Please see the GRANTS section of the website for information on Youth Philanthropy Council grants.

Youth Philanthropy Councils
The Youth Philanthropy Council project is designed to bring youth on board in meaningful ways, to encourage them to give and serve in their communities and to make philanthropy a "habit of the heart" for future generations.

The history of the project goes back to 1997, when the Cinergy Foundation initiated their "links to leadership" program. A board of youth and adult representatives from Clark, Floyd, and Harrison counties was formed and received training from the Cinergy Foundation with a similar mission as the YPC. $10,000 was given for two years to fund mini-grants for youth initiated community service projects which addressed community needs, involved diverse people and organizations, and promoted positive youth development. Schools, churches and youth serving organizations were encouraged to apply for the mini-grants for community service projects. During this time, there were conversations about the Community Foundation of Southern Indiana taking over the program.

It was in August 2000 that Mr. Robert Lanum, Managing Director of the Paul W. Ogle Foundation sent a letter to Mr. John Hartstern Executive Director of the Community Foundation, stating, " I have been thinking of ways to promote giving among youth in our community. It appears that our area high school students who are our future, need to have some idea of what it is like to make a decision on grant making and management of endowed funds." Thus began the partnership between the Community Foundation of Southern Indiana with the Ogle Foundation and the process for a founding gift of $50,000 for a permanent endowment for a youth philanthropy council for each of the three southern Indiana counties.

Organization of the Youth Philanthropy Councils, designed to teach skills, to encourage youth to give and serve in their communities and to make philanthropy a "habit of the heart" for future generations, began in March of 2001. Jerry Finn was contracted to coordinate the project.

The project goals were:

To help young people understand and experience philanthropy.
To encourage and support meaningful youth-initiated service to the community.
To involve youth and adults in partnership in community philanthropy.
To train youth and adult leaders in the process and value of giving and serving.
To help young people develop the skills to evaluate projects worth of investment.
To help young people be good stewards of funds by acquiring evaluative skills.
To grow the endowment for the future.

Today, there is one Youth Philanthropy Council in each of the three counties the Community Foundation serves, Clark, Floyd and Harrison. The groups do community service projects and award grants, and hold a youth volunteer recognition event. If you'd like more information on the YPCs, contact Melissa Weissinger, program officer, at (812) 948-4662, (888) 388-2374 or mweissinger@cfsouthernindiana.com.