About the Competition
Applications entered by May 1 are eligible for two awards.
The final application deadline is May 17.
What is the 100 Best Communities competition?
The 100 Best Communities for Young People presented by ING is an annual competition, now in its sixth cycle, that rewards and recognizes communities making extraordinary efforts to reduce dropout rates and provide outstanding services and supports to their youth. These communities, while not without their own challenges to overcome, have demonstrated a significant and lasting commitment to their youth for which they deserve to be recognized and commended.
The 100 Best Communities are intended to be representative of the nation as a whole. Each year, the winners vary dramatically in size, location, demographics, resources, and approaches to their unique challenges. Past winners have ranged from small towns, such as a mobile home community in Minnesota; to some of the nation’s largest cities, including New York City, Chicago and Houston; to counties and school districts.
All communities dedicated to making youth a priority and ensuring that all youth have access to outstanding education and support services are encouraged to apply for this recognition. Our decision is not based on a community’s wealth or resources, and no specific approach to addressing the dropout crisis is given preference. Every application is assessed by America’s Promise Alliance staff and the winners are chosen from a group of finalists by a blue-ribbon panel of national leaders on youth issues.
What will the winning communities receive?
A grant of $2,500 will be given to every community that is named one of the 100 Best Communities for Young People. The $2,500 winner’s grant can be used to:
- Help fund a local program or service, within certain parameters, or
- Be used for a local event to celebrate the win.
This increased winner’s grant is part of the winning communities' awards package that includes national and local media exposure, a commemorative trophy, road signs, a media relations toolkit and on-call support to help in announcing your win to the community, a one-year subscription to a leading online grant search service, and much more.
Early application submissions received by May 1 will be eligible for two special awards:
- one $2,500 grant recognizing an outstanding local dropout prevention program; and
- one $2,500 scholarship to the author of the youth testimonial that best captures the spirit of the 100 Best Communities program.
ING and the ING Foundation are proud supporters of the 100 Best Communities program. The ING Foundation shares the Alliance’s passion to invest in the development and future of America’s young people. Each year on average, the ING Foundation contributes $3.5 million towards education initiatives. They are committed to supporting and improving education for youth in grades K-12, especially children in underserved areas or facing economic disadvantages, which describes many of our past 100 Best winners.
The Applicant Pool
The 100 Best Communities application is rigorous, and requires knowledge about your community’s programs, services and policies. The application is often completed by a group of individuals, with representation from local government, schools, youth-serving organizations, businesses and other relevant sectors of the community. Young people are also often involved.
This program recognizes communities, which we define as geographic areas with defined borders and resident populations for which reliable demographic data is available. This could include cities, towns, counties, and school districts. Individual organizations or schools are not eligible for recognition.