Deadline: November 1, 2024
Applications are open for the Kid Kindness Grants Program 2024. Kindness Grows Here believes every child is inherently kind and can make positive changes in their community. They know that kids and teens have amazing ideas for spreading kindness in their schools, neighborhoods, and larger communities. They value the unique perspective children bring to identifying problems in their schools, neighborhoods, and communities, and finding creative ways to solve these problems through kindness. For this reason, they dedicate the largest portion of their budget to the “Kid Kindness Grants” program.
Every year from September 1 to November 1, Kindness Grows Here accepts applications directly from kids between the ages of 5-18 who have ideas for spreading kindness. To apply, kids need to complete a simple application that tells what they want to do, why, whom their project will impact, how much money they need, and exactly how they will spend it.
Grant
- Individuals may apply for up to $250, small groups (2-4 kids) may apply for up to $500, and large groups (5+ kids) may apply for up to $800.
Eligibility
- All applicants must be students between the ages of 5-18.
- Applications may be submitted by individuals or groups. Groups can include a group of friends, a school club, a classroom, a scout troop, a sports team, etc. Any group is acceptable as long as all members of the group are between the ages of 5-18.
Evaluation Criteria
Awards will be granted based on the following:
- Quality of the application: Is it detailed? Was the application completed in full? Does it demonstrate that a lot of thought was put into the application? Is it completed by the child who is applying and not just by an adult?
- Impact: Will those receiving the kindness have the feeling that another person really made an effort to connect and show that they care? NOTE: They do not fund projects in which kids simply seek to donate money or goods to another organization. They support projects in which children are involved in directly spreading kindness to other people in their community. Additionally, they do not fund projects that spread kindness to animals. While a worthy cause, that is not the focus of the organization.
- Fiscal Responsibility: Are the funds being used responsibly? Have efforts been made to minimize cost? Have donations from other organizations been sought, if a large sum is required to complete the project? (NOTE: They do not fund projects that request t-shirts for the kids carrying out the project. And they do not fund food/snacks for applicants. All funds requested must be necessary for the completion of the kindness project.)
- Creativity: Is kindness being spread in a creative and unique way?
- Safety: Does the project do everything possible to minimize the spread of COVID-19 and other illnesses–especially if at risk populations are being served–while spreading kindness in a meaningful way?
- NOTE: The winning applications will not necessarily be large scale, “grand” projects. They are always thrilled to fund simple projects that highlight a child’s desire to spread kindness on a small scale.
Application
The application should be completed in the child’s words. If parents/adults would like to add to the child’s explanation they can do so, but it must be clearly indicated which parts were completed by whom. All applications MUST include a detailed budget. If an application does not include a detailed budget, it will be disqualified.
For more information, visit Kid Kindness Grants.
