2021 DCF Youth Philanthropy Boards Grant $50,000 Statewide
High school students study community issues and award grants to critical nonprofits
High school students participating in the Youth Philanthropy Boards (YPB) of the Delaware Community Foundation (DCF) have awarded $50,000 to 15 nonprofit organizations throughout the state.
The DCF sponsors a YPB in each county, to encourage high school students to become more 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.
Chloe Nield, a senior at Brandywine High School, noted the impact the YPB has had on her.
“Being on the board has been an influential component of my high school experience and one of the most impactful experiences of my life,” Nield said. “I will continue searching for opportunities to have philanthropic influence and will take what I have learned through this experience with me into my future.”
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.
This year’s YPB grants were awarded to:
KENT COUNTY
Focus Area: Nonprofits that provide mental health and/or domestic violence services, with a preference for organizations that service the elderly, the homeless and/or the uninsured.
- Compassionate Hearts – $5,000 for equine therapy sessions not covered by insurance
- Mental Health Association in Delaware – $2,000 to fund suicide prevention trainings and education
- Survivors of Abuse in Recovery – $3,000 to fund a part-time practice manager
- YWCA – $5,000 to fund the Sexual Assault Response Center
NEW CASTLE COUNTY
Focus Area: Nonprofits that are advancing racial equity by building opportunity for all with special consideration for organizations providing arts, education, athletics and extracurricular activities.
- Delaware Contemporary – $2,500 to support of Building a Creative Future afterschool program
- Fresh Start Scholarship Foundation – $2,500 for the 2021-2022 program to support scholarships
- Latin American Community Center – $2,500 to support culinary components of the Youth Achievement Center enrichment activities
- Leading Youth Through Empowerment – $2,500 to pay for 25 background checks
- Nativity Preparatory School – $2,500 for general operating support
- One Village Alliance – $2,500 to support the Freedom Fellows mentoring program in New Castle County
- Reading Assist Institute – $2,500 to recruit, train and embed new Reading Assist Fellows
- Teen Warehouse – $2,500 to help fund Level Up programming for up to 20 students
SUSSEX COUNTY
Focus Area: Nonprofits that focus on addressing the social determinants of health, including but not limited to mental health, substance abuse, domestic abuse, homelessness and food insecurity. Preference given to organizations that support low-income families.
- Children & Families First – $3,000 to fund the Casey Community of Hope in Seaford
- Laurel Community Foundation – $3,000 to fund House of Hope I & II short-term transitional housing apartments
- One Village Alliance – $3,000 to support the Freedom Fellows mentoring program in Sussex County
- Philadelphia Arms Townhomes – $4,000 for the Ellendale homeless shelter Morgan’s Place
- Survivors of Abuse in Recovery – $2,000 to fund a part-time practice manager