Elevate Youth California: Cohort 8 Standard Track

Elevate Youth California Youth Substance Use Disorder Prevention Program: Cohort 8 Standard Track is a statewide funding opportunity administered through Elevate Youth California, a program of the California Department of Health Care Services. Elevate Youth California is funded through Proposition 64 California Cannabis Tax Fund revenues allocated to the Youth Education, Prevention, and Early Intervention Account. The California Department of Health Care Services contracts with Sierra Health Foundation: Center for Health Program Management, known as The Center, to administer the program. Elevate Youth California was launched in 2019 to address substance use disorders by investing in leadership development and civic engagement for youth of color and 2S/LGBTQIA+ youth ages 12 to 26 who live in California communities disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs. The required goal of this funding opportunity is substance use disorder prevention through youth leadership and civic engagement. Projects must serve youth of color and 2S/LGBTQIA+ youth ages 12 to 26 in communities disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs and must incorporate youth civic engagement for policy, systems, and environmental change. Proposals also must include at least one additional strategy consisting of mentorship and relationship building and/or a peer-led support and leadership program. Projects should reduce substance use risk factors and strengthen protective factors through culturally and linguistically responsive, healing-centered, trauma-informed, and social justice youth development approaches. Funded projects are expected to engage youth in determining and leading policy, systems, and environmental change efforts. Approximately $44 million is expected to be awarded for Cohort 8 Standard Track. Eligible applicants may request up to $1 million for the three-year grant period, with the maximum request determined by the applicant's fiscal year 2025-26 operating budget. Organizations with operating budgets from $0 through $200,000 may request up to $300,000; those above $200,000 through $300,000 may request up to $450,000; those above $300,000 through $400,000 may request up to $600,000; those above $400,000 through $500,000 may request up to $750,000; those above $500,000 through $600,000 may request up to $900,000; and those above $600,000 may request up to $1 million. Organizations with operating budgets at or below $50,000 must apply under a fiscal sponsor. Up to 20 percent of direct costs may be requested as indirect costs. The RFA does not establish a matching or cost-sharing requirement. Eligible applicants include 501(c)(3) community-based organizations, federally recognized Tribal 638 organizations, nonprofit urban Indian clinics, fiscally sponsored projects, coalitions or collaboratives of 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, and county behavioral health organizations that are the sole providers of prevention services in their respective counties. Applicants must have an office in California, provide services in California, and have proposed key project staff residing in California. Applicants and applicable subrecipients must satisfy required tax-exempt status, registration, and good-standing requirements. Implementing organizations generally may not have an active Elevate Youth California award, although partners whose current awards end December 31, 2026 are eligible. School districts, schools, charter schools, and county offices of education are ineligible. Allowable activities include culturally rooted youth civic engagement, mentoring and coaching, youth leadership development, peer-led programming, youth-driven arts projects, policy-focused campaigns, youth-led participatory action research, credible messenger outreach, peer mentoring, coalition development, and other youth substance use disorder prevention and education activities aligned with the program. Unallowed costs and activities include debt retirement, operational deficits, partisan activities, lobbying, explicit religious activities, clinical counseling or treatment, vehicle purchases, major capital improvements, certain major equipment without approval, international travel, unauthorized out-of-state travel, core program subcontracting to for-profit organizations, alcohol purchases, services billable to Medi-Cal, contributions and donations, interest, bad debts, cannabis provision, specified harm reduction activities, housing, drug checking, and legal or paralegal services. Funded partners also must conduct at least one youth listening session each project year, participate in two regional in-person convenings, cooperate with external evaluation activities, and satisfy progress and financial reporting requirements. Applications are submitted through the Elevate Youth California online application portal and may be submitted only once, so applicants are instructed to ensure the application and required attachments are complete before final submission. Required materials include the proposed budget and budget justification, work plan, executive support letter, current fiscal year operating budget, W-9, IRS determination or affirmation letter, most recent IRS Form 990 or applicable equivalent, most recent audited financial statements if available, most recent unaudited financial statements, an executed fiscal sponsorship agreement when applicable, and completion of the Pre-Award Risk Assessment. The application also includes narrative questions covering the organization, proposed population, culturally and linguistically appropriate services, project team qualifications, social justice youth development experience, substance use disorder prevention experience, and proposed project activities. Eligible applications undergo competitive review. Scoring includes organization description, population description, culturally and linguistically appropriate services, project team qualifications, social justice youth development track record, substance use disorder prevention track record, project activities and work plan, monitoring and reporting, and budget and budget justification. Project activities carry 30 points, social justice youth development and substance use disorder prevention carry 15 points each, monitoring and reporting and the budget carry 10 points each, and the remaining scored sections carry 5 points each. Geographic and population considerations also may influence final selections to achieve equitable statewide distribution, including urban and rural coverage and priority populations. Applications are due September 21, 2026 at 1 p.m. Pacific Time. Review is scheduled for September through November 2026, with approximate award announcements in December 2026 and a project period from January 1, 2027 through December 31, 2029. Questions and application assistance may be directed to elevateyouthca@shfcenter.org, and The Center at Sierra Health Foundation lists 916.993.7701 as its telephone number.

Center youth voice and decision-making throughout the proposal and clearly show how youth will identify and lead a policy systems and environmental change goal. Demonstrate strong social justice youth development and substance use disorder prevention experience because these are heavily scored areas. Provide specific culturally and linguistically responsive methods and measurable monitoring processes. Align the budget with appropriate staffing youth stipends annual listening sessions two regional convenings and the 20 percent indirect cost limit. Submit early because late applications are not reviewed and revised applications are not accepted after submission.