Now open: Grant opportunities of up to $100,000 from the New York Life Foundation for out-of-school time programs

The New York Life Foundation is seeking applications for $1,350,000 in grants to afterschool, summer, or expanded learning programs serving underserved middle-school youth. This is the fifth year of the Foundation’s Aim High grant competition, bringing the total amount awarded to $ 6.15 million!

In 2021, 26 awardees will be selected based on their ability to help youth transition successfully to ninth grade and the ways in which they are providing academic, social, and emotional supports to youth during the pandemic. Programs may apply to one of three grant categories - take a look to see which may be a good fit for you, and apply!

Grant categories:

• $100,000 Level
  • Eight (8) grants of $50,000 per year over the span of two years (for a total award of $100,000) will go to OST programs with annual program budgets of $250,000 or more and annual organizational budgets of $500,000 or more.
• $50,000 Level
  • Eight (8) grants of $25,000 per year over the span of two years (for a total award of $50,000) will go to OST programs with annual organizational budgets of $250,000 or more.
• $15,000 Level
  • Ten (10) awards of $15,000 over one year will go to OST programs with annual organizational budgets of $150,000 or more with a focus on supporting programs in their efforts around advancing racial equity and social justice.

Read the full application and eligibility requirements and join our webinar on January 14 at 2 p.m. ET to learn more about this opportunity. Applications are due February 1, 2021 at 5 p.m. ET; all applications must be submitted online.

Grant funds may be used for technical assistance, enhancing direct service activities, and/or program expansion, should a program be in a position to do so. Applicants will need to describe how programs support youth in the transition to the ninth grade and how they are continuing to serve youth in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Two-year grant applicants will need to demonstrate results around indicators of success such as on-time promotion; school attendance rates; improved behavior, grades and test scores; and/or the development of social and emotional skills.
• One-year grant applicants will need to describe how they intend to improve the supports they provide to youth related to social justice and racial equity efforts.

The New York Life Foundation invests in middle school OST programs to help economically disadvantaged eighth-graders get to ninth grade on time. Research has shown that for disadvantaged students, more learning time in the form of high-quality afterschool, expanded-day, and summer programs leads to greater achievement, better school attendance, and more engaged students.

Since 2013, the Foundation has invested more than $45 million in national middle school OST efforts The Aim High grants provide a way for the Foundation to support smaller programs in communities across the nation.

The Afterschool Alliance is administering the grant application process on behalf of the Foundation. A panel of external reviewers will assess applicants. Awardees will be notified in May 2021.

Questions? Email  the Afterschool Alliance at aimhigh@afterschoolalliance.org.