YouthReach

Frequently Asked Questions

Recorded Information Session

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What has changed from the last YouthReach Application?
In an effort to streamline our application and allow greater access we have worked to:

1. Broaden eligibility for schools and for nonprofits who work with schools to apply in any discipline
2. Decrease applicant workload by removing evaluative site visits and our logic model requirement
3. Offer a four-year grant instead of a three-year granting model.
4. Offer two award amounts instead of just one. The greater award acknowledges the additional needs for young people and costs for organizations who provide resources for mental health and workforce development.
5. Organizations, known as YouthReach Partners, who had been funded for nine or more years, did not need to reapply so long as they did not have significant changes to their program design and staffing. Now, all former YouthReach grantees need to apply.

How do I know if my organization is eligible to apply?
If your answer is YES to the following questions, then YES, you are likely eligible to apply.

1. Does the majority of your organization’s programming take place in Massachusetts and does your organization have a Massachusetts address?
2. Is your organization one of the following?

• • A non-profit organization registered to do business in the Commonwealth and in good standing with the ?
  • An unincorporated organization with a Massachusetts address, conducting 50% or more of its programming in Massachusetts, operating with an eligible fiscal agent?
  • A public, charter, or private school serving grades Pre-K–12 and do you have a 2025-2026 DESE School ID?
  • A federally recognized tribal, state, or municipal government entity in Massachusetts?

YES, continue:

• • Are you an organization that has operated a Creative Youth Development (CYD) program for a minimum of six months between 2024 and 2026?
  • Is your programming primarily arts, humanities, or interpretive sciences?
  • Does your program work with Massachusetts youth ages 4-24?
  • Does your program work with a specific and consistent group of young people hands-on cumulative learning through creating work?
  • Is your program designed so that participants have the option of multi-year participation?

AND, do you see your program in the following definition?

Creative Youth Development is a commitment to supporting young people’s stories, ideas, and dreams through creative expression and honoring their lived experiences. To create environments that promote Creative Youth Development, these three concepts must be present: Racial Equity and Social Justice, Youth Voice, and Collective Action.

(You may wish to refer to Review Key Characteristics of CYD and/or the 10 Dimensions of Powerful Art Education.)

Can I apply if I have a fiscal agent?
Yes, if they agree to act as your legal and contractual representative for the purpose of receiving this grant. Non-profit fiscal agents must have active 501c3 status with the IRS and be recognized by the State to do business in the Commonwealth. For the purpose of this program, Massachusetts municipalities are also able to serve as an applicant’s fiscal agent. It is important to remember that organizations are required to provide a Massachusetts physical address. If awarded a grant, the “Contract Signatory” is the person at your fiscal agent’s organization who has the legal authority to sign contracts and will receive three DocuSign documents and need to submit the necessary contract documents.

What is the difference between a parent organization and a fiscal agent?
If your organization is a program of, department of, or a branch of a larger organization which coordinates, supervises, or exercises control over policy, fund-raising, and expenditures at your organization they may be your “Parent Organization” rather than your fiscal agent. If this is the case, please contact staff so we can be sure your organization is set up correctly in our grants management system. A Parent Organization is authorized to receive funding and sign contracts on behalf of the organization. Grantees using a fiscal agent will also not be paid directly, the fiscal agent will complete the contract and receive the payment on the grantees’ behalf. Please note, that only one program/department of a Parent Organization will be funded.

How do I begin to apply?
All applicants should submit their applications through the grants management system. After you log in, the application is located under “Current Funding Opportunities”. If you have not applied to Mass Cultural Council before on behalf of your organization and/or do not already have a user profile, you must register in the grants management system.

• Go to the grants management system and click “Register”.
• On the next page select “Organization”.
• Your organization may already exist in our system. Use the “Organization Name” search to find it. If you cannot find your organization in the list, you must register your organization in our system.
• After completing the registration, you should receive an email from “[email protected]” to activate your account.
• Please activate your account within 48 hours.

How do I know if I have an individual account or an organization account in the grants management system?

• If you have an individual user account, your portal only displays “My Profile”.
• If you have an organization account, your portal page shows “My Profile” and “My Organization Profile”.

What are the grant amounts available for the YouthReach grant and how do you know which one to apply to?
There will be two grant award ranges.  Depending on our annual legislative appropriation and the number of eligible applicants to the program, the amount of funding available for YouthReach, both grant amounts will most likely be in the $20,000’s and will be redetermined annually for either two or four years.

Grants ranging from $20,000 – $22,000 will be awarded to organizations that best align with the review criteria and funding priorities.

Grants ranging from $25,000 – $27,000 and will be awarded to organizations best meeting the review criteria, funding priorities, and have demonstrated investments in mental health and wellness, and/or workforce development through:

• Inclusion of access to mental health supports or inclusion of significant training opportunities in mental health for staff.
• Inclusion of youth stipends or paid employment in the program for participants.

How do you define arts, sciences, and humanities?
The proposed youth programming must be primarily arts, humanities, or interpretive sciences. Mass Cultural Council uses the following definitions:

• THE ARTS are the creation of work in the crafts and performing, visual, media, folk, design, literary, and interdisciplinary arts. They also include the presentation and preservation of, and education about, works in these disciplines.
• THE HUMANITIES are types of learning that deal with human values and aspirations, human thought and culture, language, and creativity. Examples include, but are not limited to, history, social studies, philosophy, criticism, and literature.
• THE SCIENCES are limited to the cultural, interpretive, and educational expression of science and refers to types of learning that deal with nature, science, and technology in ways that explain how they relate to people’s lives. Some organizations that conduct this type of activity include aquariums, botanical gardens, nature centers, natural history museums, planetariums, and science centers.

Funding & Eligibility

If my organization runs two programs in two different sites, can we apply for two different YouthReach grants?
Each applicant organization may only submit one application. Each program will only receive one grant. However, organizations may collaborate with other applicants, including schools.

Am I eligible to apply if I am a Cultural District Investment Grant recipient in FY27?
No.

How can I tell if my organization is incorporated in Massachusetts?
Your organization should be registered with the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. You may search for your organization using the search function on the Corporations Division’s website. When you find your organization, you can click on your organization’s record to see the status of your incorporation and any related filings.

Can we apply and receive funds from a Local Cultural Council or Tribal Cultural Council in addition to the YouthReach grant?
Yes. LCC and TCC grants have no impact on your eligibility.

If I currently receive an organizational support grant (OGO or CIP), may I apply?
Yes, you may apply but if you are awarded more than one grant, you will only be able to receive one of them.

If I receive two grants, one for FY27 organizational support grant (OGO or CIP) and one for YouthReach, how will it be determined which one I receive? Only one grant will be awarded per organization. Mass Cultural Council will award organizations the largest grant for which they are recommended, unless the organization wishes to choose the lower amount.

Can my organization apply to other grants from Mass Cultural Council? Yes, you are eligible to apply to the following, but you will be funded only by one program. To support our equity goals, Mass Cultural Council has taken steps to ensure that we can fund as many organizations as possible and therefore organizations may be funded by only one of the following each year of the duration of your grant:

• FY27 Operating Grants for Organizations recipients
• FY27 Cultural Investment Portfolio recipients
• FY27 Gaming Mitigation Fund applicants/recipients
• FY27 Creative Experiences applicants/recipients

Program Design

Is drop-in programming eligible?
No, programs must provide a specific and consistent group of young people hands-on cumulative learning through creating work.

Are individual, private lessons eligible?
No, programs must provide a specific and consistent group of young people hands-on cumulative learning through creating work.

Does my Creative Youth Development program have to offer in-person programming?
Yes because there needs to be a “hands on” component to the creative work.

Budget

What can my organization include in our budget for the CYD program?
Any cost associated with the CYD program can be included in the budget, including all direct costs, indirect costs, overhead, transportation, materials, and food. The costs must be directly associated with the CYD program being funded. For example, a budget item for staff time should only include the staff time required for this specific program.

Prioritization and Scoring

Priorities have been established to support programmatic practices that advance equity, diversity, and inclusion through our services to the sector. The majority of the score is based on the reviewer scores on the posted review criteria. See program guidelines for descriptions.

What does ‘accessible to people with disabilities’ mean?
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a civil rights legislative requirement that equitable provisions must be designed in your programs, services, and products. These considerations can and should be ongoing and improved over time. Access should be assessed within physical and virtual sites to achieve integrated settings, effective communication, and reasonable accommodations. For more information on access and inclusion resolutions contact Charles G. Baldwin.

Are there any prioritization points being for programs serving a higher population of students with neurodiversity, learning needs, or disabilities?
No, but if you are also working with this specific population around mental health or workforce development, you may answer the optional questions for the potential higher grant award.

If we received a grant from a Local Cultural Council or Tribal Cultural Council, does this count as being ‘previously funded’?
No, grants received from LCCs and TCCs are not counted as previous funding from Mass Cultural Council.

Can I apply to FY27 YouthReach and also apply in FY27 for Creative Experiences and in FY28 for Operating Grants for Organizations?
Organizations may apply to each of these grants, however, an organization can ultimately only receive funding from one of these programs. Applications to all three programs are reviewed independently, and there is no guarantee of funding. In FY27, if an organization is awarded a YouthReach grant, that grant takes precedence, and they will not receive a Creative Experiences grant. If they receive a YouthReach grant in FY27 and also apply and are awarded a FY28 Operating Grant grant, they will only receive one grant. Most often this will be determined by which grant is larger.

Can I submit the application even if my BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) Centered Organization prioritization points aren’t showing up yet?
Yes, you can. Mass Cultural Council staff will be reviewing BIPOC-Centered Organization applications. Once those reviews are complete, the points will be added retroactively in our grants management system.

Application Process & Timeline

Does filling out the optional questions and applying for the larger grant amount affect my likelihood of getting funded?
The optional narrative section will only impact whether you are eligible for the larger grant amount. Filling out the optional section will have no impact on overall “success” of the application.

Will I have to fill out everything in one session?
You can start an application draft to see the questions as they appear in the grants management system. You will be able to save your draft. Another option is to work in your own Word document and reference the sample application PDF.

It says I have 2000 characters, but how much text is that?
2,000 characters (including spaces) is typically about 300 to 400 words which is approximately one-half to three quarters of a page of single-spaced text (think about 3–5 short paragraphs). Some find that it it is easier to create a Word or Google Doc with the questions first so that you can check the character count. A sample application (PDF) is available for reference.

How do we check the status of a grant application?
We anticipate notifying applicants about the outcome of their application in September 2026, and will update the timeline in our program guidelines if that changes. You are also welcome to contact us with any questions.

If funded, when would we receive the grant?
If your grant has been approved, you will receive an electronic funds transfer after your state contract has been fully executed. This is usually 4-6 weeks after Mass Cultural Council receives your completed grant contract package. We expect to be able to send contracts to grantees by November or December 2026. Please note: This timeline is subject to change, and awardees need to complete a multi-step contracting process before funds can be disbursed.

How do we request a modification to our original proposal and description?
It is suggested that you reach out to staff with your request to modify your original proposal. Staff will then make an internal note on your application. You will fill out the final report with updated details regarding updates to your program.

Additional Questions?

Technical questions about the online application or grants management system? Contact our grants team.

Programmatic questions about application requirements? Email our program staff.