YouthReach
Forecasted
YouthReach supports organizations offering Massachusetts youth hands-on arts, humanities, and interpretive science learning to nurture creativity, leadership, racial equity, and social change.
Funder: Mass Cultural Council
Due Dates (Anticipated): April 2027 (Application deadline)
Funding Amounts: Anticipated annual awards of $20,000–$22,000 or $25,000–$27,000 for two or four years
Summary: Supports Creative Youth Development in the arts, humanities, and interpretive sciences, centering youth leadership, racial equity, and social change.
Key Information: Programs must serve Massachusetts youth ages 4–24 and have at least $20,000 in cash expenses.
Description
YouthReach is Mass Cultural Council’s grant program for Creative Youth Development (CYD). For more than three decades, it has supported innovative arts, humanities, and science programs that nurture young people’s creativity and leadership potential. The program connects these capacities with social, emotional, and academic development, while supporting community collaboration and systems change.
YouthReach centers youth voice, racial equity and social justice, and collective action. It supports sustained, hands-on creative learning rather than drop-in activities or individual private lessons. Effective CYD programs treat young people as partners with existing strengths, provide safe and healthy spaces, foster positive relationships, offer rigorous learning, and give youth meaningful roles in program design and decision-making.
