Guide to Establishing a

Youth Philanthropy Program

Developed by:

Youth Philanthropy Initiative of Indiana

32 E. Washington Street Suite 1100

Indianapolis, IN 46204

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Introduction

Youth Philanthropy in Indiana is as diverse as the communities that make up our state; each

program has a slightly different approach due to the geographic area, economic capabilities and

working relationships within their local community. These philanthropic efforts have many

different names and may be designated as a Council, Commission, Club or Program. All are

dedicated to making a difference in their communities through their philanthropic work

The Youth Philanthropy Initiative of Indiana (YPII), a signature program of the Indiana

Philanthropy Alliance, works to advance youth philanthropy with 35+ community foundation youth

philanthropy programs and a Partner Network of 40+ community organizations.

In order to assist newly established or emerging youth philanthropy programs, we are pleased to

provide this “guide” as a turn-key approach with best practices and lessons learned. Many of the

seasoned community foundation youth philanthropy programs (listed at the end of this document)

have assisted us with the guide by providing policies/procedures and templates that have proven to

be successful.

Developing a Youth Philanthropy (YP) program involves many different facets that may begin with

“making the case” for having a YP program to actually administering a full-fledged council. This

guide will assist in providing general information and specific points related to establishing a YP

council. There are three major topics that we will cover: Making the Case for a YP Program;

YPII’s Perspective of Youth Philanthropy; and Effective and Efficient YP Programs.

___________________________________________________________

Making the Case In 2013, the Youth Philanthropy Initiative of Indiana (YPII) and the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, partnered to conduct a research study with student participants and adult mentors of six Indiana Community Foundation Youth Philanthropy Councils. The purpose of the study was to gain in-depth information about how high school students in Indiana learn and practice philanthropy outside the classroom, as well as the longer-term effects of the youth councils. The final four conclusions of the study could easily make a case for establishing a YP program in a community.

1. Philanthropy can be effectively taught to and learned by youth. Through their youth

council service and other philanthropic activities, these youth learned to clearly define

philanthropy and effectively manage relevant projects in their schools and communities.

These achievements demonstrate that philanthropy can be “a way of life” for youth, not

merely just for adults.

2. Philanthropy both facilitates and fosters youth development. Most youth council

members reported that they benefited greatly from being engaged in philanthropy. Benefits

gained included the development of knowledge, life skills, and confidence; the feeling of

community; improved collaboration skills; increased social network-building; and even

career preparation. Their efforts yielded both self-satisfaction and respect from others.

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3. Youth can and should play an important role in the philanthropy landscape. Youth

participating in this research study reported mobilizing a substantial amount of resources to

help people in need via fundraising, grantmaking, collecting donations, and volunteering.

Their work with other young people proved to be very valuable, and perhaps more effective

at times, when compared to adult efforts. The participants’ engagement at these young ages

might also better prepare them for a future career or volunteer role in the nonprofit sector.

4. Continued philanthropic engagement requires well-managed programs. The incentives

for individual participants including the sense of achievement, pride, and personal

development, although very important, are not substantial to engage youth for the long term.

Well-managed programs were key in retaining youth because they developed clear

participation guidelines, provided appropriate supervision, delivered timely responses, and

allowed for youth to learn and make decisions.

A Youth Philanthropy Program provides a major benefit not only to youth, but also to the greater

community. The community constituents who greatly benefit from a youth philanthropy program

are:

Youth and Families

Youth-serving Organizations

Schools

Foundations (Community, Family, Private, Corporate)

United Ways & Affiliated Organizations

Civic/Community Organizations

Congregations/Faith-based Organizations

Community Leaders

During the “Making the Case” phase, consideration should be given to the feasibility of establishing

a program, and whether time, staffing and infrastructure are there to support a program.

____________________________________________________________

YPII’s Perspective of Youth Philanthropy Growing Lifelong Philanthropists is the mission of the Youth Philanthropy Initiative of Indiana

(YPII). It is our thought that there are four common elements that form the pillars of youth

philanthropy in Indiana: Serving, Giving, Leading, and Engaging.

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YPII’s Definition of a Youth Philanthropy Program:

A youth philanthropy program engages young people in intentional and on-going giving, serving,

fundraising, and awarding of funds for the good of the community. A comprehensive approach

integrates multiple aspects of philanthropy and does not focus on just one element, i.e., community

service or grant making.

Establishing a youth council begins with good solid training and helping young people to

understand “what philanthropy is” and how they can be philanthropists as individuals and have

impact as a dynamic youth philanthropy council. The educational component will help to establish a

base for youth members and should continue through their years of membership. There are several

key points that make for a comprehensive program:

Components for a Comprehensive Youth Philanthropy Program:

Philanthropy Education/Training

Leadership Development

Grantmaking or Annual Giving of Funds for Community Needs

Development of Youth & Adult Partnerships

Community Service

Civic Engagement

Encouragement of Personal Giving

Fundraising Events and Activities

____________________________________________________________

Effective and Efficient YP Programs When a Youth Philanthropy (YP) program is initially established, there are some key governance

points as well as practical administrative items that should be considered. Some YP programs

prefer to build the program in two stages with a focus on philanthropic education, training and

planning in the first year and then move into the grantmaking stage during the second year. Several

seasoned programs have suggested taking three to six months prior to actually launching the

program and identify a core group of youth to serve as an advisory planning committee.

Many of the state’s YP programs stress that serving on a YP Council is a “privilege”, and therefore

certain expectations are placed on the youth participants. Each YP Council will vary in the number

of officers and committees they will have, but it is important to have as many youth as possible

serving on committees and as officers in order to create full youth involvement. One other key point

is to have a consensus on when the group will meet and making it as easy as possible to coordinate

with their schedules.

We have gathered the following information from some of the long-standing and most successful

Indiana programs to assist with the initial planning stages of a new YP Program. Topics for a new

or emerging YP Program to consider:

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Organizational Structure

- Name of Program

- Status (financial & administrative connection to community foundation/non-profit organization)

- Mailing Address

- Fiscal Year

- Mission Statement/Vision

- By-laws

- Adult Leader and Supporting Mentors

- Philanthropic Education Plan for Youth

Membership - General

- Schools/School Districts Involved

- Age Range of Youth

- Number of Youth Members

- Recruitment Process (nomination and/or application form)

- Selection Criteria

- Notification Letter to Youth and Parents

- Annual Orientation

- Attendance Requirements

- Code of Conduct

- Participation in Youth Philanthropy Conferences

- Waiver Forms (liability, medical, photo/media releases)

Youth Member Responsibilities

- Sign Member Commitment Form

- Attend New Member Orientation

- Aware of Duties for Officers/Committee Positions

- Volunteer for Service Projects

- Make a Personal Donation to YP program

- Understand the Role of Community Foundation

- Prepare to Give Committee Reports

Meetings

- Establish Number of Meetings (consistency is important)

- Decide When to Meet (after school or weekends)

- Notice of Meetings

- Quorum

- Voting

- Meeting Agendas

- Youth Understand How To Conduct Meeting

- Parliamentary Procedure is Discussed

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Governance

- Election of Officers (see examples)

- Terms of Office

- Eligibility & Job Descriptions

- Vacancies

- Executive Board

- Standing Committees & Responsibilities (see examples)

- Conducts Annual Self-assessment of Program

Slate of Officers (Ex. 1) Slate of Officers (Ex.2)

President Co-Chair

Vice President Co-Chair

Secretary Secretary

Treasurer Publicity Officer

Public Relations Officer

Examples of Standing Committees - Chairperson is selected and responsible for giving reports.

Governance Committee

- Responsible for Proposing Amendments to By-laws

- Responsible for Leadership Training

- Responsible for Developing Tools for Self-assessment

Grants Committee

- Responsible for Drafting Grant Application, Policies & Procedures

- Grantee Site Visits

Fundraising/Asset Development Committee

- Responsible for Exploring & Researching Potential Fundraising Events

- Bring Ideas to Council for Consensus

- Responsible for Overseeing Fundraising Events.

Service Projects Committee

- Explore Potential Service Projects in Community

- Present Service Project Ideas at Council Meeting for Consensus

- Responsible for Overseeing Service Projects

Executive Committee

- Comprised of Officers and Chairpersons of Committees

- Meet as Needed

- Responsible for Leading Annual Evaluation

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Grantmaking Process

- Training/Philanthropic Education

- Understanding Community’s Needs

- Will There be Pro-Active Grants?

- Establish Areas of Funding

- Establish Number of Grant Cycles

- Funding Limits

- Develop Grant Application and Process

- How to Get the Word Out About Application Process

- Develop Approval/Denial Letters

- Grantee Site Visits

- Process for Reviewing Grant Applications

- Decision-making Process/Understanding Consensus Decision-Making

- Confidentiality

-Conflict of Interest Situation

- Guidelines for Grant Reports

Finance

- Determine Funding For YP Program

- Establish Annual Operating Budget

- Fundraising Events For Additional Revenue

- Possible Establishment of a YP Endowment

- Youth Meet with Potential Donors

Communication

- External Media Release to Promote YP Program work

- Establish a Website, Facebook Page and Twitter Account

- Establish Internal Means of Member Communication

Youth/Adult Partnerships

- Youth Interact with Community Foundation Staff & Board

- Youth Interact with Staff from Community Non-profit Organizations

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Helpful Resources/Website/Templates

Resources (see attachments) 40 Developmental Assets & Youth Philanthropy

I.U. Lilly Family School of Philanthropy Research – Summary of Key Findings

Criteria for Effective Service

Planning a Service Project

Websites to explore for creative ideas:

www.ypin.org

www.learningtogive.org

www.learningtogive.org/youthworkers/

www.generationon.org

www.globalgamechangers.org

www.randomactsofkindness.org

www.dosomething.org

www.gysd.org

www.souperbowl.org

If you have questions related to your local situation or would like to request one of the following

template documents, please contact Jill Gordon, YPII Program Director. 317.630.5200 Ext. 116,

jgordon@indianagrantmakers.org.

Helpful Templates

By-laws

Member Application Form

Congratulation Letter to New Member Parents

Member Commitment Form

Waiver Release of Liability

Medical Waiver

Photo/Media release

Notice of Grant Program

Grant Presentation to Committee Process

Tips for a successful meeting

Conflict of Interest Form

Annual Program Evaluation

Annual Member evaluation

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Special Thanks

To the following Community Foundation YP Programs for their assistance and sharing of their

ideas and documents in developing this Guide:

Youth Philanthropy Council -- Harrison County Community Foundation

YPII - Johnson County -- Johnson County Community Foundation

Power of Youth - Perry County Community Foundation

Youth Philanthropy Committee - Putnam County Community Foundation

Scott County Youth Grantmaking Council – Scott County Community Foundation

South Madison Youth Commission – South Madison Community Foundation

Forever Improving Steuben County (FIST) - Steuben County Community Foundation

Washington County Youth Foundation - Washington County Community Foundation

Youth Philanthropy Initiative of Indiana: October 2013

Youth Philanthropy in Indiana: Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy Research

Summary of Key Findings

In 2013, the Youth Philanthropy Initiative of Indiana (YPII) and the Indiana University Lilly Family School

of Philanthropy at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis partnered together on a research study

conducting focus group interviews with student participants and adult mentors in six Community Foundation

youth councils around the state. These particular Community Foundations were selected to participate

because they represent diverse regions of Indiana, have strong programmatic elements and successful models

of youth philanthropy in action. The purpose of the study was to gain in-depth information about how high

school students in Indiana learn and practice philanthropy outside the classroom, as well as the long-term

effects of the youth councils.

Participating Youth Councils

Hands helping Hendricks (H3O) – Hendricks County Community Foundation

Kosciusko Endowment Youth Service (KEYS) – Kosciusko County Community Foundation

Youth Philanthropy Committee – Putnam County Community Foundation

Scott County Youth Grantmaking Council – Scott County Community Foundation

Forever Improving Steuben County (FIST) – Steuben County Community Foundation

Washington County Youth Foundation – Washington County Community Foundation

Methodology

Evaluation aimed to learn about the understanding, attitudes, and behaviors of philanthropy

engagement among Indiana high school students outside of the classroom.

Six community foundation youth councils with participants ages 11 to 18 were selected as case

studies with the criteria as follows: (a) the council was to be active in the past year; (b) the council’s

geographical location was considered with two councils selected from Northern, Central, and

Southern Indiana; (c) the council was to be available for an interview between June and July 2013.

Phone group interviews were conducted with majority of councils and in-person group interviews

were conducted with two of the councils in Central Indiana.

Focus group interviews were facilitated by a trained interviewer and observations were recorded and

reported immediately following the group interview. Qualitative content analysis was performed to

compare focus group interview question responses. During this process, themes, ideas, and specific

words and phrases commonly used by the participants were identified.

YPII staff also provided data collected through online surveys as background information about the

youth councils.

Understanding the Word “Philanthropy”

Results indicated that high school students have developed clear definitions about philanthropy.

They viewed philanthropy from the perspective of value, intention, and behavior.

Some respondents defined philanthropy as “a way of life,” “involvement,” or “selflessness-

volunteering without expecting anything in return.”

Many students stressed the significance of giving without the expectation of receiving rewards.

Philanthropy was often described as “the giving of your time, treasure, and/or talent to benefit your

community.”

Important finding, the understanding of philanthropy is not necessarily associated with youth

engagement. Some youth have been involved in philanthropic activities before they truly understood

the meaning of philanthropy. For example, a student said, “I was philanthropic before knowing what

it was.”

Youth Philanthropy Initiative of Indiana: October 2013

Youth Philanthropy in Indiana: Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy Research

Initiating Philanthropy

Several factors played important roles in leading youth to philanthropy, including parents, peers,

churches, schools, and nonprofits.

In most instances, parents, and very often grandparents, taught philanthropic values and acted as role

models for youth participation.

Peer education was also found to be influential on the participants’ engagement in philanthropy.

Many respondents said they participated in youth councils because of their siblings’ participation.

Practicing Youth Philanthropy

Members of the youth councils were engaged in a variety of philanthropic activities, including

raising funds and granting money, collecting material donations, and volunteering.

Fundraising was one key component of the work in which council members were involved.

Grantmaking was another core element/responsibility of the youth council members.

Personal Benefits of Philanthropy Participation

Benefits included personal growth and leadership development, building friendships and social

networks, and increasing nonprofit management knowledge and skills.

Youth learned about morals and values through serving their communities.

Communication skills were improved, therefore increasing their self-confidence and self-esteem.

Some students specifically learned how to target speeches to special audiences.

Youth council members also improved their sense of commitment and belonging to a community

when they had an opportunity to learn more about philanthropy and their community’s needs.

They learned how to be team members in a group working to accomplish a shared goal.

They recognized they were only small components of a bigger project.

Continuing Engagement in Philanthropy

Three elements contributed to continued engagement: strong sense of commitment to philanthropy

and community, sense of achievement and youth empowerment.

Some students conceded they were initially involved in philanthropic activities in order to improve

their resumes and to enhance their college applications, although many of these students indicated

that they are now more interested in how their participation can assist others.

Some respondents reported that they might be interested in a future nonprofit career.

Promoting Philanthropy

Philanthropy promotion included two aspects: acquiring and disseminating information about

philanthropic activities.

Social media has been used as a primary way to promote the councils’ philanthropic projects.

Youth councils have created pages on Facebook and Twitter, and promoted their events and the

results/achievements of those events on YouTube.

Providing quality and meaningful community events was often the best way for the youth to

communicate about their work.

Youth Philanthropy Initiative of Indiana: October 2013

Youth Philanthropy in Indiana: Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy Research

Membership Maintenance

Community foundations have established rules to recruit and retain youth council members, which

might contribute to the commitment and performance of participants.

Some foundations require students to submit an application that includes the following: a description

of their philanthropic values, previous experiences with philanthropic activities and an explicit

commitment to the foundation. They also require students to participate in an interview process and

demonstrate a personal commitment to charitable giving.

Often youth council members have to adhere to an attendance policy in order to maintain their

memberships.

Conclusions

1. Philanthropy can be effectively taught to and learned by youth. Through their youth council

service and other philanthropic activities, these youth learned to clearly define philanthropy and

effectively manage relevant projects in their schools and communities. It is important to point out

that many of these initiatives were youth-designed and youth-led with only adult supervision. These

achievements demonstrate that philanthropy can be “a way of life” for youth, not merely just for

adults.

2. Philanthropy both facilitates and fosters youth development. Most youth council members

reported that they benefited greatly from being engaged in philanthropy. Benefits gained included the

development of knowledge, life skills, and confidence; the feeling of community; improved

collaboration skills; increased social network-building; and even career preparation. Their efforts

yielded both self-satisfaction and respect from others.

3. Youth can and should play an important role in the philanthropy landscape. Youth participating

in this research study reported mobilizing a substantial amount of resources to help people in need

via fundraising, grantmaking, collecting donations, and volunteering. Their work with other young

people proved to be very valuable, and, perhaps more effective, at times, when compared to adults

efforts. The participants’ engagement at these young ages might also better prepare them for a future

career or volunteer role in the nonprofit sector.

4. Continued philanthropic engagement requires well-managed programs. The incentives for

individual participants including the sense of achievement, pride, and personal development,

although very important, are not substantial to engage youth for the long term. Well-managed

programs were key in retaining youth because they developed clear participation guidelines, provided

appropriate supervision, delivered timely responses, and left space for youth to learn and make

decisions.

Citation:

Indiana University. (2013). An evaluation of generationOn Schools and youth philanthropy in Indiana.

Indianapolis, IN: Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

Criteria for Effective Service

Service opportunities provide valuable experiences for youth to learn and make a difference in

their communities. Effective service should include the following:

1. Young people are involved in the planning and decision-making.

2. The service project meets a community need.

3. Preparation and orientation takes place for each participant.

4. Service is voluntary with the young person making the decision to get involved.

5. The gifts of the individual fit the service project rather than it being mandatory participation.

6. Service includes hands-on involvement and action rather than just observation.

7. Service is performed in a group with peers.

8. The service work gives young people a sense of accomplishment, hope and challenge.

9. The service work builds positive relationships with others and includes ways for the

youth and others to get to know each other.

10. The service project is clearly related to a broader vision of community.

11. Projects which are visible to the community and long lasting instill a sense of pride for the

youth as well as others.

12. The youth’s family is aware of the service project and involved if appropriate.

13. Opportunities for service are ongoing and consistent --- not just a “one time fix.”

14. There is an option for follow-up.

15. A process is used which includes time for personal reflection on the service performed.

PLANNING A SUCCESSFUL SERVICE PROJECT

BRAINSTORMING

What are the concerns of your group and

who/what do they want to help? What need in the community do they think/feel

is important?

Investigate Those Needs!

What agencies or facilities (places) work with the people

you want to help or address the needs you want to improve?

What kind of work could we do to help? What talents do we have to give?

VOLUNTEERS

BUDGET - What supplies do we need?

EVALUATION Don’t forget to measure your outcomes!

What went right – what went wrong!

THEN CELEBRATE – RECOGNITION