Harry Burcalow 4-H Endowment For Innovative Grants

Programs aimed at 4-H youth and/or adults who work with 4-H youth are eligible.  Applications will be accepted twice in each 12-month period; due dates are June 1 or December 1; thus, funds are distributed on or around July 1 and January 1 each year.  Grant awards are usually between $100 and $1,000.

Allowable Expenses: All expenses incurred during the development and conduction of the program will be considered. HOWEVER, we do not encourage purchase of equipment, meals, trees, flowers, shrubs, and hardware type items without strong support that these are an essential part of the proposed program or not obtainable elsewhere.

Priorities in Determining Funding:

• Efforts focused on developing youth competencies and meeting essential needs of youth.
• Efforts focusing on the 8 Life Skills selected by the 4-H Faculty/staff.
  • Wise Use of Resources
  • Decision Making Skills
  • Communication
  • Accepting Differences
  • Leadership
  • Marketable Skills
  • Self-Responsibility
  • Healthy Lifestyle Choices
• Efforts based on adults and youth working together (family, community, caring adults).
• Efforts focused on developing life-long skills in young people, not one-shot type programs.
• Programs that reach out to new audiences of adults and youth and to members of the community at large (age, gender, ethnicity, income, abilities).
• The process used to reach the goal is just as important as the goal (i.e., the end does not justify the means).
• Evidence of working with others in the community.
• Local contributions of time, money, and supplies.
• Unique and innovative programming efforts that are not just a repeat of prior programs.
• Assistance with 4-H youth member national travel expenses.

Other considerations that the committee will use in determining funding are geographic distribution across the state and balance between club and county/cluster proposals.