Unleashing Youth Potential: Understanding and Growing Youth Participation in Philanthropy and Volunteerism

This paper attempts to situate youth in philanthropy in the context of the organizational culture and practices of Canadian community foundations. It will explore the challenges and opportunities presented by engaging young people in community foundations, based on the development of Vancouver Foundation’s Youth in Philanthropy program in British Columbia, and its dissemination elsewhere in Canada. Youth in Philanthropy is a province-wide program established by Vancouver Foundation in late 1997 designed to involve young people in their communities and in philanthropy through involvement with local community foundations.