Anticipatory Set:
Write Y.A.C. on the chalkboard. Tell the students that this is not a large hairy ox that lives in Asia (yak). Y.A.C. is an acronym for Youth Advisory Committee, which is a group of students that are making decisions about money spent for youth in the community. Organizations or individuals may apply to this group for money for charitable projects. The Youth Advisory Committee is made up of young people who read all the grant proposals and decide which ones are best. Then, they make recommendations to the community foundation who grants the money. Someday your students may have the opportunity to serve on this committee in their community. Tell the students that they may ask this group for money for a project today. If they are interested in doing this, they will need to think of a project that helps youth in the community.

Day One:

• Give students time to browse the Internet to read about Youth in Philanthropy. The following Website has a lot of information and several links that are very informative:

http://www.minnesotagiving.org/resources/youth.htm. Also, the Learning to Give Website has some interesting information in the Resource Room. Look under the following headings: “Student Services,” “Youth Grant Making,” “Service and Experiential Learning” and “Children’s Projects,” www.learningtogive.org

 

• Show the students how to find the name of a locally based foundation. On the Internet, go to The Foundation Center Website at http://foundationcenter.org/. Click on the header “Community Foundations.” To find the name of a community foundation near you, find your state and check the list for your community or the name of a nearby community. Use this link to access the Website of the nearest community foundation. Alternatively, select “Search Zone” from the side bar. Uncheck all the boxes except “Community Foundations” and type in the name of your community foundation. There will be many links to specific references to the local community foundation.
  
   

• Distribute Attachment One: Foundation Research. Students complete the worksheet as they explore the Website of the local foundation. If there isn’t specific information about Y.A.C.s, contact the foundation to ask about it.

Day Two:

• The goal today is to choose a youth-centered project for which the students will write a grant proposal and start planning the project.
  
   

• Brainstorm a list of project ideas. Encourage the students to think of areas where they are experts from previous units of study. Challenge them to think of needs of young people in their school or larger community. Are the students experts in bike safety, a sport, writing, art, music or problem solving? Could they set up a class, camp or club where they share knowledge? Could they work as a team with a specific focus? Does the project align with the information gathered about projects that are funded by the community foundation researched?
  
   

• When they have brainstormed a significant list, guide the students in selecting one project.
  
   

• Students can work in teams to plan and prepare for different aspects of the grant proposal. Divide the class into teams and assign the teams questions or jobs. The students should help develop the list of steps required, but some suggestions are listed below. The teacher should act as a facilitator in the process, keeping the students focused and providing resources.
  
   

• Assign some of the following questions to groups: What is the goal of the project? What supplies do you need money for? How much do they cost? What are the steps involved in the project? How many people can we serve?
  
   

• Assign the following jobs to groups: Contact the Y.A.C. to get requirements, suggestions and timelines. Create a budget with exact costs. Get an application for the grant. Write the grant proposal. Edit the final proposal. Take pictures.
   

• Follow the individual guidelines for the grant proposal the students submit and use the writing process and appropriate writing mechanics. Help the students look at their work objectively and analyze models of other grants so they can improve variables to influence their audience.
  
   

• Submit the finished proposal.

Teacher Note: The teacher could ask a member of the foundation to which the grant proposal was submitted to come to the speak to the class to critique the grant application and explain why it was funded or why it was not funded.

• Youth Grantmakers. http://www.youthgrantmakers.org/YACSearch.aspx
  
  

• The Foundation Center, Finding funders. <http://fdncenter.org/funders/grantmaker/> November 17, 2003
  
  

• Learning to Give, Resource Room. www.learningtogive.org November 17, 2003
  
  

• Minnesota Giving, Youth in Philanthropy. http://www.minnesotagiving.org/resources/youth.htm> November 17, 2003
  
  

• Youth Grant Makers (Read the article about lessons learned.) www.youthgrantmakers.org. November 17, 2003