Description

Overview

On behalf of the New York Life Foundation, the Afterschool Alliance invites out-of-school time programs to apply for a competitive grant opportunity to support and bolster the ability of afterschool and summer learning programs to help prepare middle school students for success in high school, college, and life.

Why Middle School?

A large body of evidence indicates the critical role of middle school in determining a young person’s long-term academic trajectory. Enriching out-of-school time (OST) programs—such as afterschool and summer learning programs—are an effective means of helping middle school students successfully transition from 8th to 9th grade. In addition, these programs provide benefits to students that extend beyond academics, helping develop the whole young person—cognitively, socially, and emotionally. The New York Life Foundation’s educational enhancement grantmaking strategy aims to provide opportunities that help students in middle school thrive and become better prepared to complete high school and go on to college, providing them a brighter future.

Why was the Aim High Program created?

The New York Life Foundation created the Aim High grant program to support the ability of local community-based afterschool and summer learning programs to provide the foundational skills and guidance that middle school students need to be prepared for the critical transition into high school.

The Aim High Grant Program

This competitive grant program includes both one- and two-year grant opportunities. Applicants can only apply for one of these grants. One-year grants will begin in June 2023 and end in May 2024. Two-year grants will begin in June 2023 and end in May 2025.

One-Year Grants:

Twenty one-year grants of $15,000 each will be awarded. Ten of these will focus on supporting programs’ efforts around racial equity and social justice, and ten will focus on supporting programs’ efforts around youth well-being.

The New York Life Foundation recognizes that we are living in a pivotal time when it is imperative to build on their legacy of support for marginalized communities and communities of color as part of their ongoing commitment to support an equitable and just society. Understanding the unique role that afterschool and summer learning programs can play in addressing equity, ten of the 1-year grants are once again dedicated to supporting programs in their efforts around advancing racial equity and social justice.

The New York Life Foundation also recognizes the crisis our nation faces around youth mental and emotional well-being which has been intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to enhance programs’ abilities to respond to the holistic needs of the youth that they serve, ten of this year’s 1-year grants will go towards programs’ efforts to support youth well-being.

Applicants for all 1-year grants will further be required to describe how they support middle school youth in the transition to high school. Organizations with annual organizational budgets of $150,000 or more will be eligible for these grants.

Two-Year Grants:

The two-year grant opportunity focuses on supporting programs in enhancing direct service activities, technical assistance, capacity building, and their efforts in continuing to serve youth while facing the challenges of the pandemic and beyond.

There are two separate 2-year grant opportunities included in this RFP. Each program will only be allowed to apply to one of these grant opportunities, as explained below:

10 grants at $50,000 per year over the span of two years, for a total 2-year grant award of $100,000. Only afterschool and summer programs with annual program budgets of $250,000 or more AND annual organizational budgets of $500,000 or more will be eligible to apply for these grants.
10 grants at $25,000 per year over the span of two years, for a total 2-year grant award of $50,000. Only organizations with annual organizational budgets of $250,000 or more will be eligible for these grants.

Application deadline: 5 p.m. EST, Wednesday, February 1st, 2023