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Funding Youth Services
Resources address ways to locate and manage funding for programs serving youth, including State and local examples.
Clearinghouse on Expanding and Sustaining Youth Programs and Policies
The Forum for Youth Investment & The Finance Project
Contains information and resources about data, tools, policies, practices, financing strategies, coordination efforts, and technical assistance developed by organizations that aim to improve the lives of youth.
Fund & Sustain Your Work
Spark Action
Includes grant opportunities, awards, scholarships, and other funding resources for youth programs.
Blending and Braiding Funds and Resources: The Intermediary as Facilitator
National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth (2006)
Identifies strategies to support local communities in blending and braiding resources, and outlines how cross-systems collaboration and alternative funding strategies can be facilitated by intermediary organizations at both State and local levels.
Creating Dedicated Local and State Revenue Sources for Youth Programs (PDF - 1200 KB)
Sherman, Deich, & Langford (2007)
Highlights six strategies to create dedicated revenue sources for youth programs and services at the State, city, and county levels, including considerations for the use of each strategy.
Cutting Costs, Keeping Quality: Financing Strategies for Youth-Serving Organizations in a Difficult Economy (PDF - 405 KB)
Keller (2010)
Highlights three effective financing strategies that some youth-serving organizations are using to maintain quality services despite difficult economic times. The brief also provides examples of how organizations have implemented these strategies and offers tips to help leaders consider how best to adapt these strategies to their unique context.
Finding Funding: A Guide to Federal Sources for Youth Programs (PDF - 2000 KB)
Dobbins-Harper & Bhat (2007)
Outlines strategies for gaining access to and using Federal funds, and provides information on 103 funding sources offering supports for youth programming.
Guide to Federal Resources for Youth Development (PDF - 144 KB)
America's Promise (2006)
Provides detailed information about more than 100 Federal funding sources that help promote the five core resources needed by young people: Caring adults, safe places, a healthy start, effective education and marketable skills, and opportunities to serve.
Management Matters: Sustaining Funds for Youth Development Programs (PDF - 94 KB)
Walker
Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 12, 2006
Describes practices that support managers' quests for funds that will sustain youth development programs. Suggestions include incorporating skills building and recreational activities for adolescents into programs, implementing strong behavioral management of programs, encouraging strong youth attendance, and faithfully implementing a previously tested program model.
Moving On: Analysis of Federal Programs Funding Services to Assist Transition-Age Youth With Serious Mental Health Conditions (PDF - 465 KB)
Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law (2005)
Provides a detailed assessment of 57 Federal programs that address the wide range of needs of youth with serious mental health conditions who are transitioning into adulthood.
Runaway and Homeless Youth: Demographics, Programs, and Emerging Issues
Congressional Research Service (2007)
Provides background information on the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act and describes the administration and funding of programs that were created from the act.
Safe Passage: How Philanthropy Is Working Together to Help All of America's Youth Connect by Age 25 (PDF - 827 KB)
Youth Transition Funders Group (2006)
Discusses ways to invest in initiatives that help connect and support youth in transition in three key areas: education, the courts, and foster care.
Sustainability Planning and Resource Development for Youth Mentoring Programs (PDF - 1577 KB)
Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (2005)
Offers agencies a framework for resource planning, addressing topics such as the resource planning cycle, funding streams, involving the board in resource development, and using advocacy effectively. The document includes self-assessment questions, planning worksheets, and steps for getting started.
Thinking Broadly: Financing Strategies for Youth Programs (PDF - 794 KB)
Deich & Hayes (2007)
Suggests general principles to guide the selection of financing strategies for youth programs and provides considerations to help State and local leaders develop financing plans that align with their program goals, available resources, and the political and economic environments in which they work.
Understanding the State of Knowledge of Youth Engagement Financing and Sustainability (PDF - 4390 KB)
Gray & Hayes (2008)
Analyzes the costs, financing, and sustainability of 19 youth engagement programs. Findings indicate that staffing costs make up over half of programs' total costs, and that managers rely on three major financing strategies: making better use of existing resources, building partnerships with key stakeholders, and developing new dedicated revenue.
State and local examples
Linking State and Local Policy Planning: Oregon's Approach to Untangling the Web of Services for Youth and Families (PDF - 107 KB)
Gaines & Anuszkiewicz (2005)
Explores the partnership formed by Oregon's State government and local communities to coordinate youth policies and align programs, services, and funding to support the well-being of young people.