CSF Funding
The CSF provides funding to our partners through four avenues:
Core Funding, Capacity Building, Collaboration and Community Funding.
Core Funding
Core Funding is the foundation of the Children’s Services Fund’s stewardship of tax dollars, supporting organizations that improve the mental health and social-emotional well-being of youth across Jackson County. These investments strengthen protective factors, expand access to critical services, and help ensure every child can thrive.
Organizations may apply through one of two funding cycles based on their service model:
- Calendar Year Funding (January–December):
Designed for community-based nonprofit organizations. - Academic Year Funding (July–June):
Designed for schools and organizations providing school-based or academic year aligned services.
Both core funding cycles follow a transparent application and review process. To promote equitable access and meaningful engagement, CSF has streamlined the application process by narrowing the scope of the written content and including partner conversations, creating opportunities for stronger dialogue throughout the funding process.
What to Expect When Applying for Core Funding
Core Funding is the primary way CSF invests in the mental health and social-emotional well-being of Jackson County’s children and youth.
- CSF considers investing up to $750,000 annually in a single organization for Core Funding. Organizations can submit one or two requests per funding cycle, but the total request cannot exceed $750,000 per year. Contract amounts for non-Core Funding awards (e.g., capacity building) do not count towards this maximum amount.
- Organizations are able to apply for two years of core funding through the following process:
- In the CSF Partner Portal, organizations begin the application process by completing a Letter of Intent that provides an overview of the proposed project and how it aligns with one of CSF’s 10 Service Areas.
- Projects that align with CSF funding are moved forward to a full application, including budget and other supporting documents.
- Following submission of all necessary documents, partner conversations allow us to move beyond the written proposal and engage in meaningful dialogue about the proposed project.
- Once partner conversations are complete, proposal summaries and staff feedback are provided to the External Affairs Committee of the CSF Board of Directors. They in turn develop a proposed funding slate.
- The slate developed by External Affairs is presented to the full CSF Board for further discussion and eventual approval.
Capacity Building
Capacity Building funding helps organizations strengthen their ability to deliver high-quality services for children and youth. Through these short-term investments, CSF supports organizations to build the skills, systems, and infrastructure needed to maximize long-term impact.
Capacity Building investments are designed to achieve two key outcomes:
- Stronger organizational capacity by enhancing areas such as strategy, finance, marketing, and business development.
- Professional growth and development by expanding knowledge and expertise in mental health, social-emotional well-being, and effective, evidence-informed practices.
Together, these investments strengthen organizations and build a more resilient network of services for children and youth across Jackson County.
Collaboration
Since the inception of the Children’s Services Fund of Jackson County (CSF), we’ve seen many examples of organizations working together to strengthen existing services or even create something new. That’s been good for youth and good for the community. As a result, CSF launched the Collaboration Funding Opportunity in the second half of 2023 to invest in leveraging expertise not found in any one organization. Investment in collaboration projects supports CSF’s desire to drive community-level impact.
Considering Fit. Collaboration projects aren’t limited to a single approach, and we don’t want to stifle creativity. When considering if collaboration funding through CSF is a fit for your project, it is helpful to discuss the following questions with your collaborators.
- Do we have at least three organizations collaborating on this project?
- A pair is a partnership; bringing together three or more organizations forms a collaboration.
- Does each collaborating organization have a distinct and active role in the project?
- CSF seeks to fund collaboration projects that move beyond replication/expansion of a program implemented by one organization.
- We seek to fund projects that go deeper than partnerships that provide access to a population and/or use of space.
- Each organization should have a distinct area of expertise they bring to the project.
- Each organization should play an active and well-defined role in the project’s implementation.
- Does the project seek to create a system-level change impacting the mental health and/or social-emotional well-being of youth ages 0 – 19 in Jackson County?
- CSF seeks to fund collaboration projects that strive to impact change beyond the individual and/or agency level.
- Collaborators should be able to describe a systemic change that will be impacted because of the collaboration project.
Next Step: If you and your collaborators can answer yes to the three questions above, reach out to [email protected] to share your interest in exploring a collaboration project.
Community Funding
Community Funding provides a mechanism for the Children’s Services Fund (CSF) to respond to emerging and unique opportunities that fall outside the scope of our other funding categories while advancing CSF’s mission to support the mental health and social-emotional well-being of youth in Jackson County. This funding allows CSF to make strategic investments in initiatives that address community needs, strengthen the local system of care, or respond to changing circumstances that benefit youth ages 0-19.
Community Funding is a Board-directed funding opportunity and is not offered through an open application process. Organizations interested in exploring a potential Community Funding opportunity are encouraged to begin by contacting CSF to discuss your initiative, its alignment with CSF’s mission and priorities, and whether Community Funding is the appropriate funding pathway. These initial conversations allow us to learn more about your initiative, explore opportunities for alignment, and determine together whether to move forward with a formal proposal process, which includes a written application for consideration by CSF staff and the CSF Board of Directors.
Next Step: Reach out to [email protected] to share your interest in exploring a community project.
