What Is a Youth Advisory Committee?
How does an individual use personal interests and strengths to impact the common good?
Photo Credit: Rotorua Youth Advisory Committee by nzanationalparty is licensed under CC by 2.0
Many community foundations have a youth advisory council, or YAC, that is responsible for granting funds in the interests of youth in their community. This unit begins with defining philanthropy and looking for examples in literature. Then, the group invites a youth from a local YAC to speak to them about YAC member duties and the grant process. They determine what issue in their community they want to address with philanthropy and write a grant proposal to the local YAC. If they receive funding, they complete the project and reflect on and evaluate the process.
Read and compare a variety of literature to explore motivations and impact of young people taking action and helping others. We recognize that we all have time, treasures and/or talents to share.
The group reviews the list of issues and ways to take action, including those gathered with their families. They narrow the list through consensus. They invite a local Community Foundation Youth Advisory Committee member to talk about their work and grant process.
A youth from a Community Foundation Youth Advisory Committee speaks to the group about the program, their duties, and the process of applying for a grant to do service work.
Together, the participants write a grant proposal to request funds to complete an identified service project.
Using provided evaluation or reflection forms, share details about the service and its impact. A demonstration to an interested audience is a great way to show details of the need and service and celebrate relationships and impact.