Youth In Philanthropy Grant Funding

Youth In Philanthropy Grant Funding

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Northern Piedmont Community Foundation
Last Updated: July 20, 2025

Summary

The Youth in Philanthropy (YIP) program empowers local teenagers to engage in philanthropic activities by providing them with funding, mentorship, and hands-on experience in grant-making. Participants learn valuable leadership skills while addressing community issues such as homelessness and mental health. By collaborating with peers and adult mentors, students develop critical thinking and budgeting skills. Weekly meetings from mid-August to mid-October foster commitment and flexibility, allowing youth to take an active role in shaping their communities through informed decision-making.

Overview

The Youth in Philanthropy Program Youth in Philanthropy (YIP) is a youth leadership program that gives area teenagers hands-on experience with philanthropic giving. YIP provides young people guidance, money, and mentorship to directly fund, through a grant application process, a local nonprofit organization. The YIP program challenges our young participants in demonstrating leadership, solving problems, studying proposals, managing budgets, working collaboratively, and presenting their views to an audience of peers and adults. We believe our young people are more than capable of making informed decisions about community needs and tackling issues such as homelessness, domestic violence, mental health, and other major social concerns. Through YIP, they are able to create immediate solutions through grants. We hope that through the knowledge and experience gained in YIP, that our youth will apply what they have learned and impact lasting, constructive change in our communities. How To JoinBeing a member of YIP is an exciting and empowering opportunity that allows area youth to give away more money than the average community member donates in a given year. Along with this comes the understanding that they have a responsibility to decide which projects will receive funding based upon feasibility, community need and collaboration with other groups. Youth in Philanthropy has weekly meetings from mid-August through mid-October. Members must commit to making YIP a priority throughout the session. Seniors organize and lead the program each week. Space in this program is limited, so slots fill quickly. Ideal candidates have an interest in representing northern Piedmont youth and are able to demonstrate: Commitment by attending weekly meetingsFlexibility by working with a diverse group of youth and adultsEnthusiasm by sharing their excitement, passion, insight, and expertise

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. The program is open to sophomore, junior, and senior high school students from the counties of Culpeper, Fauquier, Madison and Rappahannock.