The Youth Service Capacity-Building Grants (YSCG) program provides funding to strengthen the infrastructure of small nonprofit organizations in New York City that serve youth ages 5 to 25. These grants aim to help build more stable, effective youth-serving organizations that address inequality in youth outcomes.
Funded by the William T. Grant Foundation, the program offers grants of $60,000 each, disbursed over a three-year period. The funding is flexible and can be used for various capacity-building needs such as financial management, staff training, strategic planning, human resources, board development, leadership training, IT systems, evaluation, and fundraising.
Eligible organizations must be community-based nonprofits with a physical location in one of New York City’s five boroughs: the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, or Staten Island. Applicants must directly serve NYC youth, not operate as local branches of national or international organizations, and have staff who interact with youth at the point of service.
To qualify, organizations must serve youth ages 5 to 25, with at least 80% of participants in that age range. They must have an operating budget between $250,000 and $1 million for the previous year and must provide either audited or certified financial statements from 2023 or 2024.
Applicants must also meet at least one of the program’s criteria for reducing inequality. This includes serving youth in one of the eleven NYC community districts identified as having the highest risk to child well-being, or offering targeted programming for Mexican-descent youth or LGBTQ+ youth.
Organizations must either have 501(c)(3) status or operate under a fiscal sponsor that holds this status, with appropriate documentation. Groups that previously received a Youth Service Grant from the Foundation must wait at least 18 months after the end of their award before reapplying.
The deadline to apply is September 18, 2025.
For more information, visit WTGF.
