2014 YouthBuild Grants Available

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced the availability of an estimated $73 million of funding through the latest round of competition for YouthBuild grants. Offered by DOL's Employment and Training Administration, YouthBuild is a community-based alternative education program for disadvantaged youth ages 16 - 24, including those who have dropped out of high school or aged out of foster care. By combining a focus on developing both academic and occupational skills, typically around home construction or renovation, YouthBuild seeks to help young people develop basic skills, get on a pathway to a career or further education, and address community issues related to a lack of affordable housing. While construction skills are at the core of the YouthBuild program, previously-funded applicants may also have the opportunity to offer training in other demand industries.

YouthBuild funds will be provided to an expected 73 grantees, with each award not to exceed $1.1 million. The grants will span a 40 month period that includes time for program planning and implementation as well as follow-up and tracking of YouthBuild program participants. DOL plans to award up to 30% of these funds to applicants that have not received a YouthBuild grant in the past or have not substantially completed performance in their initial grant.

Eligible applicants include public or non-profit agencies that have served disadvantaged youth in a YouthBuild or similar type of program. Examples include community development corporations, faith-based and community organizations, Indian tribes, and educational institutions.

Applications must be submitted no later than 4:00pm ET on April 22, 2014.

For complete details about this funding opportunity, please review the full announcement here.

2013 YouthBuild Grants Available

The U.S. Department of Labor has announced $75 million in grant funding for YouthBuild. Aimed at helping out-of-school youth complete their education and learn critical job skills, YouthBuild is a community-based program that can help youth ages 16-24 achieve academic success and gain important life skills. In past years, YouthBuild has targeted its job skills programs to construction trades. However, YouthBuild has expanded its training to include training opportunities in high-demand fields, such as health care and information technology, as well as a leadership development curriculum.

The Department of Labor anticipates awarding 75 grants of up to $1.1 million. Grants will be awarded for a period of three years, including a four-month planning period and two years of core program operations. Eligible applicants include public or nonprofit agencies or organizations that have previously served at-risk youth. Grant applicants are due March 19, 2013.

For more information about YouthBuild, please click here.

2012 YouthBuild Grant Awards Announced

Late last month, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced the latest round of YouthBuild grants, totaling $75.7 million. YouthBuild programs provide young people, ages 16-24, who are out-of-school with opportunities to earn a high-school diploma or GED while gaining valuable professional skills and work experience in diverse fields. These latest grants are the first to support programs that provide job training in occupations not limited to construction, including healthcare and information technology.

Seventy-four YouthBuild programs spanning 28 states and the District of Columbia received grants ranging in size from $700,000 to $1.1 million. These new grant awards will help serve almost 5,000 young people and bring the total number of DOL YouthBuild grantees across the country to 127.

For additional information on the YouthBuild program, including links to past award announcements, please view our previous blog posts here.

Department of Labor Announces $75 million for YouthBuild Grants

The Department of Labor (DOL) has announced $75 million in grants for YouthBuild. A community-based program, YouthBuild grants will be awarded to programs that help out-of-school youth complete high school, receive leadership training and learn critical job skills. This year, the YouthBuild program has expanded the required job skill training to include occupational training in health care and information technology – two high demand industries - in addition to the construction training that has been required in past years. YouthBuild strives to help participants build valuable career skills while also contributing to the revitalization of their communities. Youth receiving construction training, for example, have helped to construct and rehabilitate housing for low-income or homeless individuals in their community.

Eligible applicants include public or private nonprofit agencies, such as community action agencies, faith-based organization or youth service organizations. YouthBuild awardees that received funding during FY 2010-2011 are not eligible to apply.

DOL intends to fund roughly 75 grants with awards ranging from $700,000 to $1.1 million. Grant recipients must provide a cash or in-kind match of resources equivalent to 25% of the grant award. For a complete list of eligible applicants, as well as detailed application information, please click here.

Applications are due May 8.

2011 YouthBuild Awards Announced

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced $75.8 million in YouthBuild awards for 76 YouthBuild programs nationwide. In many communities, this program is a significant source of funding for providing education, training and employment opportunities to low-income youth. The list of grantees can be found here. These grants are funded through 2011 appropriations. Note that in March, DOL announced $30,696,643 in YouthBuild awards that were drawn from fiscal year 2010 appropriations.

Youth Build Awards Announced

The U.S. Department of Labor announced this week that $30,696,643 had been awarded for its YouthBuild programs. Funds will be shared among 31 programs that prepare out-of-school youth across the United States for careers through hands-on construction training, and high school completion and G.E.D. programs.
The Labor Department held a competition for applications in fall 2010 and the grant awards are drawn from fiscal year 2010 funds reserved for organizations that did not receive funding in the fiscal year 2009 YouthBuild competition. Additional grants will be made available through the fiscal year 2011 appropriation pending the availability of funds. A full list of the communities receiving grants can be found here.

Apprenticeship Guide for YouthBuild Programs

The Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration recently released the Apprenticeship Guide for YouthBuild Programs, which seeks to be a resource to help YouthBuild programs build connections to registered apprenticeships. The guide highlights the characteristics of effective YouthBuild-Apprenticeship Partnerships and provides guidance to YouthBuild programs for how to get an apprenticeship partnership started. The report can be accessed here.

For more information, please also see:

Opening Career Paths for Young People: Workforce Development Strategies for YouthBuild Programs, Charter Schools, and Other Youth Organizations, YouthBuild USA

Visit the YouthBuild website here.

DOL Announces the YouthBuild Grant Competition

Last week, the Department of Labor announced the availability of $130 million in funding for YouthBuild grants. YouthBuild is an alternative education program that provides classroom instruction and construction skills training to at-risk individuals ages 16 to 24. Through YouthBuild programs, participants learn valuable skills as they build or rehabilitate housing for low-income or homeless individuals and families in their communities.

For fiscal year 2010, $30 million of the available funding will be reserved for organizations that did not receive YouthBuild grants in fiscal year 2009. These awards will be available for immediate release. Public or private nonprofit agencies or organizations are eligible to apply.

The closing date for this exciting opportunity is December 3, 2010.

Find out more about YouthBuild here.