Through funding from Youth Service America, OCCE maintains a modest pool of funding to support youth-led community-based projects in Winston Salem. This grant is a part of a larger collaborative with HandsOn NWNC & Forsyth County Young Leaders Program to increase youth service engagement in Winston Salem.

We know that youth in our city have budding ideas. We also know these ideas are less likely to be funded. We want to support youth-led projects so that we can all benefit from what grows out of them.

We are happy to be awarding 2 $1,000 grants and 6 $500 grants for youth led projects.
 
Applications for the youth led community grant is due by November 5, 2021 at 5 PM and are reviewed by a collaborative team from WFU OCCE, HandsOn NWNC and youth from Forsyth County Young Leaders Program using the following criteria :
-Youth-led: Is there a youth (Ages 16-25) leading the project?
-Issue based: Is the issue to be addressed clearly stated? Does the plan adequately address the issue.
-Partnership: Is there a clear partnership between the youth and a community based organization? How strong is the partnership? In what ways will the grant benefit the ongoing development of the partnership?
-Sustainability: Is the funding requested part of a larger, long-term initiative or goal? How will the funding support strategic goals of the overall project?
-Operational Excellence: Is there a clear budget? How will success be measured?
-Alignment with Focus Areas/Community Needs: Does the project align with one of the OCCE strategic impact areas? If not, how does the project connect to community needs?

Fill out this form if you are interested in learning more! The OCCE will host grant and interest meeting and workshop for folks that have questions. The Interest meeting will be held on 10/10 at 6 PM via zoom, and the interest meeting will be held on 10/17/2021.

Here is the link to the application: https://forms.gle/Qq9HP8YB9zqe8xKF9