Youth Philanthropy Board awards grants

High school students participating in the Youth Philanthropy Boards of the Delaware Community Foundation have awarded $50,000 to 19 nonprofit organizations throughout the state.

The DCF sponsors a YPB in each county to encourage high school students to become involved in philanthropy. Each board of high school students is allotted a pool of money to give as charitable grants.

Since September, YPB members have been studying youth issues in their neighborhoods and schools, learning about philanthropy and effective grantmaking, soliciting grant proposals and conducting site visits to nonprofit organizations. Using that knowledge and experience, the students awarded grants to nonprofits they determined to be most deserving.

The DCF provides $15,000 to New Castle County YPB and $10,000 each to the Kent and Sussex YPBs. This year, each board had an additional $5,000 to award to nonprofit organizations thanks to the generosity of Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester, founder of the GLOW Fund, a donor-advised fund at the DCF.

Blunt Rochester, who visited and spoke with the YPBs in each county, said she trusted the students to make good decisions.

“I am so inspired when I see the passion these students bring to this project,” Blunt Rochester said. “By visiting the nonprofits around the state, they have learned firsthand how these grants are making a positive change. I am so proud of the decisions they made with the money from my fund honoring my late husband, Charles.”

Sussex County YPB chose nonprofit organizations that focus on mentoring at-risk youth in Sussex County, with a preference for programs supporting those affected by substance abuse, sex trafficking and/or mental health issues.

This year’s grants were awarded to Connecting Generations, $2,500; First State Community Action Agency, $3,000; FORGE Youth & Family Academy, $2,500; Laurel Public Library, $3,000; and Pathways to Success, $4,000.

Retired Delaware educator Phyllis Wynn established the Youth Philanthropy Fund in 1999 because she wanted to encourage youth to become more involved in philanthropic ventures. Students who serve on the YPB are nominated by their principal or guidance counselor.

“The Youth Philanthropy Board program does more than give kids the chance to make a difference,” said Stuart Comstock-Gay, DCF president and CEO. “It gets them out into the community to experience firsthand the impact their work has on people’s lives.”