New York Life Foundation: Aim High – Supporting Out-of-School Time Programs Serving Disadvantaged Middle School Youth

The New York Life Foundation, in partnership with the Afterschool Alliance, invites out-of-school time (OST) programs to apply for a new competitive grant opportunity to support and bolster the ability of afterschool and summer learning programs help their middle school students make a successful transition from 8th to 9th grade. Grants are intended to fund quality OST programs staffed by knowledgeable and dedicated individuals, further enhancing the positive impact on middle school students’ achievement and their ability to successfully transition into and continue on through high school.

There are two options for applying:

• Two-year programs: These grant funds may be used for technical assistance, capacity-building, enhancing direct service activities, and/or program expansion. Two-year grant applications should focus specifically on indicators of success such as on-time promotion to the 9th grade; school attendance rates; improved behavior, grades, and test scores; and the development of social and emotional skills.
• One year programs: Like the two-year grants, these grant funds may be used for technical assistance, capacity-building, enhancing direct service activities, and/or program expansion, but unlike the two-year grants, the one-year grants are specifically intended to help OST programs to better serve and support youth with disabilities or special needs in out-of-school time programming. Grant funds can support both programs that are specifically focused on serving youth with disabilities or other special needs and programs that serve both special needs and general population students.

Amount: Varies by project type and organizational budget size:

• Tier 1: Eight grants at $50,000 per year over the span of two years, for a total two-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.
• Tier 2: Eight grants at $25,000 per year over the span of two years, for a total two-year grant award of $50,000. Only organizations with annual organizational budgets of $250,000 or more will be eligible for these grants.
• Tier 3: Ten one-year grants of $15,000 each will be awarded. Like the two-year grants, these grant funds may be used for technical assistance, capacity-building, enhancing direct service activities, and/or program expansion, but unlike the two-year grants, the one-year grants are specifically intended to help OST programs to better serve and support youth with disabilities or special needs in out-of-school time programming. Grant funds can support both programs that are specifically focused on serving youth with disabilities or other special needs and programs that serve both special needs and general population students.

Eligibility: All nonprofit afterschool and summer learning programs that serve middle school students that meet the following criteria:

• Hold 501(c)(3) status
• Have a high percentage of low-income youth served (at least 75%) using Free or Reduced Price Lunch Program criteria

Note: Applicants that currently receive funding, either directly or indirectly, from the New York Life Foundation are ineligible to apply. This includes:

• National or regional organizations that receive New York Life Foundation funding directly
• Local affiliate organizations or programs that receive any financial support from their national headquarters that originates from New York Life Foundation grants
• Recipients of earlier rounds of Aim High grant funds

Link: https://afterschoolalliance.smapply.io

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