Ready to Rise Grant

Overview

Ready to Rise Grant

Ready to Rise is here to offer comprehensive support. We will award grants to community-based organizations that champion holistic, asset-based approaches to engaging youth with prior or existing connections to the juvenile justice system and those at risk due to various socio-economic challenges. These challenges may include family disruptions such as arrest or incarceration, unstable living conditions like foster care or housing insecurity, educational setbacks manifested through chronic absenteeism, behavioral issues, or poor academic performance, or other at promise factors (i.e., low-income, LGBTQIA+ and/or gender expansive, gang involved, alternative/continuation school students, transition-aged youth, youth living in under-resourced neighborhoods, etc.). Targeted organizations should serve youth aged 11 to 24 and strive to extend support into early adulthood, fostering long-term empowerment and resilience. We are here to support your efforts in creating meaningful change.

This funding initiative is not just about financial support; it is about growth and learning. It is designed to accelerate the development of community-based services while fostering a connected network of youth-serving organizations through shared learning experiences and cohort-based interactions. We aim to enhance organizations capabilities with targeted capacity-building resources, supporting comprehensive programs.

Funding

Applicants may apply for annual grants of $50,000 to $200,000.

Eligibility

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Application Details

Ready to Rise: RFP Grant Guidelines
Ready to Rise: Request for Proposals 2024
Purpose: This document provides the outline and instructions for applying for the
Ready to Rise grant.
Funder: California Community Foundation
Application Submission Deadline: Friday, July 26, 2024 at 11:59 PM (PST)
SurveyMonkey Apply Link: https://calfund.smapply.org/prog/ready_to_rise_2024_rfp
Anticipated Number of Awards: 50
Grant amount: Applicants may apply for annual grants of $50,000 to $200,000. Final
award amounts will be determined by the organization’s capacity, scalability, and
efficiency of their proposed program.
Anticipated Grant Period: November 1, 2024 to October 31, 2027. Annual grants may
be awarded for a maximum of up to three (3) years subject to annual review
pending the grantee’s good standing and available funding from the Los Angeles
County Probation Department.
Project Description
On February 5, 2019, the County of Los Angeles announced a public/private
partnership between the Los Angeles County Probation Department (the County),
California Community Foundation (CCF), and Liberty Hill Foundation (Liberty Hill). This
collaboration was created to expand opportunities and resources for programs that
keep youth out of the criminal justice system and help those in the system
successfully transition back into the community.
Ready to Rise is here to offer comprehensive support. We will award grants to
community-based organizations that champion holistic, asset-based approaches to
engaging youth with prior or existing connections to the juvenile justice system and
those at risk due to various socio-economic challenges. These challenges may
include family disruptions such as arrest or incarceration, unstable living conditions
like foster care or housing insecurity, educational setbacks manifested through
chronic absenteeism, behavioral issues, or poor academic performance, or other at-
promise factors (i.e., low-income, LGBTQIA+ and/or gender expansive, gang-
involved, alternative/continuation school students, transition-aged youth, youth
living in under-resourced neighborhoods, etc.). Targeted organizations should serve
youth aged 11 to 24 and strive to extend support into early adulthood, fostering
long-term empowerment and resilience. We are here to support your efforts in
creating meaningful change.
This funding initiative is not just about financial support; it is about growth and
learning. It is designed to accelerate the development of community-based services
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Ready to Rise: RFP Grant Guidelines
while fostering a connected network of youth-serving organizations through shared
learning experiences and cohort-based interactions. We aim to enhance
organizations capabilities with targeted capacity-building resources, supporting
comprehensive programs.
Proposed program activities should address a broad spectrum of positive youth
development areas such as academic/cognitive enhancement, socio-emotional
growth, identity affirmation, physical wellness, mental health support, and/or
workforce readiness. Ideal candidates will demonstrate a robust engagement
strategy that integrates these multifaceted developmental components into a
unified framework, nurturing each young person's diverse needs and strengths.
Strong applicants will illustrate their commitment to fostering an environment where
youth can thrive and transform their lives, embodying continuous programmatic
excellence and nurturing the full potential of every participant.
Goals
Our goal is to revolutionize the traditional models of youth intervention by shifting
from arrest and incarceration to a model grounded in positive youth development,
rehabilitation, and opportunity creation. Together we will advance this vision and
align goals to provide youth and families with supportive, asset-based, high-quality
resources and opportunities to foster successful pathways to adulthood. Grantee
partners will provide critical socio-emotional support that is proven to successfully
prevent many youths from entering the juvenile justice system, while also cutting the
recidivism rates of those who have. The aim is to improve predictive outcomes of
positive youth development (academic/cognitive, socio-emotional, physical health,
mental health, and identity).
Specifically, this partnership seeks to impact positive youth development outcomes
such as:
• achieving education and/or employment goals
• skills and knowledge attainment
• agency, autonomy, and self-directedness
• healthy relational ties/relationships
• community/civic engagement
• meeting legal obligations (e.g., obtaining legal representation and
• assistance, appearing in court, reporting to probation/parole officers)
• housing security
• enhanced wellbeing
In addition, an evaluation of this initiative will uniquely focus on youth-defined goals
and protective factors that prevent youth from justice system involvement, and
nurture their positive development, including:
• Increases in youth relational ties to peers, adults, and family members.
• Youth experience and satisfaction with program participation
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Ready to Rise: RFP Grant Guidelines
• Progress toward youth-defined goals, ranging from academic and
vocational aspirations (i.e., graduating high school, seeking employment,
attending college) to cultural and collectivist aspirations (i.e., learning
about heritage, becoming a greater contributor to one’s community,
family, etc.)
Eligibility Criteria
• Nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (fiscal sponsorship projects are
eligible).
• Organizations must be based and serve youth aged 11-24 years in Los
Angeles County.
• Organizations must currently employ at least one permanent, full-time staff
member.
• Organizations are not currently or were past award recipients of Ready to
Rise in the prior grant cycle.
• Organizations must have staff capacity to manage evaluation and
capacity building engagement expectations.
• Organizations currently serving youth impacted by the justice system
(including family members system involvement) or other at-promise
circumstances (i.e., foster youth, housing insecure, low-income, LGBTQIA+
and/or gender expansive, gang-involved, disconnected from school,
alternative/continuation school students, transition-aged youth, youth
living in under-resourced neighborhoods etc.).
• Organizations with a track record of providing whole youth-focused
services in the following categories that include but are not limited to
educational support/academic enrichment, youth and family
support/positive youth development, after-school enrichment, and
vocational/employment services. Organizations should be interested in or
currently serving high needs youth through an asset-based approach.
Program activities may be focused on arts, wellness, educational
attainment, leadership, workforce development, mentorship, youth
leadership/organizing, or another engagement area.
• Organizations are encouraged to identify how their program model(s)
support positive youth development areas in their proposal through
engaging, culturally responsive activities that result in positive outcomes
for young people such as:
Academic: Skills and knowledge typically associated with K-12
o
education. This includes core content areas: mathematics, literacy,
science, and social studies, as well as other career and college-ready
requirements.
Cognitive: Skills related to attention, perception, and memory. These
o
are the skills we draw upon to learn and retain knowledge like
executive function, visual and auditory processing, reasoning, and
short- and long-term memory.
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Ready to Rise: RFP Grant Guidelines
Social-emotional: Skills and mindsets involved in the social process of
o
learning and development. This domain includes social and emotional
factors with links to well-being and academic success, like healthy
adult attachment, stress management, self-regulation, and resilience.
Physical: Nutrition, fitness, and sleep, as well as vision, hearing, and
o
dental health.
Mental: A state of well-being demonstrated by the ability to realize
o
potential, cope with stress, work toward goals, and make meaningful
social contributions and connections.
Identity: An individual’s unique sense of purpose, including one’s
o
personal, collective, and cultural identities, and personal values.
Competitive Preferences
• Organizations with established community ties.
• Organizations that involve youth and the community in their program
design and implementation.
• Organizations not funded by Los Angeles County Probation Department
for the proposed services.
• Organizations representing geographic diversity in high-need areas
identified by Ready to Rise, such as Antelope Valley, San Fernando Valley,
South LA, East LA, and South Bay.
• Organizations take a holistic lens towards positive youth development that
may include integrating a focus on several of these areas: mental
wellness, academic/cognitive, socioemotional, identity, and/or physical
development.
• Organizations serving or based in low-income and under-resourced
communities of color.
Application Timeline
Community-based nonprofit organizations serving Los Angeles County are invited to
submit applications for consideration.
The application will be available for submission via SurveyMonkey Apply at:
https://calfund.smapply.org/prog/ready_to_rise_2024_rfp
Please allow enough time to complete the application before the submission
deadline. Incomplete and late applications will not be considered eligible for
review. Note: Organizations will need to complete a pre-eligibility screening through
SurveyMonkey Apply to determine if they are eligible to apply.
Timeline
Application Opens: June 27, 2024 at 12:00 AM (PST)
Application Deadline: July 26, 2024 at 11:59 PM (PST)
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Ready to Rise: RFP Grant Guidelines
Site Visits (select shortlisted organizations August 26, 2024 to September 20, 2024
only):
Notification of Application Decision: October 24, 2024
Anticipated Total Grant Period: November 1, 2024 to October 31, 2027
(annual grants may be awarded for a
maximum of three (3) years)
Application sections include:
• Organization Information
• Staff Information
• Proposal Information
• Learning Cohort and Capacity Building
• Evaluation Information
• Target Population and Geography
• Financials and Grant History
• Supplemental Information (optional)
Information Sessions
We understand that the grant application process can be very time-intensive for our
community partners. We recommend careful review of the grant guidelines. In
addition, CCF will host virtual information sessions, as noted below.
Online Sessions
• Information Session: July 3rd, 2024
A pre-recorded YouTube video is available for viewing to guide you in
o
completing the application at this link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQHEB6qRP58&feature=youtu.be
o
We strongly recommend applicants view this video prior to
o
participating in the Question & Answer Session to strengthen your
application.
• Question & Answer Session: held via Zoom on July 10th, 2024 from 10:30 AM
– 12:00 PM (PST). You can view the recording at this link:
https://youtu.be/vw0IWtART9o
o
Additional Information
• Ready to Rise - Announcement Outreach Form
To share contact information for organizations and community leaders
o
you believe should be notified about the application, please complete
this outreach form: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HY7D2ZR
• Ready to Rise - RFP Questions Form
After careful review of the grant guidelines and guidance provided
o
through the pre-recorded information session video, organizations with
remaining questions may submit questions via this form by July 15th,
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Ready to Rise: RFP Grant Guidelines
2024 at 11:59 PM: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/r2rqaform (Note:
The form is now closed.)
Kindly note that we will not accept additional questions past July 15th.
o
We encourage you to review all resources at your disposal to guide
you in the application process.
Answers to your questions will be posted publicly on July 19th, 2024 on
o
the Ready to Rise open grants webpage, micro-site, and application
page.
• Ready to Rise – Press Release
The press release for Ready to Rise is available at:
o
https://www.calfund.org/ready-to-rise-releases-request-for-proposals-
for-new-cohort-of-community-based-organizations/
• PDF of RFP Application Questions
You can preview the application questions via this linked PDF
o
document. Note that applications will only be accepted via
SurveyMonkey Apply.
• If you have technical issues, please contact the SurveyMonkey Apply support
team at: https://calfund.smapply.org/helpdesk
• Review this SurveyMonkey Apply navigation document if this is your first time
using this platform. Link: SurveyMonkey Apply Tips
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the history of Ready to Rise?
The Ready to Rise partnership marks an unprecedented effort to redirect public
dollars to community-based organizations with the support of philanthropic partners.
This allows for faster distribution of public funds, and an opportunity for organizations
to access funding that they may not have previously had the opportunity to
compete for County contracts.
Ready to Rise partners with community-based programs that improve youth
outcomes related to education, health, cultural identity, and employment, and
promote the well-being, empowerment and development of youth, families, and
communities. These strategies not only reduce recidivism but provide young people
with a foundation for lifetime success.
Ready to Rise also aims to build the long-term capacity of community-based
organizations to apply for L.A. County resources. Ready to Rise provides a capacity-
building program focused specifically on developing organizational core
competencies such as strategic planning, board and staff development,
fundraising, and evaluation. This includes both customized coaching and cohort-
based training.
Additionally, the partnership blends traditional grantmaking practices with County
contracting processes which require additional compliance and insurances,
individual level background verifications, evaluations, and Probation audits.
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Ready to Rise: RFP Grant Guidelines
Ready to Rise has served over 25,500 youth through over 950,000 touchpoints from
July 2019 to June 2022. More than $22.4 million dollars has been granted to youth-
serving organizations since 2019.
What is the vision of Ready to Rise?
Through grantmaking and technical assistance support, Ready to Rise will catalyze
the growth of an L.A. County-wide whole-youth focused system rooted in the
positive youth development framework and made up of culturally responsive,
community-based services meant to connect young people to opportunities for
civic engagement, wellness, and academic and professional enrichment.
How will grant awards be decided?
CCF and selected partners, will form a committee to review applications, conduct
site visits and make final grant recommendations. Site visits will only be conducted
with organizations that have been shortlisted for potential funding.
Final recommendations will represent a sample of the diverse communities of Los
Angeles, as defined by the following:
• Geography (spread throughout the County, represented by organization
location and service provider area).
• Service Type (i.e., academics, arts, workforce development, organizing,
health services, mentorship, etc.).
• Target Population Served defined by ethnicity and circumstances of youth
(i.e., justice-involved, foster youth, housing insecure, low-income, LGBTQIA+
and/or gender expansive, gang-involved, disconnected from school,
alternative/continuation school students, transition-aged youth, youth living in
under-resourced neighborhoods, etc.).
• Organizational Capacity (defined by years of operation, annual budget,
and/or number of staff).
Must our organizations be based and serve youth in Los Angeles County to be
eligible?
Yes, organizations must be based and serve youth in Los Angeles County to be
eligible.
Can an organization be fiscally sponsored by another entity?
Yes, and in some instances where limited capacity exists, a regional or statewide
provider may establish a service delivery partnership with a trusted and established
local organization.
Will these funds need matching sources?
No.
What are some examples of programmatic services?
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Ready to Rise: RFP Grant Guidelines
Program activities may be focused on arts, wellness, educational attainment,
leadership, workforce development, vocational training, mentorship, youth
organizing or another engagement area. Any programmatic approach must
demonstrate any number of the multiple youth development areas (i.e., academic,
cognitive, socio-emotional learning, physical, mental, and identity). Again,
preference will be given to those that meet multiple developmental areas.
What is a Positive Youth Development Framework?
Centered on evidence-based practices, Positive Youth Development (PYD) is an
essential asset-based component to the Ready to Rise programmatic structure. PYD
is based on national and local research and evaluations pertaining to a whole
learner approach, youth development, and juvenile justice prevention. PYD
considers the external factors that influence a young person’s thoughts and
behaviors and addresses them in 1 or more 5 key areas to create positive outcomes
(e.g., improved mindset and academic achievement).
What is the anticipated size and timeline for grants?
Grants range in size with respect to an organization’s capacity, scalability, and
program efficiency. For this funding opportunity, we anticipate the grant period to
span from November 1, 2024 through October 31, 2027. Annual grant awards will
range from $50,000 to $200,000 and may be awarded for a maximum of up to three
(3) years subject to annual review pending the grantee’s good standing and
available funding from the Los Angeles County Probation Department.
If funded, how may the grant funds be used?
Proposals must support direct service projects and therefore, funds should support
programmatic costs. A portion of grant funds may be used in support of indirect
costs that advance the program such as staff salaries, equipment, and travel.
Will there be an issue for organizations that employ staff with lived experience?
We value the vast expertise of people with lived experience serving youth
populations, but for this funding opportunity grantee partners’ staff may not be on
active probation or parole. Grantee staff with a criminal conviction record or
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Ready to Rise: RFP Grant Guidelines
pending criminal trial may not have access to Probation information or records
unless such information has been fully disclosed to CCF/the County and assignment
to this grant is approved in writing by the County. We will work with the L.A. County
Probation Department to ensure that staff/organizations with experience in the
justice system are not excluded from contributing to the goals of this public-private
partnership. Please note that all grantees will require a background check before
their assigned staff can begin work on this grant.
What is the definition of capacity building for the purposes of this award?
We define capacity building as the funding and technical assistance that helps
nonprofit organizations increase the specific capacities needed to deliver stronger
programs, take risks, build connections, innovate, and iterate. This partnership
recognizes that a key strategy for achieving equitable outcomes in communities is to
invest in the talent and leadership capacity of its community partners. We will
provide capacity building partners, trainers, and coaches to help build the capacity
of organizations funded by this partnership through assessment, coaching, training,
and cohort-based peer learning opportunities.
What are the data collection requirements?
All grantees will be responsible for sharing with our evaluation partner qualitative
and quantitative data for analysis on a monthly and quarterly basis to enhance
understanding of program service delivery, strengths, challenges, and promising
practices. The data will vary by program type and will be tied to each grantee
partner’s grant objectives. Evaluation and data collection technical assistance will
be provided to support organizations in capturing this information.
What County compliances will organizations be responsible for maintaining?
All grantees will be responsible to have the following requirements to be compliant
with the County contract, including but not limited to:
1. Proof of Insurance
a. General Provisions for all Insurance Coverage
i. Commercial General Liability
ii. Sexual Misconduct
2. Personnel Documents
a. Staff/Personnel Roster
b. Background and Security Investigations
c. Confidentiality
d. Sexual Harassment/Discrimination/Retaliation Training
Do applicants need to submit a budget with their grant proposal?
Yes, applicants are required to submit a budget with their grant proposal. A budget
template has been provided through the application that provides for a line item
budget by category. Using the budget template provided, proposers must submit a
-
complete budget for the total cost of the proposed project. Note: Organizations
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Ready to Rise: RFP Grant Guidelines
may only charge actual costs associated with project performance and related
allowable indirect rates, and may not otherwise include any profit, fee, or other
mark-up beyond actual costs.
What is no commitment to an award?
Issuance of this Request for Proposals (RFP) and receipt of applications/proposals is
not a commitment to award a contract. CCF expressly reserves the right to
postpone proposal opening or award for its own convenience, to accept or reject
any or all proposals received in response to this RFP, to negotiate with more than
one Proposer concurrently, or to cancel all or part of this RFP.
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