Changemaker Youth Grants 2024
Be the change you wish to see in the world. - M. K. Gandhi
Applications are now open for the 2024 Changemaker Youth Grants! Youth ages 12–23 can receive up to $1,000 for projects that provide a creative solution that addresses violence in their community. These projects can be creative, artistic, out-of-the-box ideas. Ideally, they advance a nonviolent solution or alternative to the problem.
The projects can use any kind of creativity, including murals, posters, training and education, protests and marches, music, dance, peace circles, poetry slams, conversations, garden projects, videos, and more. They can address any form of violence, including bullying, discrimination, hate, injustice, gun violence, militarism, ecological destruction, and so on.
Applications are due on February 10, 2024. Awards will be announced by February 20th. Projects will be completed by July 15, 2024. All recipients must be available to attend a virtual Final Showcase on Sat, July 27th. Apply here.
The Changemaker Youth Grants help empower creative changemakers in local communities to make a difference. For over thirty years, Pace e Bene has organized tens of thousands of people to take action to build a culture of peace and active nonviolence. These grants aim to support the next generation of changemakers who will unleash the transformative power of active nonviolence in their communities.
In addition to completing their projects, Changemaker Grant Awardees will also tell the story of their idea and present the project to local and national audiences. Pace e Bene will host a virtual gathering (open to the public) in celebration of the Changemaker Projects on July 27, 2024.
Here is where to apply. The application is short and easy. We want you to focus on dreaming up an amazing project, not filling out a complicated form. You must be a youth (ages 12-23) to apply. Questions? info(@)paceebene.org
Want to support this program? Tell youth about these grants! Thank you.
You can also donate here to expand the number of youth grants we can award.
FAQ
Who can apply?
Youth ages 12–23 must design and lead the projects. The youth must also fill out the simple application themselves.
What do we judge applications on?
Creativity. We’re excited by unusual ideas, bold solutions, and/or the use of art, music, etc.
Feasibility. We want the project to be meaningful and impactful, and something that the youth can finish by July 15th.
We do not judge applications on grammar, spelling, length, etc. We are more interested in the youth’s ideas for their project.
What don’t you fund?
We do not fund adult-led programs for youth.
We do not fund fundraisers.
Can a team of youth apply?
Yes! We encourage this.
ABOUT
In 2022 & 2023, the Changemaker Youth Grants have funded eighteen incredible projects, including a school-wide multicultural week, a motorbike ride for unity, a racial justice podcast, a diversity mural at a high school, a summit on violence prevention through the arts, a 4-hour concert for inclusion, a nonviolence-themed YouTube series, a Nigerian theater performance against gender-based violence, and an Ugandan effort to prevent domestic violence through planting coffee trees. Read the stories below and see photos and videos for 2023 and 2022.
The Changemaker Youth Grants were initiated through the generosity of lifelong activist David Hartsough, who organized his first nonviolent action in high school, and has taken action for civil rights, anti-racism, stopping nuclear destruction, environmentalism, ending war, and building peace. In 2021, David generously donated the funds he received from his Clarence B. Jones Award to Pace e Bene. Along with other amazing donors, we have matched those funds and dedicated the resources to the Changemaker Youth Grants. This grants program is also inspired by the M. K. Gandhi Institute’s Youth Healing Hate Grants, which started in 2017 and continues to support creative projects in Rochester, NY.
Want to support this program? Tell youth about these grants! Thank you.
You can also donate here to expand the number of youth grants we can award.
Support the CHangemakers
You can lend your support to the next generation of activists, educators, and peacebuilders by donating to the funds for these grants. On our donate page, choose the amount you’d like to donate and be sure to select “Changemaker Youth Grant” in the “Select a Fund” dropdown menu.
Looking for more inspiring youth projects? Check out the Campaign Nonviolence Youth Collective.
Read the blogs about previous projects.