Youth Philanthropy Boards:
Instilling a Passion For Giving
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“Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I will remember. Involve me and I will understand. Step back and I will act.” – Chinese Proverb
art of the mission of the Delaware Community Foundation is “to provide a lasting source of charitable funding to benefit Delawareans today and for generations to come.” The Youth Philanthropy Board is a core activity in our work to ensure a strong future of charitable funding in the First State. Each year, we engage students from every high school in Delaware in an eight-month program to experience the power and responsibility of charitable giving. The late Phyllis Wynn created the YPB in 1999, to encourage New Castle County youth to engage in philanthropy. The DCF has since created chapters in Kent and Sussex Counties. Each YPB chapter is given a pool of money to be distributed among local charitable organizations. The students function as if they were the board of directors of a foundation. They choose a focus area, solicit and review applications, make site visits, and ultimately award grants to the organizations they deem most worthy. “In many families, philanthropy isn't discussed, so the upcoming generation may not understand the level of need that exists in the community and how much good they can do,” DCF President and CEO Fred Sears said. “Through the YPB, the students don't just discuss the importance of giving; they actually do the giving,” he said. “We find that once they have that experience as young people, philanthropy becomes part of their lives, even into adulthood. We simply plant the seed and stand back.”
2011-2012 Youth Philanthropy Board Grants Kent County Focus: Programs that provide long-term and/or immediate help, counseling or training for the homeless of Kent County. Shepherd Place People's Place Dover Interfaith Mission for Housing Aid in Dover
$3,500 $3,500 $2,000 $1,000
New Castle County Focus: Programs offering educational enrichment and life skills training to children who have been abused, neglected, or incarcerated, and middle school programs promoting healthy lifestyles and wellness, including substance abuse prevention. All the Difference Delaware Adolescent Program, Inc. Food Bank of Delaware Jewish Family Services SOAR
$2,500 $2,500 $2,500 $2,500 $2,500
Sussex County Focus: Programs that promote strong family life and improve personal health. Autism Delaware Abbott's Mill Nature Center/Delaware Nature Society Coverdale Crossroads Delaware Adolescent Program, Inc. First State Community Action Agency, Inc. Food Bank of Delaware La Esperanza Nanticoke River Arts Council
$1,000 $1,000 $2,000 $2,000 $1,000 $1,500 $1,000 $500
Above Left: Diane Cahall, executive director of the Shepherd House in Dover, gives a tour of the shelter to Kent County YPB member Madison Swenson, a Lake Forest High School student. Above Right: Christopher Gunter, a student at Howard High School and member of the New Castle County YPB, asks questions during a site visit to the Latin American Community Center in Wilmington. Connecting people who care
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