Definition:
The Summer Youth Program Fund (SYPF) is a collaborative grantmaking effort among local funders who support, or are interested in supporting, agencies that provide summer programming for Maricopa County youth. The purpose of the SYPF is to supplement existing programs in order to enrich, enhance and expand summer programs for children and youth.
Organizations that meet the criteria of individual funders participating in the collaboration generally qualify for funding. Collaborators include the Arizona Community Foundation, Arizona Republic Season for Sharing, BHHS Legacy Foundation, The Bidstrup Foundation, Helios Education Foundation, J.W. Kieckhefer Foundation, Margaret T. Morris Foundation, Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust, Peoria Diamond Club, Phoenix Suns Charities, The Steele Foundation, Thunderbirds Charities, and The Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust. Several of the funders have restrictions on multiple annual requests. As an applicant, we recommend that you review the funding criteria of the collaborators and determine if you plan to apply for other support separately.
Why it is important:
The SYPF recognizes that summer programs, particularly those serving economically disadvantaged youth, require financial assistance to provide creative and recreational outlets while fostering personal development and life-long learning.
During out of school time, young people tend to engage in the highest levels of health-harming behaviors. Targeted programs provide a continuum of care during the summer months and offer opportunities for youth to develop and sustain enriching and healthy lifestyle activities that will divert them from negative behaviors.
Benefits:
The collaborative program will simplify grant seeking for nonprofit organizations. The program design will make grantmaking more efficient for local nonprofits to obtain the necessary funds for their summer programs by using a single application form, one collective process and a single report. Additionally, it will allow a large number of funders to become more familiar with organizations providing summer youth programming.
Recognizing that many local nonprofits have small staffs, the SYPF collaborative effort allows staff to focus on youth programs by eliminating the duplication of efforts in applying separately to each funder.