The YouMatter Fund is open to Black youth aged 14 to 19 across Durham Region.

See if you qualify
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Fifteen minutes, plain language, no references needed.

The YouMatter Fund runs on one application with two ways to send it. Grants go from $200 to $1,000, land before the work starts, and come with a mentor for the full year.

Open the application Applications are open now.
A young man reading at home, surrounded by plants

$200 to $1,000Paid up front, once the plan is signed off.

A young man lining up a shot on an outdoor basketball court
A young man sitting on a stoop, writing in a notebook

Five written questions

Short answers, plain language. Write it the way you would explain it to a friend, because that is the version we want to read anyway.

A young woman laughing as she records herself on her phone

A three minute video

Record it on your phone. No editing, no script, no set. If talking is easier than writing, take this one. It is read exactly the same way.

The whole eligibility list.

There is no second criteria document hiding somewhere. This is it. If you are not sure whether you fit, write to us and ask. We would far rather answer a question than lose an application.

We can fund you if

  • You self identify as Black and you are aged 14 to 19.
  • You live in Durham Region, or the project directly benefits the Durham Region community.
  • The initiative is net new, or a grassroots effort you are leading yourself.
  • You can attend the planning day and keep up monthly check ins with your mentor.

We cannot fund

  • Existing incorporated non-profits and registered charities.
  • Partisan political activity of any kind.
  • Religious proselytising.
  • Alcohol, cannabis and gambling.

You do not need to be incorporated, have a board, have charitable status, or have run anything before. Most of the people we fund have not.

Seven steps, start to showcase.

From the day you hit submit to the day you stand up at the year end showcase. Nothing here is a surprise later.

  1. Send it in

    The application lives on Typeform and takes about fifteen minutes. Answer five short written questions or record a three minute pitch on your phone. Both routes are read the same way, so choose whichever lets you sound like yourself.

  2. We read every one

    Our review committee reads every submission against five things: social impact, urgency, whether it can actually be done, how it sits with what Akoma stands for, and whether it lasts past the grant. No hidden rubric, no algorithm.

  3. We talk it through

    Shortlisted applicants come in for an interview so we can hear the vision in your own words, understand who is on your team, and work out what support you would need. Strong applicants we cannot fund this round go on the waitlist for non-financial support or a fast track next cycle.

  4. Planning day

    Everyone selected attends a mandatory planning day of at least four hours alongside the Akoma team and the mentor matched to them. You pull the plan apart, sharpen the strategy, and leave with a timeline and a budget you actually believe in.

  5. Money moves

    Once your final plan, timeline and budget are approved, the grant is transferred to you in full and up front. You are not fronting the cost and waiting to be reimbursed.

  6. Build it

    You have one year from the day the money lands to run your project. You meet your mentor at least monthly, and the wider network of volunteer professionals is there for short advisory calls when you hit something specific: legal, design, finance, logistics.

  7. Show your work

    Keep a shared budget and hold on to receipts as you go. At the end you send a one page report and a short reflection. Projects doing exceptional work with real need can be considered for a top up from the reserve. Everyone presents at the end of year showcase.

People read it, then people sit with you.

Every submission is read by our internal review committee against social impact, urgency, feasibility, alignment with what Akoma stands for, and whether the thing lasts past the grant. Shortlisted applicants come in for an interview so we can hear it in your own words and work out what support you would actually need.

Then, before any money moves, everyone selected sits through a planning day of at least four hours with the Akoma team and their matched mentor. That day exists to find the weak point in the plan while it is still cheap to fix.

A no this cycle is not the end of it. Strong applicants we cannot fund go on the waitlist for non-financial support, or are fast tracked into the next round.

Three women at a boardroom table, mid conversation
A facilitator at a whiteboard covered in sticky notes, talking to a participant

Exactly how the money behaves.

The pool
$1,000 goes out as grants in year one, on top of a $500 reserve.
Grant size
From $200 up to the full $1,000 for a single initiative. Quality over quantity: we would rather fund one thing properly than five things thinly.
When it lands
In full, up front, once your plan, timeline and budget are approved. You are never fronting the cost.
Top ups
Exceptional, high need projects can be considered for a discretionary top up from the $500 reserve partway through.
Your term
Twelve months from the day the money lands to run the project and report on it.
What we need back
A shared budget kept current, receipts held on to, a one page report and a short reflection at the end.

Read all that and still think you fit?

Then you probably do. Write it badly and send it anyway. We would rather fix the plan with you than never see it.

Open the application