Up to $100,000 Unwritten Challenge Grant

Organization: Young Futures
Type: Grant
Location: United States
Deadline: October 16, 2026
Funding: Fully Funded

Young Futures, a US funder working to make the digital world an easier place to grow up, is giving one-year grants of $50,000 to $100,000 to at least 10 US nonprofits and schools, with a minimum of $1 million in total. The Unwritten Challenge backs work that helps young people aged 10 to 19 learn deeply, think critically and make their own decisions in a world shaped by AI. Solutions do not need to use AI, but they must be co-designed or co-led by young people. **What you get:** - A one-year grant of $50,000 to $100,000, running April 1, 2027 to March 31, 2028, for a specific project or for general operations - A place for your leader in the five-month YF Academy, April to August 2027: masterclasses, peer circles, one-on-one mentorship, storytelling and fundraising support - An all-expense-paid in-person Academy retreat in April 2027 and a virtual showcase to funders and partners at the end **What you'll do:** - Apply under one of three tracks: learning and critical thinking in an AI-generated world; support for educators, caregivers and trusted adults; or changing the public narrative about young people and AI - Involve young people in designing, running and evaluating the work - Have your executive director or equivalent commit about 10 hours a month to the YF Academy - Submit a mid-year and an end-of-year report on progress **Key dates:** - Applications open September 23, 2026 - Info session for applicants: September 29, 2026, 12 to 1 p.m. PT - Applications close October 16, 2026 at 5 p.m. PT - All applicants told whether they advanced by November 24, 2026 - Finalist interviews: December 1 to 16, 2026 - Final decisions by mid February 2027; grantees announced February to April 2027 - YF Academy runs April to August 2027; grant term April 1, 2027 to March 31, 2028 **More information:** - Start with the eligibility quiz on the challenge page, which then leads to the application form - The form cannot save answers in progress, so Young Futures provides a worksheet of the long-form questions to draft in first - Each organisation may submit only one proposal; current Young Futures grantees with an active grant are not eligible - Not funded: AI-only platforms without a literacy benefit, ed-tech infrastructure, AI detection or surveillance tools, general digital literacy or online safety programmes, mental health chatbots, for-profit products, and one-off events - Universities may claim 15 percent indirect costs, inclusive of the award

Apply for Up to $100,000 Unwritten Challenge Grant

Young FuturesGrant

Up to $100,000 Unwritten Challenge Grant

Oct 16, 2026 17:00:00 PT

Opportunity type

Grant

Funding

Fully Funded

Location

United States

Deadline

Oct 16, 2026 17:00:00 PT

About this opportunity

What you get:

A one-year grant of $50,000 to $100,000, running April 1, 2027 to March 31, 2028, for a specific project or for general operations
A place for your leader in the five-month YF Academy, April to August 2027: masterclasses, peer circles, one-on-one mentorship, storytelling and fundraising support
An all-expense-paid in-person Academy retreat in April 2027 and a virtual showcase to funders and partners at the end

What you'll do:

Apply under one of three tracks: learning and critical thinking in an AI-generated world; support for educators, caregivers and trusted adults; or changing the public narrative about young people and AI
Involve young people in designing, running and evaluating the work
Have your executive director or equivalent commit about 10 hours a month to the YF Academy
Submit a mid-year and an end-of-year report on progress

Key dates:

Applications open September 23, 2026
Info session for applicants: September 29, 2026, 12 to 1 p.m. PT
Applications close October 16, 2026 at 5 p.m. PT
All applicants told whether they advanced by November 24, 2026
Finalist interviews: December 1 to 16, 2026
Final decisions by mid February 2027; grantees announced February to April 2027
YF Academy runs April to August 2027; grant term April 1, 2027 to March 31, 2028

More information:

Start with the eligibility quiz on the challenge page, which then leads to the application form
The form cannot save answers in progress, so Young Futures provides a worksheet of the long-form questions to draft in first
Each organisation may submit only one proposal; current Young Futures grantees with an active grant are not eligible
Not funded: AI-only platforms without a literacy benefit, ed-tech infrastructure, AI detection or surveillance tools, general digital literacy or online safety programmes, mental health chatbots, for-profit products, and one-off events
Universities may claim 15 percent indirect costs, inclusive of the award

Who can apply

Based in the United States
501(c)(3) tax-exempt status as a nonprofit, a school or district, or through fiscal sponsorship; public schools and universities are eligible
Solution co-led or co-designed by young people, with minor protection policies in place (or working only with adults)
Solution must be early-stage but tested: already run with real young people, with something concrete to show for it
Application and all correspondence in English; no grant funds used for lobbying
A designated leader (executive director, CEO or equivalent), aged 18 or over, who can commit about 10 hours a month to the five-month YF Academy
One proposal per organisation

AI Verification

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Good to know

+One-year grants of $50,000 to $100,000 for at least 10 organisations
+Includes a five-month leadership programme with an all-expenses-paid retreat
+Young people must co-design or co-lead the work

Worth checking yourself

!Closes at 5pm Pacific on 16 October 2026
!Only US-based 501(c)(3) nonprofits, fiscally sponsored projects and schools can apply, not individuals
!Your project must already have run with real young people
!The form cannot save progress, so draft your answers in the worksheet first

Sources checked

YOyoungfutures.orgApplyYOyoungfutures.orgApplyYOyoungfutures.orgApplyAIairtable.comOfficialLIlinkedin.comOfficialINinstagram.comOfficial

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