The Mentoring Grant for 2024-25, offered by the Portland Children’s Levy (PCL), supports programs that provide mentoring services for children and youth aged 5-24 within Portland. The available funding ranges from $8.8 to $10.7 million for a three-year period from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2028. Applicants may request grants of $300,000 to $2.5 million, ensuring that their total annual request does not exceed 30% of the organization's revenue from the previous fiscal year. Eligible applicants include 501(c)(3) nonprofits, local education agencies, community colleges, universities, or collaborations involving a designated lead entity.
Applicants must align their proposed programs with at least one of PCL's mentoring funding priorities, which were developed through extensive community engagement. These priorities include increasing social connections and identity affirmation, supporting youth in career and educational preparation, providing mental health resources for trauma recovery, preventing gang involvement, offering culturally and identity-specific mentoring, and fostering youth leadership skills. Programs featuring long-term mentor relationships, cultural and language inclusivity, family engagement, trauma-informed practices, and accessible service locations may score more highly.
The grant application process requires registration on WebGrants by October 21, 2024, with the complete application submission due by November 4, 2024. Applicants need to provide a comprehensive narrative, financial details, and additional materials such as organizational budgets and recent audit statements. Organizations that lack an annual audit must plan for one, with PCL reimbursing up to $15,000 of the audit cost, which is typically between $20,000 and $30,000.
The review process involves scoring by volunteer panels with expertise in relevant areas, who assess proposals based on criteria such as organizational capacity, program design, budget justification, and alignment with PCL’s racial equity and inclusion goals. High-scoring proposals will be recommended to a Community Council for further review, and funding decisions will be made by the Allocation Committee, with final approval from the Portland City Council expected by May 2025.
Pre-application information sessions are available on September 19 and September 24, 2024, to guide potential applicants. Throughout the process, PCL encourages applicants to seek clarifications and support through the provided contact options, ensuring an inclusive and transparent application experience. The funded programs must comply with city regulations on equity and hiring practices and demonstrate a commitment to serving diverse and underserved youth populations within the city limits.
