The Youth Bureau seeks to distribute funds to under-resourced communities and populations based on local need, considering factors including, but not limited to: • Historically under-resourced communities; • High rates of public housing and/or family homelessness; • Opportunity Zones, or neighborhoods/cities/areas deemed “low-income” via externally available indicators; • Marginalized communities or groups with higher barriers to participation in sports (e.g., youth with disabilities; Indigenous peoples; girls; transgender/gender non-binary youth; and youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or question); • Communities or neighborhoods that experience higher rates of crime and violence and have lower-performing schools. Programs eligible for funding under YTS must: • Be a non-profit or community-based organization; • Provide structured sports activities for youth under age 18. Applicants should note that municipalities and schools are not eligible for YTS funding, but may support an eligible non-profit organization who is operating the sports programming by providing facilities, infrastructure, etc. YTS funds can supplement existing municipal youth team sports programming; however, they cannot be used to supplant existing municipal funding for such programs. Line-item budgets should focus on programming costs, including, but not limited to, the following: • Coaches/instructors/direct service staff/mentors (including training/professional development) necessary to support youth’s ability to participate in team sports; • Referee fees; • Purchase of equipment or uniforms
