Mentoring Grants

Grants for Mentoring

Mentoring is one of the foremost areas of focus in human services in the country. Three million young people are reported to be in formal one-to-one mentoring relationships today, a six-fold increase from just a decade ago. Youth development experts agree that mentoring is a critical component in any child's social and emotional development. It builds self-esteem, self-confidence and competency, boosts academic performance and broadens horizons. Mentored youth are far less likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, skip school or resort to violence; they are more likely to do better in school and have better relationships with their parents and peers.

Big Brother Big Sisters is the premier mentoring organization in the United States, with a goal of serving 1 million mentoring relationships by the year 2010. Corporate and private funders investing in this program through grants for mentoring include MetLife Foundation, Jack in the Box, Citigroup Foundation, UPS and Xerox. Recent years have seen the increase of faith-based mentoring initiatives and programs serving children of prisoners. Grants for mentoring are available from all foundations and corporations investing in youth development or youth services.

The value attached to mentoring by government agencies is also apparent by the number of federal and state grants for mentoring available to nonprofit organizations. Federal funding for mentoring programs has increased significantly over the past decade, and approximately $1.2 million was available for 15 new grants for mentoring grants in FY 2006 through the Drug Free Communities Support Mentoring Program (DFC). Other federal and state grant programs with a focus on helping youth and providing grants for mentoring include the U.S. Department of Education, the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities, Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB), as well as various State Departments of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and State Departments of Educations. The federal government signaled its commitment to mentoring in 2006 by forming the new Federal Mentoring Council to improve coordination and better leverage resources among all of the mentoring programs that exist in the federal government.

Saadia Faruqi, President of Faruqi & Associates possesses expertise in writing grants for mentoring programs. She has successfully written and received funding for hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants; some of the projects for which Saadia has written mentoring grants include program development, case management staff salaries, mentor recruitment expenses, and general operating funds. Faruqi & Associates is a consulting firm specializing in grant writing and nonprofit development, and has worked with clients all over the world. For more information about how your organization can receive grants for mentoring, please contact Saadia at SaadiaF@FaruqiAssociates.Com.

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