Grants Available from DCF’s Youth Philanthropy Boards
$35,000 available for Delaware nonprofits
Delaware nonprofit organizations are invited to apply for grants from the Delaware Community Foundation (DCF) Youth Philanthropy Boards (YPBs).
- The Kent County YPB will consider nonprofits that provide mental health and/or domestic violence services, with a preference for organizations that serve elderly, unhoused and/or uninsured community members.
- The New Castle County YPB will consider nonprofits that are advancing racial equity by building opportunity for all with special consideration for organizations providing arts, education, athletics and extracurricular activities.
- The Sussex County YPB will consider 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 will be given to organizations that support low-income families.
Grant requests must be submitted at delcf.org/grants by 5 p.m. on Jan. 1, 2021. Applicants will be notified in Spring 2021.
The DCF sponsors the YPBs to encourage younger generations to become more involved in philanthropy. Each board, composed of high school students from public, private and parochial schools, is allotted a pool of money to give as charitable grants. The students learn about philanthropy and effective grant-making, study youth issues in their neighborhoods and schools, solicit grant proposals, and award grants to those they determine to be most deserving.
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 gives students an opportunity to enjoy the pleasure and the challenges of charitable giving, including determining how to make the greatest impact on quality of life with the limited resources available,” said DCF President and CEO Stuart Comstock-Gay. “It’s an important program because we are cultivating the philanthropists of tomorrow.”
Photo: Kent County YPB members visiting 2019 & 2020 grant recipient the Green Beret Project