming vs. youth programming in our catchment area.In addition:

• Nonprofits may receive one capacity building grant per calendar year.
• Applicants who have received prior funding from the Sudbury Foundation must submit
• their final grant report (or interim report) before applying for additional support.

Ineligibility

The Foundation does not generally fund projects in public or private schools in CY&F communities.