Request For Proposals

I. Overview

Description of Issue

In Prince George’s County in 2019, an estimated 15,000 youth ages 13-18 lived with a mental health condition.1 According to the 2020 Prince George’s County Child Well-Being Indicators, around one-third of middle and high school students reported experiencing a depressive episode over the course of a year, and 18% of students reported seriously considering suicide.1 

The prevalence of mental health challenges has increased over the last decade and was exacerbated by the pandemic. The Annie E. Casey Foundation reported that during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, young people ages 3-17 in Maryland experienced a 37% increase in rates of anxiety and depression.3

On average, Hispanic/Latino youth report higher rates of depressive episodes than their peers of other racial groups.2 Additionally, female youth report being more likely to experience extended periods of feeling hopelessness and suicidal considerations than their male counterparts.1

Mental health challenges among youth, especially when left unaddressed, can have negative spillover effects on school performance, decision making, and behavioral health risk factors such as substance abuse, which can last beyond adolescence into adulthood.4 Nationally, high schoolers with depressive episodes are more than twice as likely to drop out of school than their peers without mental health challenges.5 In Prince George’s County, adolescent substance use has risen in tandem with the increase in mental health challenges. County residents under 25 saw an 8.2% rise in opioid-related fatal overdoses from 2020 to 2021, which follows the overarching, escalating pattern of overdose deaths in the county since 2011.6 

Request for Support

Pull Up Fund acknowledges and understands the complexity of youth mental health, and the long-term wraparound supports needed to address related challenges. Pull Up Fund is committed to supporting all aspects of youth development to work toward our vision where all youth are provided opportunities to succeed.

Pull Up Fund intends to support organizations that can provide mental health and wellness supports for Pre-K-12th grade aged youth in Prince George’s County. Pull Up Fund is interested in providing two broad types of investment, contingent upon organizational and program budgets, to address youth mental health needs:

• Grant requests between $100,000-$250,000 will be considered for initiatives or organizations that may be new or early in practice. Pull Up Fund is excited to consider innovative ways of supporting youth mental health and wellness, with strong supporting evidence of theories of change and potential impact.
• Grant requests between $250,000-$1 million will be considered for more established organizations or initiatives that have proven success, traction, or results, and can effectively manage and operationalize a significant investment.

Grantees have the flexibility to allocate these funds over a period, based on their needs. In your proposal, please indicate the intended duration of fund usage.

II. Who Can Apply (Eligible Organizations)

Pull Up Fund intends to fund and support organizations with demonstrated commitment, expertise, and leadership within the youth, mental health, and/or wellness landscape.

Generally, we are excited to receive proposals from Maryland-based nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations and/or fiscally sponsored organizations, though national 501(c)(3) organizations with established youth mental health programs operating in Prince George’s County are welcome to respond.

Commitment to Equity
Promoting diversity and equity is at the center of Pull Up Fund’s mission. As minority populations have been historically underserved by mental health services, Pull Up Fund is committed to funding programs that are intentional about reaching underserved populations, and are led and staffed by people who reflect the populations they serve.

III. Background on Pull Up Fund

Pull Up Fund was founded as a charitable means to connect historically excluded communities with resources they need to thrive. Historically, PUF’s grants have supported COVID-19 relief programs, STEAM & youth education, racial justice, criminal justice and reentry support, poverty alleviation and more. PUF focuses on organizations serving Prince George’s County, Maryland and across the state of Maine. For more information on Pull Up Fund, please visit https://pullupfund.org/.

IV. Evaluation Criteria

Pull Up Fund will consider proposals under four criteria:

1. Scope of Impact: Including expected number of youth impacted by the initiative.
2. Diversity: Commitment to serving a diverse population, and demonstrated knowledge and capacity to address the needs of different communities; representation of individuals with diverse backgrounds in organization leadership and staff.
3. Evidence-Based/Proven Likelihood for Success: Proof that the program is informed by evidence based practices and/or is likely to succeed in the county.
4. Sustainability: An established and/or growing network of philanthropic funders and/or community partners to support long-term success of the organization and program beyond Pull Up Fund’s potential grant period.

V. Timeline and Application Materials

• Deadline for applicants to submit proposal: April 21st
• Pull Up Fund notifies applicants if they are invited to a follow-up conversation: By May 1st
• Follow-up conversations with select applicants: May 8th – May 10th
• Applicants notified whether they are selected for an award:  By May 22nd
• Grants are awarded: By May 29th

Under this timeline, we anticipate projects funded under this RFP would begin by January 2024, but this is not a requirement.

Proposal:

We ask that applicants submit their proposal by April 21, 2023. Please submit the proposal to info@pullupfund.org. Please keep proposals to no more than three pages in length, not including budget/timeline materials. In your proposal, please include the following: 

• Directly address the criteria for evaluation listed in Section IV. 
• Include a description of the challenge you are planning to address, proposed timeline, and activities.
• Briefly describe any anticipated challenges to implementing your proposed initiative (i.e hiring, marketing, relationship building, etc), and how you plan to address these potential obstacles.
• Include both a project and an overall organizational budget.
• Please provide background information on applicant’s organization, such as:
  • Why this issue is important for your organization.
  • Showcase existing work, including scope of impact, that your organization has accomplished thus far. This includes descriptions of significant programs or projects within the youth mental health / wellness space.
  • Highlight successful past programs, and the reasons as to why these programs were successful. 

VI. What to Expect in a Grant Agreement

As a condition of the grant award, Pull Up Fund asks that grantees provide updates every six months on progress of the program.

VII. Questions

For any questions, please email info@pullupfund.org.