Grassroots work is community-led and community-designed. Shared identities and lived experiences are essential to building relationships with those benefiting from the work and help set the stage for grassroots groups delivering impactful, local projects. A key requirement for Youth Innovations grants is that they must be led by and for priority populations.
Through this grant stream, the Youth Opportunities Fund (YOF) invests in projects led by youth or youth-adult partnerships to improve the social and economic wellbeing of youth. YOF’s work is founded in the belief that young leaders have the tools and skills to come together based on shared experiences to address the needs of youth. Young leaders are driven to find solutions that can have lasting impact and design projects that reflect how culture and traditions can enhance learning and life-long skills development to improve wellbeing.
A Youth Innovations Test grant is designed to help groups:
- Try out a new idea that has the potential to make a positive impact on the lives of young people.
- Research, learn and understand more about a specific topic or issue.
- Bring youth together to discuss an issue and explore new approaches collectively.
YOF prioritizes grassroots groups that are looking to address the experiences of Indigenous (First Nation, Metis or Inuit) and/ or Black youth who continue to face systemic barriers and oppression.
In addition to prioritizing Black and Indigenous grassroots groups and youth, YOF prioritizes investing in projects that positively impact youth with the following intersecting lived experiences or identities:
- Youth in conflict or at risk of being in conflict with the law
- Youth in care or leaving care
- Youth at-risk of dropping out or have dropped out of school
- Youth living with disabilities and/or special needs between the ages of 12 to 29
- Two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and/or questioning, intersex, asexual (2SLGBTQIA+) youth
Complete the Expression of Interest: Step 1 of the grant application
The Expression of Interest is the first step of a grant application and it provides OTF with the information needed to assess your proposed project. The deadline for Expressions of Interest is April 9, 2025.
Groups with Expressions of Interest that are shortlisted will be invited to complete Step 2 of the grant application.
Deadline to submit the grant application is July 9, 2025, at 5 PM ET.
Term length is minimum 1 year, maximum 3 years. Funding up to a maximum of $100,000