Strengthening Youth Programs
in Indiana
Youth-serving nonprofit leaders understand the importance of building strong organizational capacity focused on sound management, strong governance, and dedication to assessing results to support mission-driven work. But finding the time and resources to support, strengthen, and sustain this capacity often conflicts with the demands of serving the youth in their programs.
Indiana Youth Institute has worked to improve the lives of all Indiana children and youth by being an active and purposeful leader in Indiana’s youth-serving field for over 30 years. Thousands of youth-serving organizations turn to IYI each year to help build their capacity to fulfill and advance their missions – putting us in the unique position to tackle the important issue of capacity building and sustainability for youth-serving organizations.
How is IYI supporting grantee organizations?
Throughout the Strengthening Youth Programs in Indiana (SYPI) Initiative, IYI provides direct support to over 180 independent youth-serving organizations. In our role as a statewide intermediary organization that provides data, training, consultation, and other resources to Indiana youth-serving organizations, IYI will walk alongside the awardees to provide initiative-specific workshops, trainings, and other supports for organizations participating in SYPI.
IYI is honored at the opportunity to provide quality support to meet the long-term goal of stronger, more sustainable Indiana youth-serving organizations. We are excited to support organizations that represent a range of services across the state as they use the SYPI initiative to strengthen their organizational infrastructure and improve the delivery of their services to the kids and communities they serve.
What does this mean for the field?
Organizations receiving these grants offer a wide array of programs and services to youth. These include foster care placement, youth employment, college preparation, STEM education, art therapy, health and wellness activities, grief counseling, leadership and character development, outdoor education, tutoring, mentoring and before- and after-school enrichment. See the grants list here.
Indiana Youth Institute is pleased to announce a new grant invitation for organizations that received funding through Lilly Endowment’s Strengthening Youth Programs in Indiana initiative (SYPI). SYPI Program Sustainability and Capacity Building Grants are designed to help organizations extend and sustain the progress made through the first round of SYPI. This final round focuses on reinforcing successful efforts, enhancing organizational resiliency, and helping to ensure that impactful work for Indiana youth continues into the future. Applicants are invited to submit applications for up to 50% of their organization’s original SYPI award for activities carried out over a grant term of up to three years.
Release Date: April 1, 2026
Submission Deadline: June 2, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. EDT
Eligibility
Organizations eligible to apply must have received a SYPI grant from the Endowment in 2023 and must continue to operate as youth-serving 501(c)(3) public charities described under sections 509(a)(1), (2), or (3) of the Internal Revenue Code, excluding Type III supporting organizations under §4942(g)(4)(A)(i) or (ii). Questions about eligibility may be directed to sypi@iyi.org.
Supporting Proposal Documents
| Required | Planning Tools (Optional) |
| Proposal Guidelines | Goals & Progress Chart |
| Budget Template | Submission Checklist |
| Sample IRS Determination Letter | |
| IYI Tax Form |