About CFHZ:
The Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area seeks to ensure that our community thrives today, tomorrow, and forever by building our Community’s Endowment to support high impact charitable projects, helping donors achieve their charitable goals, and leading and partnering in community-level initiatives.
Grant Opportunity:
The Community Foundation’s Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) is seeking proposals to provide low-income, first-generation students in grades 6 – 12 in the Holland/Zeeland area with the opportunity to visit post-secondary education institutions in person so they can begin to visualize where they can continue their education after high school and to develop long term education goals that connect them with the work they are doing right now in high school. The overall goal of the grant program is to get low-income, first-generation students’ feet on the ground in college/post-secondary settings so the students can see and experience what they are actually like.
The YAC encourages applications that include the following:
- Parent/Guardian Involvement – either through direct participation in the visit and/or pre/post visit activities
- Combine visits to 2 or more post-secondary education institutions in one trip and provide opportunities for students to compare and contrast different post-secondary options
- Serve low-income, first-generation students who have had little or no opportunity to visit post-secondary institutions prior to the trip
- Engage students in small groups that provide opportunities for meaningful interactions with college students and program/school alumni
- Pair college visits with Financial Aid seminars/information sessions
What can be funded?
Funding may be used for transportation for visits to post-secondary education institutions in Michigan or within a 200-mile radius of the Holland/Zeeland Area. If the length of travel requires meals outside of what is provided during campus visits, funding may be used for food as well. Visits must be completed by November 1, 2023. Applicants may request up to $500. If visits will include a financial aid education session/seminar either on the day of or within a few days of visits, organizations can request up to an additional $250 to offset the cost of this additional opportunity.
Who can apply?
Holland/Zeeland area middle schools, high schools, and youth serving nonprofit organizations that are tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, schools, municipalities and other governmental entities that serve a charitable purpose in the greater Holland/Zeeland area are eligible to apply for funding.
How to apply: Complete this application and submit no later than 5:00 pm on Tuesday, January 31, 2023. Applications must be signed by the staff person or volunteer who is responsible for organizing and leading the visit and the school principal or organization executive director. It is preferred that no more than one application from each school or organization be submitted. The Youth Advisory Committee will review all proposals, with final approval and notification of awards occurring towards the end of February.
Questions? Please contact Yadah Ramirez at yramirez@cfhz.org or 616.396.3573.
Applications due by Tuesday, January 31, 2023 at 5:00 p.m.