Grant Details

The Charles Hayden Foundation makes contributions only to institutions that serve youth and young adults from the City of Boston and metropolitan New York, with an emphasis on high school through post-secondary success. Priority is given to applicants from New York City and the city of Boston. Metropolitan New York is defined as New York City, and, in New Jersey, solely in the city of Newark. Grants are also made to institutions that support youth activities outside these areas when a substantial majority of the youth served comes from within the Foundation's defined geographic catchment areas.

The foundation concentrates support on youth development and education programs that present: (1) evidence of significant program impact on young people and (2) plans for making measurable progress toward well-defined goals in a specific time frame. The Foundation's long-term goal is for young people to obtain quality education and rewarding careers. Funding is prioritized for organizations that support youth to gain new knowledge and access to academic and career choices. Potential grantees must show evidence that young people in their programs grow in confidence and ability to make informed choices to pursue academic and professional opportunities that build fulfilling careers.

Attributes that the Foundation Seeks in Funded Programs:

For youth development programs:

• Relationships between youth and youth agency staff that are caring, consistent, and continue throughout the course of the youth's long-term development.
• Engaging, enriching and safe activities during the non-school hours.
• Activities and counseling that help youth prepare for post-secondary education.

For school programs (including (1) charter schools, (2) public district schools, and (3) independent and parochial schools that charge a maximum of $12,000/year for tuition):

• Schools must have been in operation for the following amount of time:
  • Grades 6-8: until the entering 6th grade cohort has completed the 8th grade and there is 8th grade state test data and high school placement data.
  • Grades 9-12: until there is at a minimum one year of graduation and college matriculation data.
• High expectations for student's mental development, reflected in a challenging course of study that emphasizes reading, writing, mathematics and other core skill and content areas.
• Active engagement of parents in their children's education at home and in schools.
• Collaboration with other organizations and programs that can contribute to student's learning.
• Activities and counseling that help youth prepare for post-secondary education.
• Track record of increased student academic achievement.