COVID-19 Youth Creative Leadership Fund: Winter 2021 Applications are Open!
An opportunity to receive micro-grants of $100: Apply or share with Black and Latinx youth 26 years old* and under!
Previous recipients are ineligible.
Creative Reaction Lab is thrilled to announce that we are launching a Winter 2021 cycle of the Youth Creative Leadership Fund (YCLF) to financially assist youth, their families, and their community members in response to the exacerbated structural inequities caused by COVID-19. Supported by individual donors and the McNulty Foundation’s Global Response Fund — a partnership with the Aspen Global Leadership Network — we have 52 micro-grants available to applicants.
Creative Reaction Lab, which focuses on educating, training and challenging Black and Latinx youth to become leaders designing healthy and racially equitable communities, also recognizes the continued urgency to support Latinx and Black communities as they face heightened asymmetric racial, health, and economic inequities that limit social, economic, and cultural growth.
Below is more information about the three categories in which you can apply for funds. Do note that in the application, you can only select one category from which to seek a $100 micro-grant:
- Self-Care + Personal Finances
Youth who need direct help with personal/family needs to pay for necessities and self-care, such as food, toiletries, etc., can apply for this set of funds. Winners will be randomly selected from the pool of applicants. - Creative Expression for Community Support
Youth interested in developing a creative response (e.g. video, podcast recording, visual art, etc.) to COVID-19 that amplifies interaction or dialogue with their community members can apply for this set of funds. Based on the content of their applications, winners will be evaluated on the potential community impact and their personal passion for the project. - Pass it On!
Youth who wish to pass on the $100 micro-grant to support someone else in the U.S. who has been impacted by COVID-19 can apply for this set of funds. Winners will be randomly selected from the pool of applicants.
*To be eligible for this fund, you must live in the United States and cannot be older than 26 years old on the date of the application deadline (1/22/2021) or a previous recipient.
We ask that youth complete this short application by January 22, 2021 at 11:59 PM CST. Applicants can only apply for one category of funds. (That is, an applicant must choose to apply for only one of the following: Self-Care + Personal Finances, Creative Expression for Community Support, or Pass It On!)
Link to application: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YCLF2021
Winners will be notified by mid-December with the $100 awards being dispensed by end of December via Venmo, CashApp, or VISA gift cards.
To Recap
Apply or share this opportunity for Black and Latinx youth 26 years old and under to potentially receive $100 as financial support in response to COVID-19! We have 52 microgrants available.
Link to application: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YCLF2021
Deadline: January 22, 2021 at 11:59 PM CST
Recipients will be notified by the end of February.
Learn More about the Impact from the Spring/Summer 2020 YCLF Cycle
In response to COVID-19 Creative Reaction Lab started a Youth Leadership Creative Fund in April 2020 to financially assist Latinx and Black youth that were disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Originally, we set out with a goal to assist 20 young leaders but because of our generous donors, we were able to give so much more!
We provided 241 Black, Latinx, and Indigenous youth, between the ages of 8–26 with the funds to relieve personal needs, develop creative projects within their communities to support their communities, or to pass along the funds to someone else.
It is so important to remember our youth in these unprecedented times, as they are the Redesigners for Justice™ that we need. Check out our impact numbers below and pass along this opportunity to young folx.
