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
