Plum Submission Guidelines

Eligibility Rules:

  • The applicant must be 25 or under.
  • The applicant must be a U.S. or Canadian citizen (You will be asked to prove citizenship and age if you win).
  • You can only win one grant from Do Something in a twelve month period (excluding BRICK).

Do Something Grants cannot be used to fund:

  • Travel Costs (If you are looking for grants to help you cover a travel abroad experience check out: mytravelbug.org or studyabroadfunding.org )
  • Individual Sponsorships
  • Shipping Costs
  • Individual School Fees (Do Something Grants are not educational scholarships)
  • Fundraisers

General Guidelines:

  • Plum applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Once your completed Plum application is submitted your application will remain active for consideration for three months.  If you have not been notified that you won a Plum grant three months from the date you submitted your application, your application is no longer eligible to win and you should consider reapplying.
  • When the grant has a submission deadline, you should be notified of your application status within two weeks after the deadline.
  • Your grant money needs to be used within six months of receiving it. All grant recipients are required to submit a final grant update.

Core Criteria of a successful application:

  • Youth led and driven
    The applicant is in charge of or plays a very active role in designing, leading, and implementing the proposed project.
  • Measurable change
    Do Something Grant recipients strive toward tangible results.  They target quantifiable situations: such as a community’s voter registration rate, and aim to improve that rate by a specific amount.
  • Community focus
    Do Something Grant recipients focus on problems in their communities.  How an applicant defines his or her “community” is up to him or her. 
  • Long-term problem-solving action
    A Do Something Grant recipient’s project can be a one-time event or an ongoing program; either way, it should strive to make lasting change in his or her community. 
  • Creativity
    Do Something Grant recipients have creative, original ideas for solving problems and creating change in their local communities.   
  • Diversity
    Do Something doesn’t view diversity as a “challenge.”  We see diversity as something to celebrate.  We encourage projects that bring different kinds of people together.

Take a look at our "Path to Change" for ideas on planning a successful project.

****If you have questions please contact Jordyn through the Help Center