Request for Proposals for Youth Opportunity Grants
Wednesday, February 15, 2023
By Joe C. Mullinax
The Rotary Club of Spartanburg is a group of business professionals seeking to support our community through Youth Opportunity Grants. We award small grants to local agencies for programs specifically focusing on Spartanburg’s socially and economically vulnerable youth.

We are soliciting requests for proposals from established and sustainable non-profits with 501(c)(3) status, or a fiscal agent with qualifying status. Proposals are due by 5 p.m. on Friday, March 17, 2023, and must be submitted electronically to [email protected].
Your proposal should be no longer than five pages (incl. budgets and BOD) and should include:
• Your organization’s name and affiliate fiscal agent, if applicable;
• The name, address, phone number, AND email address of the primary contact;
• The name(s) of your organization’s Executive Director and Directors (one page);
• Your organization’s mission statement;
• The specific dollar amount requested;
• The name and a description of the program for which you are requesting funds (50 words or less);
• The number of children/youth the program is anticipated to serve (If an existing program, the number of children/youth the program served in the prior year);
• Your organization’s budget with a project-specific budget for the program;
• A statement identifying whether provision of the program is contingent upon receiving other grant funds;
• A statement identifying the specific need addressed by your program that is not met by other local agencies (100 words or less); and
• A statement explaining why we should fund your request (50 words or less).

We intend to award 5-8 organizations with mini-grants in the range of $3,000-$6,000. Please structure your requests accordingly. Incomplete submittals, or those outside of these guidelines, will not be considered.

We will notify successful applicants by April 21, 2023, so that funding may be available for summer programming. A public awards presentation will be made at a subsequent club meeting to be scheduled later. We ask that a representative from each receiving organization attend this meeting for recognition. In addition, each receiving organization will be asked to respond to a questionnaire regarding the application of grant funds and provide photographs from the supported program that may be included in press releases.
Please direct any questions to [email protected].

On behalf of the Rotary Club of Spartanburg, thank you for all that you do for Spartanburg’s youth.