Fostering Change Grants: Call for proposals

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1 Strengthening Connections for Youth Aging Out of Foster Care Vancouver Foundation is pleased to announce the availability of 2015 Community Impact Grants through Fostering Change, our Youth Homelessness Initiative. This funding stream will provide grants for community-based strategies taking place across the Lower Mainland that build capacity to support youth in-and-from foster care to find the resources and relationships they need in their transition to adulthood and connection to community. The deadline for letters of intent is September 14th, Background Vancouver Foundation s commitment to this work springs from our long-standing investment in efforts to end youth homelessness. One key to ending youth homelessness is to prevent it from happening in the first place. Given substantial over-representation of former youth in care amongst our homeless population, we ve chosen to focus our prevention efforts on this group of young people. We ve also learned that while good, affordable housing is a critical need for youth transitioning out of care, it s just one element in the basket of resources and relationships young adults need in their pursuit of long-term stability and success. Currently, there are inadequate systems of care, protection, connection and engagement for young people who are taken into government care in British Columbia. For many of the more than 8000 current youth in care, (4000 on continuing care agreements), and the approximately 700 youth who will age-out of the system at 19 this year, growing up in a bounce-around world of family, foster care and group homes has often been scary, unstable, stressful and challenging. However, their 19 th birthday often takes them from bounced-around, to bounced-out. Those first few years can be particularly lonely and re-traumatizing. Lack of strong social networks, references, financial resources, severance of emotional support and relationships with social workers and care providers in their teen years all make finding housing, meaningful paid work, educational pathways, and positive relationships daunting at the best of times, risky at the worst. Our Approach We work with youth and community allies to ensure that young people make successful transitions from foster care to adulthood. We do this by investing in efforts that can inform improved policies and practices, engage young people, develop new learning, and grow public and community support. 24 April 2015 Page 1 of 6

2 This call for proposals is one key element of our larger investment and engagement strategy. We will provide grants for community-based strategies that can demonstrate the potential to revitalize systems and practices that support better outcomes for youth in their transition from care to adulthood. We will consider three types of requests: Youth Partnership Grants (up to $25,000) These grants will amplify the voices and engagement of young people. They could support creating knowledge, awareness and dialogue about experiences of youth transitioning from care to adulthood; connections between young people in-and-from care and their local community members; youth-led research; and/or creative arts-based projects. Whatever the idea, young people need to be included in design and delivery. For requests under $10,000, we aim to provide a decision within 4 weeks of application receipt. Community Planning and Engagement Grants (up to $50,000) These grants support strategies that build capacity and common ground for shared action and learning by community stakeholders. Grants may support work such as: convening and scoping early-phase engagement of stakeholders in development of practice and/or policy innovation; coordination of initial collective impact strategies; local advocacy and awareness work connected to the Fostering Change initiative. Activities are typically completed within months. Multi Year Strategies (up to $225,000 total over a period of 3 years) These grants will be focused on supporting the implementation of multi-year community impact strategies that align with the priorities and principles of this call, and help us achieve outcomes identified in our Fostering Change strategic plan. We expect the pursuit of measurable outcomes through these strategies will generate evidence to improve practice, policy and levels of collaboration and community engagement. We encourage applications that extend beyond direct service and case management approaches. If a full application is invited for multi-year support, there will be expectations for participation in a Foundation-supported shared evaluation and learning agenda, as well as communications and public engagement activities. 24 July 2015 Page 2 of 6

3 Assessment Criteria Assessment criteria for applications will include: Meaningful Youth Engagement: As far as possible, young people affected by the initiative must be involved in the development, implementation and evaluation of the project. Community Engagement: There should be strong evidence of community engagement in the design and implementation of the proposed work. Builds on Community Assets: Projects should use, enhance or expand the skills, capacities and assets of local people and their communities. Organizational Stability: The applicant organization must demonstrate fiscal responsibility and effective management as well as commitment to the project through a meaningful contribution of human and/or financial resources. In the case of multi-year investments, we seek: A Coherent Theory of Change: Proposals should articulate a clear theory of change that will guide its strategy within the interests of this Initiative. Commitment to Learning: Proposals must articulate a willingness for participation in learning and external evaluation activities that will create new knowledge within the field. Vancouver Foundation will provide evaluation support and funding to enhance and enable shared learning. Evidence-Informed Practice: Proposals describe practice informed by both existing evidence ( what we know to be true ) as well as interest in collective gaps in knowledge ( what we don t know ). Significant Partnerships: Proposals should be able to demonstrate partnerships with other service providers as well as public, private and/or philanthropic stakeholders. Examples include both other funding sources and a clear and coordinated plan of action. Intercultural Fluency: The applicant organization should demonstrate culturally responsive and appropriate principles, practices and policies in working alongside diverse cultural communities. This may be expressed through governance, employee hiring and retention, community engagement and partnership development strategies, among others. When supporting Aboriginal young people, organizations should work with relevant First Nations, Metis and/or urban Aboriginal community partners. 24 July 2015 Page 3 of 6

4 Where appropriate, we are particularly interested in strategies that: Integrate a range of housing, employment, education, health and wellness considerations when helping youth build assets; Engage unlikely allies, partners and stakeholders in community-strengthening efforts; Link project level learning to Fostering Change s public education and constituencybuilding efforts at a local and provincial level. Measure and track individual-level outcomes for one or more cohorts of youth before, during and after their participation. Definitions For the purpose of this call for proposals, the following definitions will be used: Youth: Youth is generally defined as those between the ages of 14 and 24. However, Vancouver Foundation recognizes that these limits (both upper and lower) are not absolute and will consider proposals that include younger youth. Youth in Care: For us, this term includes young people who are or have been in foster homes, group homes, Kith and Kin Placements (i.e. in the home of a relative), youth custody centres and mental health facilities, residential treatment facilities, and/or on a Youth Agreement. Community: We want proponents to identify community as they choose and indicate whether they are focusing on one or more of the following communities in their efforts: cultural, geographic or demographic. Eligible Organizations Eligible applicants include registered charities and qualified donees under the Income Tax Act as well as some First Nations bands that may be considered a public body performing a function of a government body. All these organizations must demonstrate fiscal responsibility and effective management. Grants are not made to individuals or to businesses. 24 July 2015 Page 4 of 6

5 Application Process Vancouver Foundation has a two stage online application process. The first stage is a Letter of Intent, which consists of a brief proposal to determine basic suitability. The Letter of Intent deadline for the Fostering Change initiative is September 14th, Once a fit has been established by Vancouver Foundation staff, a short-list of organizations will be invited to submit a full proposal due October 26 th, Selection Process Applications will be selected for funding after being reviewed by the volunteer Fostering Change Advisory Committee, whose membership offers depth of community knowledge, skills and experience in supporting policy and practice improvements for youth transitioning from care to adulthood. Vancouver Foundation has a conflict of interest policy for advisory committee review, which is available upon request, and will be followed in the event that one or more of the organizations with which Advisory Committee members are affiliated submits a proposal. In this granting cycle, the Advisory Committee will invest a total of approximately $700,000. Applicants will be notified of funding decisions by December July 2015 Page 5 of 6

6 Contact For more information about Vancouver Foundation's Fostering Change initiative, please contact: Mark Gifford Director, Grants & Community Initiatives Tel: Kris Archie Project Manager, Grants & Community Initiatives Tel: Natalie Ord Grant Administrator, Grants & Community Initiatives Tel: July 2015 Page 6 of 6