MAYVILLE, NY – The Chautauqua County Youth Bureau is looking to increase the positive impact that athletics have on young people in the county, by facilitating a newly created youth team sports grant.
The Chautauqua County Department of Mental Hygiene and Social Services (DMHSS) is accepting applications for a new grant stream created in the New York State Fiscal Year 2024 budget, which appropriated additional funds to support the operations of Youth Team Sports (YTS) programs for underserved youth under the age of 18.
The funding is available as a New York State legislative addition and cannot be guaranteed from one year to the next. For the purposes of this funding opportunity, a “team sport” is defined as an organized physical activity in which groups of two or more individuals are in competition with two or more opposing individuals.
Youth Team Sports funding awards are guided by the following principles:
• Educational Connection and Achievement
• Physical Health and Well-Being
• Mental Health and Well-Being
• Employment
• Community Cohesion
Eligible applicants should be either a 501(c)(3) nonprofit or another community-based organization operating in Chautauqua County with a federal identification number and charity registration number that is able to meet the County’s insurance requirements.
The grant program, created under the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS), and will run during the program year Jan. 1, 2024 through Sept. 30, 2024.
The grant may be used to fund programming that provides opportunities for youth in under-resourced communities to learn and participate in team sports activities. This may include educational instruction necessary to prepare youth to participate in team sports.
Program costs can include the following:
• Coaches/instructors/direct service staff/mentors (including training/professional development)
• Referee fees
• Purchase of equipment or uniforms
• Capital investment (e.g., swimming facilities, fields, fences, storage, lighting)
• Instruction or coaching necessary to support youth’s ability to participate in team sports
• Facility/field space
The application period for the grant begins December 29, 2023 and closes January 26, 2024 at 3:30 p.m. The Request for Proposal (RFP), which outlines all criterion, is available on the county website at: chqgov.com/humansocial-services/legal-services-rfp.
Funding decisions and awards will be based upon New York State Office of Children and Family (OCFS) guidelines. For more information, contact Nicole Kimball with the Chautauqua County Youth Bureau at kimballn@chqgov.com or call 716-753-4117.
