Divvying up $15,000 last year, members of the Youth GrantMakers program hailing from Grand Traverse County boosted a range of endeavors geared to their peers.
Investigating grant-seeking organizations, deliberating and presenting recommendations to the board of the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation, 39 students from Traverse City Central and West, St. Francis and Kingsley high schools gave money to programs including the Blair Community Playground Project, Host Homes for Homeless Youth, Pete's Place at the Goodwill Inn and Backpacks for Kids. Students could vote to fund a grant request wholly or in part.
Bestowing funds in seven grants ranging from $1,000-$4,000 each, these students enjoyed the chance to help others their own age.
"The grants were all based on being able to help out youth in the area and if the funds are going directly to them,” said Molly Valleau, a senior at West High School participating in the program for the first time. "Probably the first $10,000 were really easy but then the last $5,000 was a lot of bickering.”
Along the way, the participants gained a greater understanding of their community, its needs and the programs serving those needs.
"I had no idea about these programs until I was evaluating them,” said Kristin Schroeder, a senior at West High School who partially completed the Youth GrantMakers program two years ago. "They gave us papers and information about each of the places.”
Student grant-making groups comprised of high schoolers from Antrim, Benzie, Kalkaska and Leelanau counties each also divided up $15,000 among programs in their jurisdictions, thanks to the ongoing initiative of the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation. The $75,000 total granted this year represents the largest total yet.
The Youth GrantMakers program began 15 years ago — the same year the foundation was launched — and students tap a $2 million Youth Services Endowment Fund seeded by the Kellogg Foundation. Since 1992, the program has infused more than $1 million into area organizations serving youth.
"This is one of the programs here that we feel is a hallmark to use philanthropy as a way to build community,” said Jeanne Snow, executive director of the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation.
In the fall, the five-step Youth GrantMakers program kicked off with a three-hour training session. Students from each county then research the organizations or programs requesting a grant in their area, preparing reports for a three-hour meeting to choose the recipients. Each county team next presents their recommendations to the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation's board and this year's meeting was held on January 13.
"Our board just looks forward to the meeting where they recommend their grants as one of their favorites of the year,” Snow said.
Before winding up the year-long program, the final step for the Youth GrantMakers is to visit past grant sites and see how the money has been put into action.
"This is important because it really kind of puts that nice bow on the end of the process,” said Katherine Marciniak-DeGood, director of Education and Development Programs for the foundation. "It's usually something interactive, not just the person saying, 'Thank you, thank you,' over and over but showing how the money was used — the grant in action.”
The Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation board recognizes students who complete all five steps of the Youth GrantMakers program at a general meeting in June, where they receive a certificate for their efforts.
As this academic year's cycle winds down, Marciniak-DeGood will visit area schools to promote the program and recruit participants. Enrollment in the Youth GrantMakers program has been on the rise, this year increasing by about 10-20 students to 106 involved after the three-hour training in the fall.
"We start with a very large pool of interested students, then after the training there are fewer,” she noted.
For more information on the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation or the Youth GrantMakers program, call 935-4066 or see their Web site at www.gtrcf.org.