Youth Mental Health Grants & Learning Cohort

Overview

What We Do & How

The Community Foundation promotes generosity and advances well-being in the South Puget Sound by stewarding long-term charitable resources that support the evolving needs and opportunities of our communities. We believe that inclusive, engaged communities—where people come together to address local challenges, welcome each other's differences, and collaborate—are essential to creating strong and healthy communities where everyone has access to opportunities to thrive.

Youth Mental Health Grants & Learning Cohort

The Youth Mental Health Learning Cohort will bring together 10-15 local organizations, each receiving $10,000 to participate in a series of trainings, workshops, and collaborative learning opportunities. Over the course of the year, cohort members will engage in topics like Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), trauma-informed care, racial equity and inclusion, and youth empowerment.

In addition to cohort learning, participants will have the opportunity to apply for collaborative grants at the end of the program. These grants will support joint projects that put into practice the knowledge gained during the cohort, with the aim of scaling solutions that can impact youth across the region.

‍What We Hope to Achieve

The goals of this initiative are threefold:

* Increase Capacity: Equip organizations with the skills and knowledge to better support youth through science-backed, trauma-informed practices.
* Foster Collaboration: Strengthen relationships among youth-serving organizations, encouraging the sharing of resources and strategies to create a more connected and resilient support network.
* Plant Seeds for Systemic Change: By investing in the capacity of organizations and their staff, we are laying the groundwork for broader, long-term improvements in how our community supports youth mental health.

We are committed to addressing youth mental health not only as a health issue but as a community-wide challenge. This initiative, grounded in equity and inclusivity, will prioritize organizations that serve youth who are disproportionately impacted by mental health challenges, including youth of color, LGBTQ+ youth, and those from rural or economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Eligibility

_You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website._

* Organizations with up to date 501(c)(3) public charity status or Tribal affiliated/Native program that serves youth (birth to 18 years old) in Thurston, Lewis, or Mason County. In addition to 501(c)(3) status or Tribal/Native program:
* Organizations must demonstrate basic organizational capacity, including reasonable financial health and governance practices, including a minimum of 3 board members.
* Organizations must acknowledge that they will use their $10,000 stipend to pay for staff time and reimburse their staff for travel/mileage for participating in the learning cohort.
* Examples of qualifying nonprofit organizations who provide supports to youth include, but are not limited to:
* Health Services: chemical dependency, mental health, pediatricians, primary care
* Social Services: child welfare, housing & homelessness, food banks, domestic violence, senior services, victim services, basic needs, faith-based services
* Criminal Justice: juvenile/adult programs, law enforcement, court services, first responders, organizations offering support services in these facilities 
* Child Education Services: childcare providers, preschools, before/after school activity providers, mentoring/tutoring, and youth-serving organizations
* Early-intervention/Prevention Services: home-visiting, parent educators, and peer-support programs
* Youth Enrichment: dance, art, photography, music, sports, etc.

Ineligibility

* Organizations that discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disabilities, age, status as a veteran, national origin, or any other protected classes
* Partisan political activities.
* Religious organizations when funds would be used in whole or in part to further the organization's religious purposes.
* Re-granting organizations, service clubs, and service club foundations.