Today, public and private funders are investing not only in youth mentoring, but also in college access and completion, workforce development, and AI enabled student success. MentorPRO’s team has an strong record of working with yours to identify and develop competitive grant proposals.
Key federal funding sources for mentoring and coaching
The opportunities below are especially relevant for mentoring, student success, and AI supported coaching; visit each link for the latest RFPs and deadlines.
U.S. Department of Education – Education Innovation and Research (EIR)
Program overview:
Latest expansion notice:
Focus:
Competitive grants to develop and scale evidence based K–12 innovations that improve achievement, close gaps, and increase college and career readiness. Strong fit for mentoring, tutoring, social emotional learning, and AI enabled interventions. ed+1
Timing:
Recent cycles have opened in early fall with deadlines about one month later. Check the program and Federal Register pages each year for current priorities and due dates. ed+2
OJJDP – National Mentoring Programs
Current RFP:
https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/funding/opportunities/o-ojjdp-2025-172464
OJJDP Funding overview:
Focus:
Large national and multistate grants for youth mentoring programs serving young people at risk for or involved with the justice or child welfare systems. Supports one to one, group, peer, and e‑mentoring models. ojjdp.ojp+2
Timing:
The FY 2025 cycle opened in fall 2025 and closed in late October/early November. OJJDP typically posts new mentoring solicitations annually; check the funding page for open and upcoming opportunities. ojjdp.ojp+3
Lilly Endowment – Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education
Initiative page:
https://lillyendowment.org/artificial-intelligence-in-higher-education/
News about phases:
https://lillyendowment.org/news/artificial-intelligence-in-higher-education-initiative/
Focus:
Multi phase initiative supporting Indiana colleges and universities to plan and implement responses to AI in higher education, including student success and advising models where mentoring platforms like MentorPRO can play a central role. lillyendowment+1
Timing:
Planning and implementation phases are underway, with collaboration proposals due in 2026. Future opportunities, if announced, will be posted on the initiative page; institutions should monitor that page for updates. lillyendowment+2
U.S. Department of Labor – Employment and Training Administration (ETA)
Funding opportunities:
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/grants/apply/find-opportunities
Focus:
Ongoing workforce grants that can include mentoring, coaching, apprenticeships, and navigation supports for youth and adults in education-to-employment and reskilling pathways. dol+2
Timing:
New competitions are posted throughout the year with varying deadlines. Partners should search the ETA portal regularly for youth, apprenticeship, reentry, and sector based grants and note each RFP’s specific due date. dol+2
AmeriCorps – Volunteer Generation Fund (VGF)
Assistance listing:
https://sam.gov/fal/ccfe3ec7678f42b6b8add35a6b08e2a6/view
Focus:
Program that has supported state commissions and nonprofits to strengthen volunteer systems, including mentoring and tutoring. Recent federal cuts and proposed reductions have created uncertainty about future competition schedules and amounts. nonprofitpro+4
Timing:
Timing for future VGF competitions is unclear. Organizations should confirm with their state service commission or AmeriCorps whether VGF is currently funded and accepting applications before planning proposals. nonprofitpro+5
SAMHSA and HHS behavioral health grants
SAMHSA grants:
Grants.gov search:
https://www.grants.gov/search-opportunity
Focus:
Federal behavioral health grants that may include mentoring, peer support, and navigation components for youth and young adults in prevention, early intervention, and recovery programs. [dol]
Timing:
Deadlines vary by program and year. Organizations should use the SAMHSA portal and Grants.gov, filtering by topic and keywords such as “youth,” “mentoring,” “peer support,” and “navigation” to find current RFPs and due dates. [dol]
MentorPRO is built to help organizations take advantage of these diverse opportunities. The platform supports evidence informed mentoring and coaching in youth, college, and workforce settings, and it is designed to satisfy funder expectations for data, implementation support, and scalability.
We have already secured over a million dollars in competitive funding from major national and philanthropic sources. Our team has been awarded a Tools Competition grant, received support from the Axim Collaborative, and earned both a National Science Foundation Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) award and a National Institutes of Health Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award.
We are also a technology and evaluation partner on multiple large collaborative proposals currently under review, including a $5 million WIN AI proposal focused on AI powered mentoring and student success. These investments demonstrate funder confidence in MentorPRO’s evidence based and AI assisted approach and can strengthen new proposals that incorporate MentorPRO as the core mentoring and data platform including Step Up, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Friends of the Children Boston.
