Posted by eporter on March 25, 2024
Latest Funding Opportunities for Mentoring Programs
The U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) recently announced 2024 funding opportunities for youth-serving organizations and programs, including youth mentoring programs. The OJJDP’s Youth Mentoring Program Grants program is the only mentoring-specific grant program funded by U.S. Congress. The OJJDP’s latest announced solicitations that are relevant to mentoring programs include the 2024 National Mentoring Programs grant, the 2024 Opioid Affected Youth Initiative grant, and the 2024 Second Chance Act Youth Reentry Program grant. These grants provide support to mentoring programs, so you can offer evidence-based training to your mentors, provide high-quality resources and activities to matches, employ a team of professional mentoring program staff, evaluate your program, and more.
OJJDP FY24 National Mentoring Programs
The annual National Mentoring Programs solicitation aims to support mentoring programs that serve youth who are at risk for juvenile delinquency, victimization, and juvenile justice system involvement. More specifically, the program aims to increase the number of high-risk youth who are receiving mentoring services in the U.S., increase the number of mentors who have been trained and screened, and support the implementation of mentoring program practices that are based on research and effective mentoring approaches.
To read more about your program’s eligibility, solicitation details, and application instructions, visit https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/funding/opportunities/o-ojjdp-2024-172019.
OJJDP FY24 Opioid Affected Youth Initiative
The annual Opioid Affected Youth Initiative supports the development and implementation of interventions and prevention efforts that identify and/or support youth and families impacted by substance use, specifically opioid use. This funding opportunity is applicable to mentoring programs that serve youth who are currently using substances, are in recovery for using substances, and/or are close to someone who is using substances.
To read more about your program’s eligibility, solicitation details, and application instructions, visit https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/funding/opportunities/o-ojjdp-2024-172042.
The OJJDP will host a webinar on April 16, 2024 from 3 – 4PM EST to provide an overview of the program, answer participant questions about the funding opportunity, and discuss the grant application process. Visit https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/events/fy24-oayi to learn more.
OJJDP FY24 Second Chance Act Youth Reentry Program
The annual Second Chance Act Youth Reentry Program solicitation aims to support entities that address and improve the reentry and recidivism challenges that youth face when returning to their communities from juvenile residential and correctional facilities. The grant is composed of two categories, and Category 2: Strengthening Community-Based Youth Reentry Programs may be applicable to youth reentry programs that offer mentoring services to youth.
To read more about your program’s eligibility, solicitation details, and application instructions, visit https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/funding/opportunities/o-ojjdp-2024-172017.
The OJJDP will host a webinar on March 27, 2024 from 1 – 2PM EST to provide an overview of the program, answer participant questions about the funding opportunity, and discuss the grant application process. Visit https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/events/fy24-scayr to learn more.
Crafting a Winning Proposal
If you are interested in implementing Mentoring Central’s trainings for mentors, mentees, and/or parents of mentees in your mentoring program, these grants may provide the support your program needs to do so. In addition, incorporating Mentoring Central’s trainings in your grant application may help your mentoring program craft a compelling project narrative that emphasizes your program’s concrete plans to drive positive change in the lives of youth. Mentoring Central’s training courses are based on the latest research in the field of mentoring and youth development, and several of our trainings have been shown to positively impact match outcomes. OJJDP Youth Mentoring Program Grants recognize the importance of research-based mentoring practices as well as training mentors for better outcomes, so incorporating evidence-based mentoring trainings in your grant proposal may boost your program’s chances of crafting an award-winning proposal.
If you are planning to apply for the 2024 Opioid Affected Youth Initiative, Mentoring Central’s Substance of Change: Building Assets in Mentees Affected By Substance Misuse training for mentors who are meeting with mentees impacted by substance use is a particularly impactful choice to write into your proposal. The Substance of Change course provides critical training and practice opportunities for mentors to learn about opioids, how opioids can affect the lives of mentees, and practical strategies mentors can easily learn and use in their everyday interactions so they can be a positive change agent in the lives of their mentees.
In addition, Mentoring Central’s Annual Membership Program can be written into a proposal for any of the 2024 OJJDP mentoring grants. The Annual Membership Program provides the resources needed for mentoring programs to offer a well-rounded training experience to all mentors, mentees, and parents of mentees as well as program evaluation tools to help mentoring programs assess and enhance their mentoring practices. To read more about the Annual Membership Program, view the 2024 Mentoring Central catalogue: https://mentoringcentral.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/MC_Catalog_2024.pdf.
Mentoring Central’s team has extensive experience in writing award-winning proposals, and we are available to assist you during your grant writing process. If you would like to receive materials or information about Mentoring Central’s training programs to include in your application, you can contact our team by email at mentoringcentral@irtinc.us.
In addition, we have compiled a list of guidelines and funding sources to help you apply for grants for your mentoring program. View our blog to read more: https://mentoringcentral.net/blog/2023/08/31/a-guide-to-finding-funding-and-grants-for-mentoring-programs/.
The OJJDP often releases various funding opportunities applicable to mentoring programs during the spring and summer months. You can visit the OJJDP’s website regularly to stay up-to-date on the latest funding opportunities for your program: https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/funding/current.