United Way Winnipeg Youth

Shaw United Way Youth Connections’ mission is to foster youth involvement and initiative, community spirit and positive relationships through volunteerism. We work to accomplish our mission by:

• Motivating and encouraging youth to become involved in their schools and communities;
• Providing funds to support youth-driven volunteer projects that offer creative youth-initiated solutions to community issues.

Groups of youth in schools and other community organizations can apply for up to $1000 to help with the costs of a project. The Youth Connections Council will review applications carefully to determine whether they are eligible for funding. The review process will include a face-to-face interview with your project team. In most cases, the interviews will be youth-to-youth only. The interview will help us get to know each other a little bit, and it will help us to gather the information we need to make a decision.

We accept applications year-round. Keep in mind The Youth Connections Council meets on the 1st Monday of each month to vote on funding. Applicants are required to submit their funding applications at least two weeks before these meetings, otherwise they will be reviewed the following month.

If your application is approved, we will disburse your funds through the school or community organization your group is connected with. We will ask you to keep us up to date on your progress, and once your project has been completed, you’ll be required to provide us with a report that includes detailed budget information and receipts. Any unused funds must be returned to the Youth Connections program.

The Youth Connections Council will review all applications according to the funding criteria listed below.

Key Criteria

Eligible projects will:

1. Reflect genuine youth volunteer ownership of and leadership in their design, implementation and evaluation. If an application is for a project that has been done before, the Youth Connections Council will look for evidence that the youth who are taking over the project are making the project “their own”.
2. Build and strengthen skills and abilities in youth involved with the project;
3. Promote and build positive relationships in the local community;
4. Clearly benefit and improve the local community;
5. Be accessible to all concerned (i.e., transportation, financial cost, physical accessibility, language and/or cultural sensitivity);

Some “Fine Print”

• As of September 2005, Shaw United Way Youth Connections will not provide grants to fundraising projects.
• Eligible projects may receive up to 75% of proposed food and food-related costs, to a maximum of $500, as long as the need for the food is clearly identified.
• Requests for assistance in paying honoraria to speakers, workshop facilitators, performers, etc. will be considered on a case-by-case basis. As a general guideline, projects that meet all of the key criteria may be eligible to receive up to 50% of proposed honoraria costs, to a maximum of $500.
• Youth Connections will consider accommodation and travel costs on a case-by-case basis. Eligible projects may receive up to 50% of proposed travel-related costs, to a maximum of $1000.

To Project Team Leaders:

Please make sure that you’re using our most current funding application form. To get a copy of our current application package, please call the Youth Relations Manager (477-5360 extension 272).