Survey Says: Infographics from The National Campaign

The National Campaign has done loads of research about teens, sex, and teen pregnancy. Right now, there are quite a few downloadable infographics full of interesting stats. (How faith affects teen pregnancy rates, for example.) While not all might apply to your work in YoungLives, there is some interesting studies and results! You might find this helpful in raising community awareness and training volunteers. 

Remember, this isn't YoungLives specific material. Use what you think might be helpful. Have questions? Contact your Regional or Divisional Coordinator for more guidance. The YL Service Center has some great materials that ARE YoungLives specific. You can order them through the staff site. (Make sure to check out the YLVS Case Statement. This is a great resource and tool for approaching potential donors and volunteers!)

Young Life Grants and Foundation Relations

Grants are a great way to fundraise larger amounts of money, especially for unique programs like YoungLives. The process, however, can be daunting and overwhelming!

Did you know that the Young Life Service Center has an entire team dedicated to helping you fundraise through grants & foundations? Your YL area can receive assistance in identifying local foundations, writing proposals, grants, as well as providing you with the right tools. Log on to the staff site and search "Grants and Foundation Relations" to get started.  

Grant Writing Tips

With a new fiscal year on its way in just a couple of days, fund-raising is on a lot of our minds! Applying for grants is a good avenue to explore for funding, but it can seem overwhelming if you don’t know where to start. The first step is to do a lot of research to find foundations and businesses that might make a grant to a mentoring program for teenage moms.

Find out what local foundations care about, who they have given to in the past, who is on the board, and what their funding requirements are. If YoungLives seems like a good fit with their funding history and their mission, then give them a call and see if you can get a face-to-face meeting with someone on the board – or at least talk with someone over the phone about the possibility of submitting a grant proposal. Once you’ve spoken with someone at the foundation, they will often ask you to submit a “letter of inquiry” before putting together a whole grant proposal. A letter of inquiry should be one to three pages long, and should include the following information (taken from the Common Grant Application Format put together by Grantmakers of Western PA):

ORGANIZATION
o Brief description of organization
o Address, telephone number, fax number, email address
o Name of contact person

PROJECT or PROGRAM
o Summary – one sentence statement of proposed project or program
o Overview – purpose, objectives, goals, how project relates to funder’s priorities
o Description – target population, specific action plan, timeframe and duration
o Implementation (and results) – qualifications for executing proposed project expected outcomes, how effectiveness will be monitored and evaluated, plan for continuance at conclusion of requested funding
o Cost – amount requested, total project cost, private and public funding sources (pending and received)

ATTACHMENTS (each funder may have specific preferences for information to be included)
o IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter
o Mission Statement
o Board of Directors list

*In addition, many funders request that their application sheet be attached to the letter of inquiry. Be sure to check with the respective funder for its preference.

Grant Writing-Sample Letter of Inquiry

Grants are a great way to expand the financial support for the ministry in your area!

Many grants will request or require a letter of inquiry as part of the application process. Check out this Sample Letter of Inquiry to help you through this sometimes-daunting process!