I really need some help trying to get a government grant for a scheme to help young people occupy there minds?

Question

I have spent the last 9 months researching into ways to stop the on-going violance and anti social behaviour caused in communities. Almost every1 that completed the survey between 12 - 25 said the same thing "nothing to occupy us". I then put together a structure on ways to resolve this and give people like myself more to do in our local areas. I have wrtten to loads of businesses and some well known faces of fame asking for support? many wrote back and said although a good idea they would not be willing to help. alot of people complain about anti social behaviour but few are willing to help resolve it! luckily 2 well known companies and 3 well known people have agreeed to match or contribute towards a government grant. This is my problem, the government make everything very hard, I have spent weeks trying to get a grant on-line or trying to pitch my idea and i am constantly going round in circles. If someone has done this before or would like to get involved please help me.

Answer 1

Your best bet is to seek for private grants or grants from private foundations.

The best resource for this is Foundation Center http://www.fdncenter.org . They have a very good database covering all organizations giving grants and you can find foundations that are interested in supporting your type of cause. However, it's a subscription based website ($19.95 per month I think is the cheapest subscription price). But it certainly is worth the fee. You can subscribe one month, and make sure you get all the info you need and then stop the subscription.

If you want to try federal sources, you can go to the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) http://www.cfda.gov and Grants.gov http://www.grants.gov - these are two sites created by the federal government to provide transparency and information on grants.

CFDA has several ways to search for grants. I suggest you search by beneficiary and select Private Non Profit Organization and you can find listings of grants available http://12.46.245.173/pls/portal30/CATALO...

However, to be able to get grant awards, you need to be 501C(3) certified from the IRS http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/...

Answer 2

I'm 13 years old

All this has just made me realise, that people like that are wannabes, chavs, ruffians.

They have no means into what they're doing.

The government are ****, my dad says he used to love Britain, now he doesn't. Nor do i.

There's alot of Youth Club's etc. that i go to.

I joined the Army Cadet Force.

I love it now, i behave in school and everything.

And i now don't take everything for granted, and seemed to of smartened up.

Answer 3

I have gone round in circles before.

Answer 4

Sadly there already plenty of opportunities for young people to occupy themselves.

There are youth clubs, army and air force cadets, Scouts and Guides, drama clubs, dance classes/groups, any number of amateur and youth sports teams and clubs and God knows how many charities they could become involved in.

In many cases the "young people" (like some of the ones who currently terrorise the area I live in) just can't be bothered to do anything more productive with their time, even when the opportunity exists.  They'd sooner hang around the street making people's lives a misery.

Kudos for you for trying though.  I would approach your local MP about this.