Community AYA Project (CAP) Grant
1. Introduction
Cancer Under 40 powered by Teen Cancer America (TCA) aims to improve the lives of adolescents and young adults (AYAs, ages 15-39) diagnosed with cancer by transforming cancer care delivery to better meet their unique needs.
We are pleased to invite healthcare professionals in community cancer care settings to apply for our Community AYA Project (CAP) Grants. These grants support flexible, practical, real-world projects that improve care and outcomes for adolescents and young adults with cancer up to age 39, the majority of whom are treated in community cancer settings. We welcome creative, needs-driven proposals that reflect the realities of your local setting and the younger patients you serve.
Grantees also gain access to TCA’s national AYA Program Advisory Group (PAG) and our monthly educational series for healthcare professionals, the Monthly Drip.
2. Overview
Grants range from $5,000–$25,000 and must be completed within 12 months. Projects should be locally driven, address a clearly defined need, improve care delivery and demonstrate sustainable impact beyond the grant period. Projects must also align with one or more of the TCA AYA Pillars of Care at the link HERE.
Eligible Applicants: Community hospitals, outpatient clinics, private practices, and community oncology networks are welcome to apply. Academic medical centers may apply only if the project focuses on providing AYA care in the community setting, such as at affiliate community sites. We will only consider applications that benefit care delivery at sites that are not NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers. Sites are eligible to apply if they provide cancer care to any number of patients in the AYA age range of 15-39. We will prioritize applicants in the following states: AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, MA, NC, NJ, NY, OR, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA, and WI.
3. Project Scope
Projects may address any gap or opportunity affecting care of AYAs in your setting through improvements in care delivery—clinical, psychosocial, educational, or systems-based.
Funds may support:
- Program or service design and implementation
- Educational tools or training for healthcare staff
- Quality improvement or workflow development
- Pilot initiatives to test new ideas
- Educational patient-facing materials
Funds may NOT support:
- Institutional overhead
- Administrative costs
- Fringe benefits
- Physical, one-off items given to patients (such as welcome bags, gift cards, etc.)
- Financial support funds for patients
- Clinical trials for drugs or medical devices
One hundred percent of the funds awarded through this grant must be used to directly support project activities.
4. Proposal Format Requirements
Organizational Overview
Provide a brief overview of your organization and practice setting. Proposals should be led or co-led by staff working in a community cancer care setting that provides treatment, which can include survivorship and onco-primary care, for any number of patients between the ages of 15-39 with any cancer diagnosis.
- Key programs and services
- Brief description of practice setting and population served including:
- Practice name and structure
- Location and geographical catchment area
- Age range served
- Diagnoses treated
- Total number of cancer patients served
- Number of cancer patients ages 15-39 served
- Names, roles, and contact information of project leaders
Needs Statement
Clearly describe the need this project will address for AYA patients in your specific cancer care setting. Include:
- Why this project matters
- Description of patient or practice-level need or gap at your specific cancer care setting this project addresses
- Description of target population (diagnoses, ages, or issues within the AYA population)
- Anticipated number of patients impacted
- Any additional information relevant to project scope
Project Summary
Describe the project and how it will directly impact care delivery. Explain how it connects to one or more of the AYA Pillars of Care and reflects TCA’s core vision: That every adolescent and young adult diagnosed with cancer receives the specialized care and support they deserve, no matter where they are treated.
- Description
- Goals and objectives
Implementation Plan
Projects must be feasible to complete within a maximum 12-month time frame and should demonstrate a thoughtful approach to real-world implementation. Include activities, timeline, staffing, needed partnerships, resources and tools, and milestones.
Evaluation Plan
Describe how you will measure outcomes and what you hope to learn and accomplish with this project.
Budget and Justification
- Total requested funds
- Provide an itemized budget with specific categories of expense (for example: staffing, supplies, project expenses, communications, marketing and publicity relevant to the project)
- Budget justification — provide a brief explanation of how each budget item supports the project and why it is necessary
You can download the Budget Template HERE.
Sustainability & Dissemination Plan
Describe how the project will be sustained beyond the grant period without relying on continued TCA funding. Include the financial and logistical plan for maintaining or expanding the project’s impact. Also describe how the information, outcomes, and lessons learned from the project can be shared for greater impact within your own site and across other sites in your region or network.
5. Grantee Expectations
Grantees will submit a brief final report summarizing the project, its implementation, outcomes, and lessons learned. Awardees will have the opportunity to share the project through TCA learning forums and publications.
6. Submission Information
RFP Timeline
Complete the grant application online HERE.
You can download these instructions in PDF format HERE.
7. Terms and Conditions
Funding is contingent upon a signed agreement and compliance with reporting requirements. Receipt of a grant does not imply ongoing funding beyond the initial term.
For questions, please email: alec@teencanceramerica.org, Program Operations & Grants Manager
Tips for Applicants
- Focus on a specific, clearly defined need affecting AYAs in your setting. Your project should improve how care is delivered to address that need.
- Be realistic — describe what can be completed in 12 months with the requested amount ($5,000–$25,000).
- Align your project with one or more AYA Oncology Pillars of Care
- Avoid jargon and lengthy background sections; use clear, concise language.
- Show how success will be measured and how impact can continue beyond the grant period.
- Proposal budgets should not include indirect costs or institutional overhead.
CAP Grant Metrics to Date
CAP Grants Launched in 2025
CAP Round 1 Awardees
Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center
La Crosse, Wisconsin
This project aims to reach all interested AYA patients within Gundersen’s community-based adult and pediatric hematology and oncology clinics with patient education regarding the fertility effects of chemotherapy, fertility preservation options, and sexual health during oncology treatment.
Huntsman Cancer Institute
Salt Lake City, Utah
The Huntsman–Intermountain Adolescent and Young Adult (HIAYA) Cancer Program will expand in-person social and peer-support programming for adolescents and young adults with cancer across the five-state region it serves, increasing access to psychosocial support for rural patients and launching an annual regional retreat to foster connection and community.
Northwestern Medicine
Chicago, Illinois
This project, led by the AYA Cancer Program of Northwestern Medicine and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, will build a practical, patient-informed “pipeline” to connect young people treated for cancer in Northwestern-affiliated community settings to long-term cancer survivorship care, support, and opportunities to participate in research.
University of Maryland
Baltimore, Maryland
Led by Dr. Christabel Cheung at the University of Maryland, and in collaboration with Dr. Michael Roth at MD Anderson Cancer Center, this project Right Care, Right Time will convene a national expert panel to develop consensus-based guidance that helps oncology teams in academic and community settings identify AYA patients and integrate timely psychosocial referrals into routine cancer care.
CAP Round 2 Awardees
American Oncology Network (AON)
Fort Myers, Florida + 21 state network
The AON AYA Welcome Kit Initiative will develop, implement, and evaluate a standardized patient education and supportive care package specifically designed for adolescents and young adults receiving cancer treatment. Every eligible patient across AON’s nearly 200 community oncology practice locations in 21 states will receive an AYA Welcome Kit during one of their initial oncology visits. The kit will serve as a roadmap throughout treatment and survivorship while introducing patients to the specialized resources available to support their physical, emotional, and practical needs.
Rutgers University (on behalf of the NJ State Cancer Plan Survivorship Committee)
New Brunswick, New Jersey
This project will engage over 200 AYAs and caregivers in the development and pilot testing of survivor-informed resources and education. These resources will be freely available to AYAs across the state of New Jersey, regardless of where they receive care. The project will establish a sustainable AYA survivorship network that connects community organizations, healthcare providers, and survivors, while creating a scalable model that can be replicated in other states.
University of Miami
Miami, Florida
The project will generate the first bilingual assessment of unmet needs within the AYA population by adapting the Needs Assessment and Service Bridge (NA-SB). The adapted assessment will be implemented across the network’s community cancer care sites and will produce a data-driven action plan to improve care delivery and resource allocation for this vulnerable population. The linguistically and culturally adapted assessment will be made available through TCA’s networks for the care of Spanish-speaking AYAs nationwide.
The University of Minnesota and M Health Fairview
Minneapolis, Minnesota
The project will develop and pilot an implementation-ready, Epic-integrated sexual health screening and referral pathway for AYA cancer survivors within the community-based M Health Fairview system. Findings and lessons learned will be shared through Teen Cancer America, provider learning forums, and educational channels, creating the potential to improve sexual health screening and survivorship care well beyond the initial pilot site.
West Virginia University
Morgantown, West Virginia
The initiative will educate more than 200 oncology nurses across West Virginia and the surrounding Appalachian region via an AYA patient panel at the annual “Oncology Nurses’ Day of Education” conference, equipping them with practical tools to improve AYA care within their own community cancer centers. Beyond the conference, the project will distribute digital toolkits, provide ongoing education and quarterly follow-up, build a regional network of community oncology professionals, and support the development of new AYA initiatives, referrals, and community partnerships.