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Vancouver Foundation - LEVEL Youth Policy Program

2027 APPLICATION FORM

LEVEL is a youth engagement initiative of the Vancouver Foundation. It addresses racial inequity by investing in the leadership capacity of Indigenous and racialized immigrant and refugee youth, and by creating more opportunities across the non-profit and charitable sector. LEVEL includes three pillars: the Youth Policy Program, Youth Organizing, and Youth Granting.

The LEVEL Youth Policy Program addresses racial inequity by empowering young leaders to amplify their voices on issues that matter to them. Participants bring new ideas and fresh perspectives to help shape policy and systems.

**LEVEL YPP will prioritize applications from Indigenous youth from the hxʷəθkwəyəm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and Səlílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations, along with racialized immigrant and refugee youth that have had the experience of migration, including students that came to Canada through the WUSC refugee program, as live-in care givers or the temporary foreign workers program.

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: https://www.levelvf.ca

SELF REFLECTION QUESTIONS BEFORE YOU START

Before you apply for LEVEL Youth Policy Program (YPP), we've put together some guiding questions. They're designed to help you understand the program in more detail, so you can decide if it's the right fit for you.
Is LEVEL YPP right for me?

Thank you for considering the LEVEL Youth Policy Program (YPP). Over the years, we've learned a lot from past participants, including what has helped them on their public policy journeys. 

We invest in the leadership of Indigenous, racialized immigrant, and refugee youth to help empower youth voices. As you consider applying, these reflection questions can help you decide if LEVEL YPP is right for you, and if now is the right time to participate.

Looking for more information? Visit our FAQ page.

1. Do you identify as a youth who is Indigenous, a racialized immigrant, or a refugee?

LEVEL YPP is an opportunity specifically for self-identifying Indigenous, racialized immigrant, and refugee youth aged 19-29. We invite you to reflect on how your identities connect to these communities. Think about how your lived experience shapes your perspective, and how it can contribute to the learning of other participants and the program.

We also encourage you to think about the strengths you bring, including your identities, knowledge, experience, and confidence in navigating systems. 

How might you use these strengths to lift up the people around you?

2. Can you identify the communities you're connected to? What might they look like?

In LEVEL YPP, your identity and your relationships with community are core to driving policy change. Understanding who you are, and who your communities are, helps you advocate more effectively within them.

3. Whose support do you need to participate in this program?

Success in YPP often means drawing on a blend of program supports as well as support from your own communities. Each cohort, we bring together a circle of support for participants, including Elders, faculty, Community Advisors, partner organizations, community champions, and your fellow participants. 

How will you ask your communities to support you? What kind of support do you think you'll need most? 

4. How will you commit to participating in all the modules, meetings, and assignments?

LEVEL YPP requires time and commitment to your community. Participants spend about 150 hours over eight months, which includes attending modules, meetings, and working on your policy proposal. Do review our schedule for the 2027 cohort and ensure that these dates work for you, including the in-person modules.


With this time and community commitment in mind, how will you manage it alongside your other priorities? Accommodations and other supports are available — check them out in our FAQ.
5. What's your capacity to navigate complexity?

Learning about public policy and how to influence policy change can be difficult, uncomfortable, and even emotionally demanding at times. Are you open to navigating these challenges while embracing the growth and impact they can bring? How do you navigate these kinds of challenges when they come up in your current life? What tools do you use to keep this work sustainable for you?

Still not sure?

We hope these questions help you decide if LEVEL YPP is right for you in this season of your life. If you need more information, check out our FAQ and eligibility details.

Information session and drop-in office hours available

If you have a question, join our information session or any of our drop-in office hours. You may attend as many sessions as you like. Just register below to get the meeting link.

Register for the information session, happening on October 7, 5:30pm PT.

  1. Wednesday, October 14, from 12 to 1pm PT
  2. Wednesday, October 21, from 12 to 1pm PT
  3. Wednesday, October 28, from 12 to 1pm PT
Contact Us

Need to talk something over with a member of our team?

Email us at ypp@vancouverfoundation.ca.

A. PARTICIPANT INFORMATION







Home Address







Vancouver Foundation is actively committed to ensuring that we include youth from communities that face systemic barriers. Please answer the following questions to help us determine if we are adequately reaching our target communities. Your response is voluntary and you’re welcome to identify with more than one designated group. Tracking this information ensures that we remain accessible to diverse youth communities. This information will remain confidential and will not be shared.




Which race category best describes you? Please select all that apply.

Why are we asking this question? We know that people of different races don’t have significantly different genetics. But because of racism and other forms of oppression, people are often treated differently by individuals and institutions. LEVEL YPP’s strength comes from the diverse backgrounds of its participants — each person contributes unique, intersecting identities and experiences to the group’s learning. Asking this question helps us understand who we’re reaching.





Time Commitment

The LEVEL Youth Policy Program involves 18 half-days and six full days of training within an eight-month program period. Each month, sessions run about four half days for virtual modules, or three full days for in-person modules (not including travel time).

See the LEVEL VF program website for details about the 2027 dates and sessions.

Support for Childcare or Caregiving Costs

If you’re a young parent, you can request help with child care costs. If you care for an elderly or dependent adult, you can request help with those caregiving costs.

If you’d like to request this support, please let us know how many children or elderly/dependent adults you’d need care support for, in order to attend the program.


What languages can you communicate in most confidently?

The program is delivered in English, including some assigned readings. You don’t need to be fluent, but basic English proficiency is required — a good understanding of spoken English, and some ability to speak and read it. To help us plan program and language support, please indicate your comfort level with English below.

B. APPLICANT EXPERIENCE







C. PROGRAM MOTIVATION



D. COLLABORATING WITH COMMUNITY

The program takes place over an eight-month period, beginning in February with an introduction to public policy and your learning cohort, and culminating with a policy ask project and presentation in September. It’s a significant time and community commitment — you’ll complete work between scheduled modules, meet deadlines, and collaborate with others throughout your journey.

Looking ahead to February–September 2027:


OPTIONAL VIDEO

For us to get to know you better, applicants are welcome to share an optional video in place of submitting the experience and motivation questions. Please note that the video should not exceed 2 minutes (or 120 seconds). This is not a mandatory requirement, rather an opportunity for applicants who are more comfortable speaking versus writing to introduce themselves to the selection committee.

The video can be shot on a smartphone, camera, video-camera or laptop camera and should be sent to us in the form of viewable link on YouTube. Instructions on uploading a video to YouTube can be found at https://bit.ly/3bacwYJ. Please include the viewable link to the video if you wish to submit one.


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