Program
Resources
Applications Due
For Concept Proposals
Full Proposals from invited applicants will be due in March 2027
Funding Source
Maximum Award
Award Details
Each grant award must be between $30,000 and $300,000.
Eligibility
California youth from kindergarten to age 26 from low-income and disadvantaged communities. Applicants must use the Statewide Parks Program Community FactFinder tool to demonstrate their proposed program primarily serves youth from low-income and disadvantaged communities.
Eligible Activities
A Concept Proposal must include at least one of the following eligible types:
- Field trips that provide youth opportunities to participate in recreational and/or educational activities that promote environmental or cultural knowledge and awareness.
- Educational programming that teaches youth scientific topics related to natural or cultural resources, including but not limited to environmental conservation, habitat restoration, land stewardship and working-land practices, agroecology, biodiversity and natural ecosystems, wildlife, marine biology, archeology and historical preservation.
- Workforce development or career pathway training that includes the implementation of a natural or cultural resource project and provides youth with direct, hands-on training in a natural or cultural resource field. Examples include trail construction, habitat restoration, wildland fire prevention, urban greening, and projects that incorporate Traditional Ecological Knowledge, including cultural burning.
Duration
Notable Requirements
For any project that may affect Tribal communities, applicants must show meaningful outreach and attempts to collaborate with all applicable California Native American Tribes prior to receiving a grant award.
All Tribal entities who are awarded a grant must accept a limited waiver of sovereign immunity.
Preferences
Proposals that serve Underserved Youth Populations (including youth from Tribal communities), integrate Substance Use Prevention and Early Intervention Practices, and/or include Youth Leadership Opportunities will be prioritized for funding.
Proposal Scoring Criteria: Proposal Design & Project Readiness (25 points), Project Impact (15 points), and CNRA Funding Priorities (30 points) for 70 possible points. Additional points can be added to the final score for each YCA funding priority incorporated into the proposed project: Youth Population Identified as Underserved (+10), Substance Use Prevention and Early Intervention (+10), and Youth Leadership Opportunities (+10) for 30 additional possible points.
How to Apply
All applicants must submit a Concept Proposal via the California Natural Resource Agency’s Project Tracking and Reporting (RAPTR) system. The Concept Proposal form is available on the YCA Program webpage.