Program Guidelines

Program Description
The goal of the YouthReach Initiative is to promote integration of substantive out-of-school arts, humanities, and interpretive science opportunities into a collaborative community response to the needs of young people - specifically, those at risk of not making a successful transition from adolescence to young adulthood. Those facing this risk include, but are not limited to, young people with disabilities, school dropouts, young people victimized by violence, court-involved youth, pregnant or parenting teens, and youth living in economically depressed areas.

Cultural programming can be a powerful tool to help young people make sense of the challenges they face. Meaningful experiences in the arts, humanities, and sciences can help foster positive growth that is essential to becoming a successful adult. The Initiative aims to foster meaningful and lasting collaborations among cultural organizations, human service agencies, and other organizations that nurture the spirit of creative inquiry in young people. Through collaborative ventures, a broader range of resources can be coordinated to provide the most supportive and nourishing environment possible for young people.

Successful YouthReach programs typically work with young people somewhere between 12 and 20 years of age. YouthReach supports innovative programs that:

• provide young people with in-depth arts, humanities, or science experiences that create opportunities to interact directly with practicing artists, scholars, and scientists, and to develop techniques or skills for creative inquiry.

• demonstrate a clear understanding of the needs of participating young people.

• demonstrate a clear ability to infuse arts, humanities, or science learning programs with the principles of youth development.

• marshal the resources of the community and foster substantive collaboration between cultural organizations and other community institutions addressing young people in need.

Award Assignments
Successful applicants receive two-year grants to support activities that take place between July 2010 and June 2012. All awards are contingent upon the MCCs allocation and receipt of sufficient funds from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Grant Ranges
Applicants may request between $8,000 and $16,000 per year for two years.

Matching Requirements
All YouthReach grants must be matched. First-cycle grants can be matched with cash and in-kind support. However, in-kind goods and services may not exceed 50 percent of the match. "In-kind" refers to a donation of goods or services. Any goods or services that you do not have to pay for are considered in-kind. Free rehearsal space, donated supplies or pro bono consultant work are examples of in-kind goods and services. Staff time on this project paid for by the primary applicant should be listed as cash match; staff time on the project paid for by a collaborating organization is an in-kind donation. Funds raised by a collaborating organization specifically for the project constitute a cash match. For second-cycle and all other continued support grants, the MCC requires a cash-only match. In all cases, grants or funds received through Local Cultural Councils or any other MCC program may not be used as matching funds.

The match requirements vary according to how long a project has been funded through YouthReach:

Eligibility Requirements
The primary applicant for a YouthReach project must be:

• a cultural organization or an organization with a strong programming history in the proposed project's primary discipline (arts, humanities, or interpretive sciences);

• incorporated in Massachusetts as a non-profit organization; and

• current in its tax-exempt status under IRS Section 501(c)(3).

Organizations that received a YouthReach grant previously but were not funded during Fiscal Years 2009 and 2010 are eligible to reapply for either the previously funded project or a new one. Previously funded projects will be subject to matching requirement based on past YouthReach funding. (See above.) MCC staff will determine whether a project application is considered "new" or "returning."

Use of Funds
YouthReach funds cannot be used for in-school programs during the typical school day. Capital expenses will not be considered as part of the budget of a YouthReach project and should not be included in the funding request. The state's definition of capital expenses includes:

• items with a life expectancy of more than three years and a monetary value of more than $500. (For example, the purchase of a $200 digital camera would be allowed; the purchse of a $600 projector would not. Buying a new computer would not be allowed, but leasing one for the duration of the project would be.)

• expenses related to the renovation or new construction of facilities.

Rules Pertaining to Multiple Proposals
In any single MCC fiscal year (July 1 - June 30), an organization may be the primary applicant for only one YouthReach grant application. However, an organization may be the primary applicant on one project and collaborate on others. Application for a YouthReach grant does not preclude organizations from applying to other MCC programs for which they meet eligibility requirements. Funds from other MCC programs cannot be used to match YouthReach grants, however.

Review Procedures & Funding Decisions
After the application deadline, the MCC assigns independent reviewers to conduct site evaluations. The purpose of the site evaluation is for panelists to gain first-hand experience and direct contact with the proposed project's key players, location, and community. The MCC convenes these reviewers to evaluate applications according to the review criteria. Panels are comprised of administrators, artists, humanists, scientists, and youth development specialists who represent diverse geographic, ethnic, philosophical, and aesthetic perspectives. Panelists evaluate applications and make funding recommendations to the MCC's board. The board considers these recommendations in the context of the agency's available funds and makes all final funding decisions. For details on the decisionmaking process, see the timeline below.

Note that other funders interested in making grants to programs similar to those applying to YouthReach have observed past YouthReach panel reviews. Because of the high caliber of panelists that the MCC typically recruits and the rigor of the review process, these observers have found the experience very useful. The MCC hopes to continue this practice in order to further educate other funders about this work and share information and grant review practices among funders. (Other funders sit in only as observers - they do not participate in any discussion.)

Reporting Requirements
Grant recipients are required to submit regular reports to the MCC detailing the project's progress, including any changes in timeline, personnel, collaborating organizations, or content, along with annual financial information. Reports must demonstrate continued commitment to the project by all partners and be signed by officials from the primary applicant agency.

The MCC has the right to withhold, reduce, or discontinue funding if a YouthReach partnership:

• misses deadlines for grant reports.
• does not notify the MCC of changes in project collaborators or other significant changes in the project.
• fails to comply with the terms of the grant contract.
• is unable to raise the required match.
• demonstrates inadequate financial management and oversight.
• does not properly credit MCC support.

MCC will not release the next year's funding until complete reports are received from the primary applicant.

Deadlines & Timeline

Review Criteria
Below are the criteria that review panels use to evaluate YouthReach proposals. Examples of evidence that might indicate quality are listed under each criterion.

Your complete application package (including narrative, biographes of key personnel, curriculum or schedule, evaluation materials, budget, work samples, and/or printed support material) should demonstrate how your project effectively addresses the review criteria.

YouthReach proposals will be reviewed using the following criteria on a 100-point scale:

• Quality of Program Design (55 points)
• Community Need and Participation (25 points)
• Fiscal Management and Program Evaluation (20 points)

Quality of Program Design (55 points)
1. Evidence that the staff, collaborators, and program design will provide young people with in-depth, high quality arts, humanities, and/or science experiences that are designed to encourage mastery of the discipline through the development of skills and through hands-on exploration and discovery. (25 points)

• Instructors have strong credentials as artists, humanists, or scientists and as educators (present their work, are respected within their field, have appropriate training in their discipline, have significant experience as educators with the target population, demonstrate pedagogical skills that fuse arts, humanities, or science learning and youth development).
  
  
• Program is based on a sequential curriculum or plan that fosters accomplishment and mastery.
  
  
• Youth are given high quality materials and appropriate space in which to work.
  
  
• Youth learn to effectively critique their own work and the work of others.
  
  
• Youth engage in creative inquiry; they are encouraged to ask questions and solve problems within the artistic, humanistic, or scientific discipline.
  
  
• Program design includes culminating events - opportunities to work toward a deadline, present work to others, and receive feedback.
  
  
• Program design includes opportunities for reflection on process and product.
  
  
• As a result of the program youth excel in the discipline taught.
  
  
• Youth develop their own creative practice and voice.

2. Evidence that staff, collaborators, and program design will meet the developmental needs of participating young people. (15 points)

• Program is based on student assets, rather than on deficits. Program identifies participants' strengths, builds on them, and cultivates additional assets young people need to become successful adults. Such assets might include skills (interpersonal, communication, decision-making, conflict-resolution, academic, or workforce skills), knowledge, attitudes, and/or behaviors.
  
  
• Staff have received adequate and appropriate training to meet students' developmental needs and have access to appropriate resources within or outside the organization when issues arise that are beyond their capacity to handle.
  
  
• Program takes place in safe and healthy spaces (i.e., physical safety is taken into consideration regarding program location, equipment, activities, and staffing; adequate adult supervision is provided; personnel are knowledgeable regarding procedures for dealing with emergencies; program creates an emotional safety in which participants are able to develop a sense of belonging and membership).
  
  
• Program fosters the development of positive relationships with adults and peers.
  
  
• Youth have a true voice in shaping their projects, the program and, when appropriate, the organization - beyond program feedback forms. Youth set and monitor goals for their own achievement and assess their own progress and may be involved in decision-making.
  
  
• Program staff and collaborators set high expectations for growth and learning.
  
  
• If stipends are offered, they are connected to specific, consistent performance expectations and not merely to attendance.

3. Quality of program planning, recruitment, and implementation activities. (15 points)

• Youth participants, artists, and appropriate collaborators play a meaningful role in the planning process both in designing the program and throughout its implementation.
  
  
• Recruitment and implementation plans are realistic given program goals, staffing, and resources.

Community Need & Participation (25 points)
4. Documented need among the young people for whom this program is designed. (15 points)

• Application documents that the participants are at particular risk of not making a successful transition from adolescence to young adulthood because they face challenges such as violence in their homes or neighbor hoods, poverty, homelessness, immigration status, disability, or mental illness. (New applicants should document the challenges and risk factors for intended participants. Returning applicants should document the challenges and risk factors for current participants.)
  
  
• Beyond the proposed program, participants lack support and resources in their homes and communities; few other arts/humanities/science or social service resources are accessible to them, particularly in this discipline or for this target population.
  
  
• There are no barriers to program participation for at-risk youth such as prohibitive participation fees or lengthy or intimidating application or audition processes. Solutions have been found to address transportation and turf issues. Participation is not limited to highly talented or easily engaged youth.
  
  

5. Evidence that the broader community is involved in responding to the needs of the participating young people. (10 points)

• Appropriate collaborators are actively involved in meeting the needs of the youth, especially in terms of arts, humanities, or science learning and/or personal development.
  
  
• The project coordinates with other youth-serving and/or cultural organizations and efforts within the community.
  
  
• The program has the potential to change the way the community views the participants and thinks about at-risk youth and the ability of the arts, humanities, and sciences to produce social good.

Fiscal Management & Program Evaluation (20 points)
6. Effectiveness of plans to document and evaluate the program's impact on participating young people. (10 points)

• Program evaluation measures the young people's progress toward program goals; systems are in place to monitor and document the changes in skills, knowledge, attitude, or behavior that the program intends to promote.
  
  
• Staff regularly analyzes evaluation data and uses it to improve the program. When appropriate, students are included in this process.
  
  
• Student assessment and program evaluation systems are manageable and there is adequate staff in place to implement them.

7. Soundness of fiscal management, including diversity and reliability of financial support. (10 points)

• Match is met by a comfortable margin.
  
  
• Projected funding is sufficiently diverse; the proposed program's fate is not reliant on any one funder.
  
  
• Income projections are sound and reasonable; specific sources have been researched and projections are reasonable, based on both the track record of the funder and their history with the applicant.
  
  
• Staff responsible for fiscal administration is skilled and experienced.
  
  
• Organization is in good financial health and has good track record of financial management and fundraising.
  
  
• There is evidence of long-term planning for the proposed program's stability and sustainability.

LEGAL AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS

Access Policy
In accordance with state law, the MCC recognizes the importance of non-discrimination, diversity, and equal opportunity in all aspects of its programs and activities. The MCC is committed to access, not only as a matter of state and federal law, but also as a policy designed to encourage the participation of all segments of the Commonwealth’s population in MCC-funded programs. The MCC also considers low-income communities, rural populations, and citizens over 65 years old as underserved populations that should be proactively included in programs.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that persons with disabilities have access to public programs or services on an equal basis with the rest of the general public. Furthermore, federal law mandates that any program or service that receives federal or state funding must be accessible to persons with disabilities. Therefore, all events and programs funded by the MCC must be accessible to persons with disabilities, including those with visual, hearing, mobility, and learning disabilities. Accessibility includes the facility and event location as well as the content of the program.

Conflict of Interest
To ensure that all MCC review panels are free from conflicts of interest and the appearance of such conflicts, panelists are required to disclose any past, current, or prospective affiliation they or their immediate family members may have with an actual or potential applicant. "Affiliation" applies to employment, board memberships, independent contractual relationships, advisory or policy relationships, substantial contributor relationships, and other financial relationships. In addition, panelists are required to disclose any past or current adversarial relationships with actual or potential applicants of a professional or personal nature. MCC board members are not permitted to participate in discussion or votes related to any applicant with whom they have an affiliation or any applicants competing with that applicant.

Reconsideration Policy
An applicant may request reconsideration of an MCC decision on an application if the applicant can demonstrate that the MCC failed to follow published application and review procedures. Dissatisfaction with the denial of an award, with the amount of an award, or with the duration of an award does not constitute grounds for reconsideration. The first step in the process is to consult with the appropriate Program Manager to review the procedures that resulted in the MCC's decision. If the applicant wishes to pursue a reconsideration, a written request must be sent to the MCC's Executive Director within 30 days of the date of notification of the decision. Such requests will be reviewed by the board no earlier than its next scheduled meeting.

Acknowledgment of Funding
Grant recipients are required to credit the Massachusetts Cultural Council in all print, audio, video and internet materials, and all publicity materials (such as press releases, brochures, posters, advertisements and web sites). Detailed information will be provided in the contract package mailed to grantees.

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