Youth At Every Decision-Making Table Grant 2026: $2,000 Awards to Create or Strengthen Youth Leadership Structures

# What this grant is

Youth Service America (YSA), supported by an AmeriCorps MLK Day of Service grant. The program provides $2,000 awards to U.S.-based organizations that want to create or strengthen formal structures through which young people participate in leadership, decision-making, community service, and civic engagement.

# Who should consider applying

Organizations with some youth engagement experience that want a formal advisory or leadership board. Organizations that do not yet have a youth council but are ready to establish one. Applicants should have capacity to sustain youth engagement beyond a single service event and to organize a larger youth leadership activity tied to Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

# What the grant requires

• Award size: $2,000 per selected grantee. Total funding available: $50,000. YSA expects to fund about 25 organizations.
• Local match: A required $1,000 local match, which can be cash or in-kind support.
• Engagement minimum: Grantees must engage at least 200 youth and adults in training or in youth voice, leadership, and decision-making activities.
• Event requirement: Organize a citywide, regional, or statewide Youth Leadership Summit around MLK Day (MLK Day of Service is Jan 18, 2027).
• Civic Season activities: Create continuing opportunities for youth voice and decision-making during The Civic Season (Juneteenth through July 4).

# Eligible uses of funds

# Application logistics and timeline

• Geographic eligibility: Organizations based in the United States that meet YSA's organizational eligibility requirements.
• Application format: Online application (information about required application materials appears on YSA's MLK Day of Service page).
• Deadline: Sunday, October 25, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. local time.
• Key contact: Mike Minks (mminks@ysa.org).

# What to include in your application

Applicants should be prepared to describe:

• Current programs and organizational work related to youth engagement.
• Existing experience with youth voice, leadership, and decision-making.
• A clear plan for creating a new youth advisory or leadership board, or expanding an existing structure.

# Practical next steps

1. 1Confirm your organization meets YSA eligibility requirements and can commit a $1,000 match.
2. 2Draft a concise plan for the youth council or leadership structure that explains roles, decision-making authority, intended outcomes, and how youth will be recruited and trained.
3. 3Outline a Youth Leadership Summit tied to MLK Day and a schedule for Civic Season activities (Juneteenth–July 4).
4. 4Gather documentation of past youth engagement experience to include in the online application.
5. 5Email mminks@ysa.org with questions before the Oct 25, 2026 deadline.