Oneida County Youth Investment Initiative Fund
The Community Foundation, in partnership with Oneida County, is offering grants to support programs that help at-risk youth and reduce youth violence in Oneida County. Funding will support new or expanded programs that promote positive youth development and encourage collaboration among nonprofits, schools, law enforcement, and local government agencies.
Overview
The Oneida County Youth Investment Initiative invites nonprofits to apply for funds to expand existing programs or create new programs that foster positive youth development, strengthen community ties, and reduce factors that contribute to youth violence. Preference will be given to programs that involve collaborative partnerships and demonstrate innovative approaches to prevention with other nonprofits, schools, law enforcement, and/or local government agencies.
Additional Information
Proposed programs must align with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Youth Violence Prevention Resource for Action Guide, which represents a select group of strategies based on the best available evidence to help communities sharpen their focus on prevention activities with the greatest potential to prevent youth violence and its consequences. Strategies and approaches outlined in the Prevention Resource are intended to impact individual behaviors and the relationships, families, schools and communities that influence risk and protective factors for youth. Strategies and approaches are intended to work in combination and reinforce each for long-term impact and success.
Proposed programs must support one or more of the following strategies:
| Strategies | Approaches (for illustrative purposes only) |
| Promote family environments that support healthy development |
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| Provide quality education early in life |
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| Strengthen youth's skills |
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| Connect youth to caring adults and activities |
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| Create protective community environments |
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| Intervene to lessen harms and prevent future risk |
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The Oneida County Youth Investment Initiative seeks to positively impact Oneida County metrics in the New York State Education Department's (SED) School Safety and Educational Climate (SSEC) summary data which measures violent or disruptive incidents in school districts.
Grant Information
Important Deadlines
- Submissions were accepted Wednesday, May 13 - Tuesday, June 30, at 11:59 p.m.
- Award notifications were made within 45 days of the submission deadline regardless of whether they receive funding.
Grant History
| Date | Recipient | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 08/10/2026 | Blacque Acres | STEAM Forward: Hands-on STEAM programming that helps young people develop technical, social and emotional skills while connecting them with positive adult mentors and peers. |
| 08/10/2026 | Boy Scouts of America Leatherstocking Council | Exploring: Five exploring posts and clubs will be established across Rome, Greater Utica and New Hartford, providing youth with opportunities for career exploration, leadership development, mentorship, and community engagement. |
| 08/10/2026 | Central New York Health Home Network | Growing Together: This initiative supports at-risk youth and their primary caregivers simultaneously, creating a support system that helps interrupt cycles of trauma, strengthen household stability and promote community-wide safety. |
| 08/10/2026 | Genesis Group | Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Book Program: Supports early childhood literacy and positive family connections by providing books to children from birth through age five and encouraging caregivers to read, ask questions and interact with their children at home. |
| 08/10/2026 | Helio Health | Youth & Family Resilience: Connects at-risk youth and their caregivers with prevention-focused services before challenges escalate while addressing barriers such as transportation, competing family demands, communication gaps among schools, families and providers and limited follow-up support. |
| 08/10/2026 | Hillside Children’s Center | H.E.R. & H.I.M. Violence Prevention & Mentorship Initiative: Expands mentoring and violence prevention programming for students at Thomas R. Proctor High School with sessions focused on conflict resolution, emotional wellness, healthy relationships and leadership development. |
| 08/10/2026 | Hope Chapel | Utica REACH: Provides hundreds of students with safe, year-round activities, supportive adult mentorships and peer relationships and opportunities to build communication, leadership, conflict-resolution and problem-solving skills. |
| 08/10/2026 | Town of Forestport | Forestport Youth Program: Delivers structured, skill-building activities for school-aged youth in rural town of Forestport during the critical afterschool hours when the risks of youth violence and unsupervised activity are highest. |
| Grand Total |
Questions?
Related Stories
The Oneida County Youth Investment Initiative awarded more than $450,000 to eight local organizations supporting programs that address the unique needs and challenges of at-risk youth and provide meaningful services designed to reduce youth violence throughout the county.
In partnership with Oneida County, the Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties is seeking applications from local nonprofit organizations for programs that address the unique needs and challenges of at-risk youth in Oneida County and provide meaningful services which help to reduce acts of violence among youth.
