Youth Neighborhood Association Partnership Program Grant Review Board Meeting - December 8, 2025

The Youth Neighborhood Association Partnership Program (YNAP) Grant Review Board met on December 8, 2025, to hear presentations from youth groups seeking funding for community projects. Chair Ayana Castro presided. The board heard 12 presentations and voted to reschedule one group due to a family emergency. The board will vote on funding recommendations at a later meeting and present them to the Las Vegas City Council on February 4, 2026.

Public Comments & Testimony

• No public comments were made.

Discussion Items

• Hearts of Compassion Foundation – Hearts of the Community: Presented a project to create an interactive front porch model with a mailbox for sharing experiences, bikes, and sports equipment to foster community connection. Requesting $2,000. Board asked about location and storage of materials.

• KCES Drama Club – From Classroom to Curtain Calls: Proposed a student-led production of "The Phantom Tollbooth" with actors and crew, connecting to Nevada Reading Week. Returning applicant. Requesting $2,000. Board praised the size and involvement of the group.

• KCES Student Council – KCES Community MVPs: Project to assemble 100 appreciation bags with small tokens for mail carriers, military members, and senior center workers. Returning applicant since 2016. Requesting $2,000. Board asked about distribution methods.

• Starz Community Development Corporation – Loving Them Paws and Claws: Project to volunteer at Mojave Animal Foundation, assist with shelter care, and provide wish list items. The Foundation cares for approximately 680 animals monthly. Requesting $2,000. Board noted past grants and asked about awards and contests.

• Hearts in Motion – Dancing Minds Moving Bodies: Proposed dance education and hydration program at five SafeKey after-school sites, teaching hip hop and providing water bottles and journals. Targeting 180 students. Requesting $2,000. Board praised selection of SafeKey sites and suggested expanding youth volunteers.

• Somerset Sky Point Junior Lighthouse – Books for Brave Kids: Project to host a light display fundraiser at school to collect book donations for children's hospitals (St. Jude, Summerlin, Sunrise). Requesting $2,000 (with $2,000 matching donations). Board asked about budget and logistics.

• Phoenix Effect – Operation Teen Champion: Project to provide baskets with high-quality gifts (e.g., MacBook Air, AirPods, shoes) to top-performing teens at a children's hospital, addressing that teens are often overlooked. Requesting $2,000. Presenters are nine years old. Board noted the uniqueness and asked about data collection and volunteer recruitment.

• Tar Academy of International Studies – Grow Our Garden: Project to restore an overgrown kindergarten garden with a new irrigation system, soil, and fencing to create a hands-on learning space. Requesting $2,000. Board asked about maintenance and who will teach gardening.

• Evil Wolf Student Council – Project Sunshine: Project to assemble 142 sunshine kits (blanket, socks, puzzle, stress ball, toy) for pediatric patients at Summerlin Hospital. Returning applicant (received $1,400 last year for animal project). Requesting $2,000. Board asked about previous project experience.

• Jump Squad Inc. – Pack of Hope: Project to assemble and distribute hundreds of hygiene and comfort kits to unhoused neighbors near 721 W. McWilliams Ave., including handwritten notes. Pledging 104 volunteer hours. Requesting $2,000 (with in-kind match). Board asked about church partnership (Grace Temple Ministries) and potential waste. Board member suggested using pre-printed city resources.

• Equipo Academy – Pet City: Project to build weather-resistant shelters for stray animals (approximately 200,000 stray cats in Las Vegas) and raise awareness about spay/neuter. Requesting $868. Board asked about permits, location, and maintenance of shelters.

• Equipo Academy – Time Flies Honoring Our Elders: Project to interview residents at Lumina Las Vegas, a senior care home for dementia/Alzheimer's, and publish a book of their stories to reduce stigma. Will also host a fundraiser. Requesting $2,000. Board members commended the project and suggested reaching out to the organization's board for raffle prizes. Noted that the group has been visiting Lumina since October 2025.

• AKA Teens – Package with Purpose: Project to provide 150 care packages with food and hygiene products to homeless teens, partnering with Project 150. Requesting $1,902 (with $1,000 in-kind). Returning applicant. Board suggested working with smaller nonprofits.

• Black Student Union – Heart in a Box: Project to assemble 50+ care packages for homeless individuals, partnering with Pleasant Grove Church (in Ward 5). Requesting $2,000. Board clarified that projects must be within Las Vegas city limits; noted the group is based in Henderson but the project location appears acceptable. Board suggested better preparation and documentation for future applications.

• Youth Leaders Corp – Native Born Youth Group: Unable to attend due to a family emergency. The board voted unanimously to reschedule this group for either December 11 or December 15, 2025.

Key Outcomes

• The board voted unanimously to allow the Native Born Youth Group to present at a later meeting (December 11 or 15, 2025).
• All other groups completed their presentations. The YNAP Grant Review Board will vote on funding recommendations at a later meeting.
• The board's funding recommendations will be presented to the Las Vegas City Council on February 4, 2026.
• Groups will be notified of the board's recommendations within three weeks (by approximately December 29, 2025).