Despite the growing number of youth philanthropy programs in the United States, a 2002 survey found that “only 48 percent of adults believe it is important to seek young people’s opinions when making decisions that affect them.” As Katie Richards-Schuster, a professor at University of Michigan stated in 2012, “In general, American society, through its policies and practices, tends to focus on the construction of youth as vulnerable and at risk at best, and as problems at worst.” However, we know that through youth philanthropy programs where young people are given decision-making power as well as provided with mentorship, communities thrive.

On a clear spring Saturday in downtown Cleveland an intergenerational group gathered for Foundation Center Midwest’s Youth Philanthropy Summit. The Summit wrapped up its year-long 40^th anniversary celebration with a nod to the future – engaging the next generation of philanthropists, volunteers, and social sector leaders.

When using data in your youth grantmaking work and beyond, you will undoubtedly face challenges. We don’t want roadblocks to set you back, so let’s address some of the most common challenges to help you anticipate and overcome them.

Ah... the world of social media. Can't live with it, definitely can't live without it. In a world where supporters are on their phones on a near-constant basis, nonprofit groups need to stay current on social media trends to retain and gain support. Here are a few useful tips I learned along the way.

Few people would argue the good intentions of philanthropic programs that engage and empower young people as key decision-makers and change-makers…but good intentions don’t always add up to meaningful outcomes and long-term impact for society. How can we evaluate the outcomes and impact of our youth philanthropy programs?

In 2006, I joined the Junior Board of the Frieda C. Fox Foundation and began learning about what it meant to be a philanthropist. At the time, it was almost unheard of for young people to be engaged in this way, and I remember craving interactions with people my age doing similar work. There weren’t resources to connect with others, and it was very easy to feel alone and isolated in this field.

A group of young people sit around a table, each with their own unique lived experiences--from incarceration to homelessness to living undocumented--and each filled with immense passion to change the world, block by block, person by person. At this table, the idea for the Brooklyn Youth Voice Awards was born. The Brooklyn Youth Voice Awards is a youth-led grantmaking program created in 2016 by young people and sponsored by Brooklyn Community Foundation. The Brooklyn Youth Voice Awards sees young people as central players in supporting youth-centered projects.

Here at the Jewish Teen Funders Network, we recognize that young people have the capacity to be changemakers and have the energy to make this process active and alive! So, whether your group is creating its mission statement, or going through piles of paperwork, here are some easy ways to ensure that your sessions are teen-friendly and energized.

The first and most important step in starting a youth grantmaking program is to ask as many questions as possible. These should be questions within your community as well as about the broader youth giving movement.

Communication is a valuable and helpful tool in many aspects of life, and philanthropy is not an exception - communication is crucial and vital to the success of a program. Philanthropy requires communication between donors, foundations, and nonprofits. Feedback from those directly affected by funded projects helps grantmaking programs to grow and improve, and gives donors more information and data. Relationships often grow from these conversations, which then allow for even easier and more open communication. When donors remain consistent, these relationships can span decades. However, building relationships can be hard with youth programs, because most have specific age limits for participating youth, creating a constant cycle of new members. If members are only in a program for three or five years, how can we keep board members, donors, and grantees building longstanding relationships and feeling connected to a program? And how can members keep passing down knowledge to new members after they have left?