MONTICELLO – The Sullivan County Youth Bureau is now accepting grant applications from organizations which serve children and youth within Sullivan County.

The Youth Bureau receives monies annually from the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) to fund youth development programs. This year, OCFS has made available three funding sources: Youth Development, Sports Education Opportunity Funding and Youth Team Sports.

All programs must embed the 8 Features of Positive Youth Development as outlined in the applications and must serve anyone under 21 years of age, or as specified below.

Youth Development Programs: The OCFS encourages organizations to fund a wide variety of programs including, but not limited to, Citizenship/Civic Engagement, Community, Economic Security, Physical and Emotional Health, Education, Safe Harbor/Anti-Trafficking, and Family Supports.

Youth Sports and Education Funding: The OCFS encourages a wide and flexible definition of sports that encompasses any organized activities with movement, including physical fitness activities such as yoga, hiking, dance and active outdoor pursuits.

To ensure that funding is going to the intended population, priority will be given to historically under-resourced communities, marginalized communities with higher barriers to participation, federal and/or New York State-recognized tribes and tribal organizations, communities with high rates of public housing and/or homelessness, Opportunity Zones or neighborhoods/cities/areas deemed “low income” via externally available tools like the NYS Council on Children and Families Kids’ Well-Being Indicators Clearinghouse, neighborhoods that experience higher rates of crime and violence and have lower-performing schools.

Programs eligible for this funding must meet the following criteria:

• Provide physical recreation and/or sports activities for youth 6-17
• Operate in New York State
• Demonstrate basic competency in the areas of governance, monitoring and evaluation
• Have child protection policies in place that includes adherence to local town, agency, school district, and State child protection guidelines
• Have the ability to collect registration data, including participant demographic information, as required by the OCFS in a manner that allows for accurate reporting of anonymized aggregate data.

Youth Team Sports: All funded programs must aim to foster the following: physical health and well-being, mental health and well-being, employment skills, community cohesion.

Funding may be used for coaches/instructors, direct service staff, purchase of equipment, capital investment, facility/field space costs and/or purchase of Automated External Defibrillators. These organizations must provide programs to youth under the age of 18 who reside in under-resourced communities. Eligible applicants include private nonprofit organizations, schools and municipalities. All programs must advertise to a wide audience to attract as many participants as possible.

Applications and additional descriptions of requirements for each funding source – and information regarding which one will best meet the needs of your program – can be found at sullivanny.gov/Departments/Youthbureau. 

NEW THIS YEAR: In order to apply for funding, YOU MUST ATTEND one of two MANDATORY information telesessions on July 28 at 2 p.m. or July 29 at 6 p.m. Attendance will be taken, and if you do not attend one of these information sessions, your program will be ineligible to apply.

• To attend the July 28 session, log on to this Zoom link (or dial in) by 2 p.m. that day:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87888842693?pwd=jIyaVAHMeiZKpktVoabbCcjoogH7hQ.1 

Meeting ID: 878 8884 2693

Passcode: 031591

+16469313860,,87888842693#,,,,*031591# US

+16468769923,,87888842693#,,,,*031591# US (New York)

• To attend the July 29 session, log on to this Zoom link (or dial in) by 6 p.m. that day: 

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87642086586?pwd=s6zfTSXgbs7M3mp17X7C4Pl17xnIaI.1

Meeting ID: 876 4208 6586

Passcode: 298985

+16468769923,,87642086586#,,,,*298985# US (New York)

+16469313860,,87642086586#,,,,*298985# US

NEW THIS YEAR: In order to apply for funding, YOU MUST ATTEND one of two MANDATORY information telesessions on July 28 at 2 p.m. or July 29 at 6 p.m. Attendance will be taken, and if you do not attend one of these information sessions, your program will be ineligible to apply.

Organizations who would like to be considered for funding must submit completed applications by Friday, August 14. All applications must be submitted in person or through the USPS to:

Sullivan County Youth Bureau

100 North Street

Monticello, NY 12701

Scanned/emailed copies will not be accepted. For more information, please call the Sullivan County Youth Bureau at 845-807-0395.