Kosasa Foundation Opportunity Youth Grant

Kosasa Foundation Opportunity Youth Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Kosasa Foundation
Amount: More than US $50,000
Last Updated: February 28, 2026

Summary

The Kosasa Foundation Opportunity Youth Grant aims to support organizations that assist Opportunity Youth (ages 16-24) who are disconnected from education and employment in Hawaii. The initiative focuses on fostering pathways to success through educational and workforce programs, creating a network of shared learning among grantees, and collecting vital data to understand the challenges faced by these young adults. The foundation emphasizes diverse approaches to ensure that all youth have resources and support to thrive.

Overview

NOTE: First step of application is to fill out a short questionnaire to see if your organization qualifies for our next round of funding. This is represented by letter of inquiry above. If it’s determined that your organization qualifies for funding, you will receive a link to the application portal. Mission In Hawai`i, the health and resilience of our environment is inextricably linked to our wellbeing as a community and uniqueness as a place. We invest in efforts to educate and engage our communities in activities that promote the stewardship of our natural resources, and we support programs that are critical to the development of our most vulnerable youth, from their earliest years into young adulthood. We hope to ensure the preservation of Hawai’i, while giving our younger generations the resources and support they need to chart our future. Kosasa Foundation Opportunity Youth Grant The Kosasa Foundation is excited to launch a new program initiative with a focus on increasing success for Opportunity Youth (OY) — a growing segment of young people between ages 16 – 24 who are neither in school, in job training, nor employed in the workforce. We support organizations that have the passion to make a difference and the skill to work together to create lasting change. Program Purpose To support programs that are effective at reconnecting Opportunity Youth to educational, workforce, career, and community that provide pathways to success.To create shared learning amongst Kosasa OY grantees around their practice and how they measure their impact.Gather and use relevant data on measures that matter most to young adults to increase our understanding of the challenges of this transition period and how communities and institutions can best support Opportunity Youth in their desire to connect and belong. Our goal is not to narrow our program but to explore diverse approaches, strengthen a continuum of support, and nurture learning amongst grantees and with the Kosasa Foundation. Measuring Our Success While we hope to have a variety of programs that are delivering meaningful results to young adults, we intend to work with our grantees to explore success measures that are relevant for their approach and that can be shared across the network. The kinds of measures that we are interested in could include: High School connection – completing HS diploma or equivalency. Postsecondary connection – completing postsecondary credential (includes industry training, apprenticeship programs) Workforce connection – employed, preferably in a job with potential for advancement to living wage. Equity Outcomes – we would also collect relevant socioeconomic data on the population served so we can better understand underlying equity issues.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. 501(c)3 non profit organizations working in HawaiʻiWhat we fund: General operating supportProjectsCapital campaigns

Ineligibility

Non 501(c)3 organizations Projects that re-grant Kosasa Foundation funds More than one project per year per organization