Youth Initiated Grants

Application Guidelines 2003

Logic Model 2003

Franklin Grand Isle
Youth Advisory Council
12 North Main Street Suite B
St. Albans, VT 05478
voice: 802 527-5049 fax: 802 524-3952

December 9, 2003: Franklin Grand Isle Youth Advisory Council (YAC) celebrates our youth initiated grants recipients and their programs. Special thanks to the Agency for Human Services for the grant funds and St. Luke's Church for the use of their parish hall for our closing event. For more photos, click here.

Youth Iniated Grantees for 2003 included:

Swanton Teen Center Summer Trips Program
Project Phoenix/Barlow Street Teen Center Summer Program
Enosburg Girls' Circle & Boys' Group
St. Albans City School Humanities Camp
Corey Parent/Foundation for Excellent Schools/student leadership project
Learning Together
Bridges Poetry Club
YAC TeenFest
New Beginnings Yoga Day program

Youth Initiated Grants 2003

Amount per project: up to $2,500 depending on number of applications received.

Period covered by grant: June 1-September 15, 2003

The application for funding must include:

a cover letter that states:

- who you are and contact information (phone, email, and/or US mail)
- the need you have identified and the outcome you hope to achieve,
- a brief outline of the proposed project,
- and a plan for measuring whether your project has made a difference.

A list of all youth/teens and adults involved in preparing the application and planning and implementing the project.

"Program Logic Model" (a blank is in the packet and on this website) outlining the need (risk/protective factors), resources (inputs) you will use, the strategy and activities you have chosen to address the need you identified, and outputs (how many served, etc.) and outcomes (difference) you hope to achieve. PLEASE REFER TO THE THEORY OF CHANGE SECTION OF THIS RFP FOR MORE INFORMATION.

budget with an explanation of cost items (include information on other funding sources and in-kind donations)

one letter of support

Criteria

The project/activity:

Helps prevent or reduce drug and alcohol use or violence.
Serves youth ages 9-18.
Involves youth in leadership roles in the design and implementation.
Uses "prevention principles" (see resources).
Has an achievable, measurable, and time-limited outcome.

Applications will be reviewed by a committee that includes a majority of youth and we will let you know by May 26 whether you are a successful grant recipient. Grant recipients should plan to attend a grantees' meeting in early June. At this meeting we will discuss reporting requirements and your plan for measuring the impact of your project on the identified need and explain the reporting process. Grantees are required to turn in an interim progress report and a final logic model and financial report at the conclusion of the grant period. The YIG committee may also ask to make a site visit to your project during the grant period.

Packet (available in print or on the web at www.fcccp.org/yig03.htm):

Submit your application to:

FGI YAC
c/o Franklin County Caring Communities
12 North Main Street, Suite B
St. Albans, VT 05478
(802) 527-5049
or email it to yac@rock.com

We hope you will take advantage of this grant opportunity. Please feel free to contact us if you have questions or need print copies of the application materials.

Preventing Violence/Preventing Alcohol, Tobacco, and other Drug Use
Theory of change:

Not all young people use drugs and alcohol or commit acts of violence. Most don't. There are usually reasons that some people do these things and others don't. There might be something in the community, the school, the family, or the individual that leads to greater "risk." Knowing what these perceptions, conditions, and behaviors, or "risk factors" are is the first step in preventing violence and drug and alcohol use. The second step is counteracting the risk or addressing the need by promoting the perceptions, conditions, or behaviors, or "protective factors" that prevent violence and substance use.

Programs or activities that are intended to prevent underage alcohol, tobacco, or drug use and abuse or the presence of violence in our schools and communities must meet a valid need (address a "risk factor") and demonstrate that the inputs and activities planned can and will make a difference or achieve the desired "outcome" in that need or "risk factor". (For more on risk and protective factors click here.)

Definitions:

Valid need: issue or situation that leads to or puts people at risk of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) use or violence and has been identified by youth in your school or community. It should be clear how the need relates to risk of ATOD use or violence.

For example:

the presence of someone dealing drugs in the park next to the school puts teens at risk of using drugs;
the belief by teens that most of their peers drink puts teens at risk of drinking;
lack of knowledge about the legal and disciplinary consequences as well as the health consequences of using tobacco puts teens at risk of using tobacco
the tolerance of bullying behavior (such as verbal harassment, name-calling) in school and community puts youth and teens at risk of violence
the lack of knowledge about healthy relationships and lack of skills in self-assertiveness put girls/young women at risk of sexual or date violence.

Alcohol and drugs: To address risk factors, YAC also identified "protective factors" that help prevent drug abuse. Some examples are:

(Family behavior & attitudes) Parents don't use alcohol or illegal drugs or set example of responsible use of alcohol and talk about their values with their kids
(Individual, school, and peer knowledge & attitudes) Seeing the negative effects on friends and people you care about; knowing the facts--what happens when you're under the influence; having clear consistent consequences
(Community/school-behavior): Having interesting, challenging, and/or fun alternatives in a positive environment
(Community/school; family; peer-attitude): Having positive adult role models who value youth

Violence:

:Violence can break out over dumb stuff or drugs, relationships, rumors; intolerance based on racial/ethnic, cultural, or sexual preference; cliques-gang allegiance.

It can verbal, emotional, physical, social (such as ostracizing), and take the form of threats, date rape, anger, use of negative epithets (name calling), harassment and bullying.

It may result from poor understanding, poor communication, difficulty in recognizing and controlling emotions and channeling stress, or living in an environment where certain behaviors are tolerated.

Possible prevention:

learning to communicate and negotiate effectively,
practicing assertiveness not aggression,
bringing people of diverse backgrounds together at an early age,
learning to understand our own emotions and sources of stress and how to cope with them,
engaging in healthy activities that provide outlets for emotions and stress,
using mediation to settle disputes,
learning about healthy relationships and applying knowledge and skills.

Inputs and activities: The resources and program activities you choose must be directly connected to the need or risk you identified and shown to be effective in addressing the need. There may be research showing that this approach works or you may have observed changes in people's skills/behavior, attitudes, or knowledge when they participate in this activity.

Achieving outcomes/Make a difference: You will need to be able to evaluate (measure or interpret) how the activity worked and what "outcome" (difference or change in knowledge, attitudes, or behaviors related to the identified need) you achieve. Below are some prevention resources that can help you design a project activity:

Prevention Resources and Ideas:

Principles of Effective Substance Abuse Prevention:
http://www.unr.edu/westcapt/bestpractices/index.htm
http://www.unr.edu/westcapt/bestpractices/bpprinc2.htm

APA HelpCenter: Warning Signs of Teen Violence info about warning signs of violent behavior, including violence in schools. The Warning Signs site provides a violence prevention guide helping. www.apa.org/warningsigns/

- National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center is a central source of information on prevention programs, publications, research, and statistics:
www.safeyouth.org/home.htm

Multiple Choices After School: Findings From The Extended Service School Initiative
Public/Private Ventures: www.ppv.org

PROJECT EXAMPLES

These are a few ideas to get you started, but you probably know of many others we haven't thought of.

Community:

Program Idea #1:

Need: Your community has a problem of adults buying alcohol for teens and kids, especially on weekends at local markets

Activity: An awareness campaign to remind people about the consequences of buying for minors and the hazards of alcohol to underage drinkers;

Inputs: (Before and after information from local law enforcement or other sources on kids possessing alcohol locally; survey), promotional and informational materials (posters, signs, cards, fliers), volunteers (adults and youth), permission of store owners, news articles, or other communication to publicize the program.

Outputs: 20 "shoulder taps" on 5 consecutive Friday and Saturday nights; informational materials handed to 100 people.

Outcome:

1) Adults and teens know legal and other consequences of buying alcohol for underage drinkers by end of the project period.

2) Fewer adults purchase beer or other alcohol for teens

Project Idea #2:

Need: Kids complain that "there's nothing to do" and neighborhood/town people complain about noise, vandalism, and broken beer bottles on Friday nights during the summer

Activity: A drug/alcohol free, supervised activity each Friday night at a location that kids will want to come to.

Inputs: Prevention training for project organizers (youth and adults); rental or donation of a space for the activity; supplies for the activities (e.g., snacks, movies, sports equipment, band, prizes); youth to plan and adult staff to chaperone; advertising fliers, news articles, or other communication to publicize events

Outputs: 15 teen and adult organizers/supervisors are trained in prevention knowledge and skills; 45 youth ages 12-16 participate each week

Outcome:

1) Most teens who used to hang out and cause vandalism are participating in safe, supervised activities during project period

2) Complaints of noise, vandalism, and beer bottles on Friday nights decrease by end of project period

School:

Project Idea #3:

Need: A large number of students get drunk on graduation night.

Activity: Hold a alcohol, tobacco, and drug-free graduation party/event

Inputs: Space for the event, youth organizers and adult chaperones, entertainment, food, party decorations and supplies, publicity

Outputs: 100 teens attend event

Outcome:

1) Fewer teens will drink or drive drunk on graduation night.

2) Complaints and arrests related to underage drinking decrease for graduation night in comparison with previous years.

Project Idea #4:

Need: Elementary school students who are going to high school in the fall are fearful about bullying and harassment by older students and their classmates from other towns/schools

Activity: A summer transition program will introduce incoming students to some teachers, staff, upperclassmen and new classmates who will be attending the same school. The week-long program will mix fun challenge, team-building, and social events with exposure to school norms, rules, and expectations and help students build healthy relationships before school starts.

Inputs: 6 teacher/school staff; 10 peer mentors from upper grades; use of school; staff, supplies and equipment for activities (e.g., canoes, ropes course, challenge events, sports, literacy events), entertainment

Outputs: 25 students will participate in some or all events. 10 youth organizers will participate in leadership training geared to identified student concerns in preparation for program.

Outcome:

1) Elementary school students will have positive relationships with at least one student each of their own and upper grades and at least one adult staff contact/mentor.

2) Students will have a positive attitude and clear knowledge/ understanding of school policies, academic expectations, and school resources.

3) This knowledge will result in good school performance and reduced harassment and anxiety on the part of participants.

Family:

Project Idea #5:

Need: Many parents smoke around their children

Activity: A campaign to encourage parents to quit and/or conduct a campaign to get parents who smoke to smoke outdoors. Campaign can include radio, newspaper publicity, fliers and info in public buildings, stores and other places of business, and community rally or event such as a dinner or fair.

Inputs: (Questionnaires or other way of knowing extent of need), resource materials on quitting and on environmental smoke, youth volunteers to distribute information, supplies for community event

Outputs: # parents participate in community event, receive materials, call quitline, sign up for cessation, or take it outdoors as a result of campaign.

Outcome: Parents who previously smoked in the home will "take it outdoors" or join smoking cessation program

Peers:

Project Idea #6:

Need: Younger kids think most high school students smoke, drink, or do drugs.

Activity: A summer peer mentor program that involves non-smoking, non-drinking, drug-free teens as mentors for younger kids at a summer camp, community festivals, or other social events. Include presentations by older kids on why it is not cool to use and hold occasional "rap sessions" to discuss peer pressure, alternatives to ATOD, etc.

Inputs: Youth to act as mentors/camp counselors/presenters; space to hold events, materials for program activities, prevention and leadership training for older youth.

Outputs: 20 youth leaders and 20 youth participants meet 10 times

Outcome:

1) Younger kids who participate in the program are aware that most teens do not smoke, drink, or do drugs.

2) Increase in number/percentage of youth ages 8-13 who say they plan to avoid smoking, drinking, using drugs in their older teen years.

Youth-Initiated Grants Program Logic Model

Focus Area:

Project Title:

Identified Need (What needs improvement, what risks are present and protective factors missing?)

Outcomes
(desired change: benefits, skills, knowledge changes in behavior – short term and long range)

Inputs (resources)
Staff & volunteers, supplies & equipment, space
(INCLUDE BUDGET HERE)

Activities
(training, mentoring, events)

Outputs

(products, # of classes, number of participants served, hours of programming)