We knew we could count on YOU(th)!

CAAP’s Teen Grantmaking Initiative (TGI) recently participated in a national online fundraising competition against 128 nonprofits that serve youth. Microsoft provided matching funds through their YouthSpark initiative, which is designed to empower young people through education, employment and entrepreneurship opportunities.

Thanks to community support and the match from Microsoft, TGI raised more than $70,000 that will go toward:

1. the teen’s grantmaking fund, which will support Detroit-area education and health nonprofits in 2013,
2. expanding the program to New York,
3. TGI’s participation at National Arab American Service Day,
4. creating a youth-led video documentary of the program,
5. and sending TGI to the Council of Michigan Foundation’s Summer Youth Leadership Conference, held every year for youth grantmaking groups from around Michigan.

Thank you to all our donors for supporting Arab American youth philanthropy! You can read more about the challenge and view a special TGI feature on Microsoft’s website.

TGI is giving up to $5,000 to organizations that provide education and health services for Detroit area youth

The Teen Grantmaking Initiative (TGI), a project of the Center for Arab American Philanthropy (CAAP), today announced its 2013 request for proposals from organizations that serve young people in metro Detroit. TGI will award grants of between $1,000 and $2,000 to nonprofits that address educational success or improved health outcomes for youth in the community.

• The 2013 request for proposals can be found online at www.centeraap.org.

This will be the second round of grant-making conducted by TGI, the only Arab American youth philanthropy program in the United States. Last year, the group awarded grants totaling $4,600 to 12 organizations. Some of the programs they funded target HIV and teen pregnancy prevention, develop life skills for teen mothers, and provide after-school tutoring and sports programs for low-income students.

“Last year we conducted a needs assessment among youth in the community,” said Rasha Khanafer, 16, TGI youth chair. “Based on the results of the needs assessment, we decided to focus our current grantmaking on supporting the academic success of youth and meeting the health needs of youth. We are excited about impacting the lives of youth in our community through these program areas.”

Launched by CAAP in 2011, TGI is a group of 20 high school students committed to making an impact in their communities through fund-raising, grant-making and community service.

“The group was formed to make a lasting impact on local youth by deepening their understanding of philanthropy and community service, and by nurturing the future generation of leaders making a difference in their community,” said Jamie Kim, TGI adult advisor.

“The youth have worked hard this past year learning about the issues impacting youth in their communities,” said Kim. “Through the process of grant-making, youth gain valuable skills in nonprofit program management, consensus building and grant review.”

Increasingly, the next generation’s leaders are making their mark on the world by proposing and implementing solutions to global environmental and social problems.

One great example includes the global YouthBank initiative, a network of 20 youth grantmaking committees. With its origins in Ireland (specifically the Community Foundation of Northern Ireland), YouthBank has since spread throughout Europe and into the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Operating as a model for youth to solve social problems, specifically in areas that have a history of intercultural conflict, YouthBank gives young people a chance to distribute funds to projects of their choice. In Palestine, YouthBank has been working with the Dalia Association on projects aimed to empower and invest in Palestinian youth.

In addition to community-based models of youth grantmaking, large-scale youth philanthropy summits are growing in number. We Day, an initiative of the nonprofit organization Free the Children, celebrates and encourages youth philanthropy every year through several conferences throughout Canada. This week, the Nexus Global Youth Summit on Innovative Philanthropy and Social Entrepreneurship will be held jointly in Beijing and London. Youth philanthropists from around the world will convene to discuss issues of development and social justice.

Led by youth for youth, enterprises such as YouthBank, Nexus, and We Day are challenging young people around the world to take center stage in solving the world’s problems through philanthropy. If you’d like to learn more about CAAP’s work with youth philanthropy, check out our Teen Grantmaking Initiative.

Photo and video courtesy St. Michael’s University School and Nexus Youth Summit

Throughout the summer we are bringing you a series of Middle Eastern destinations that allow you to practice a little philanthropy along the way. This month we are pleased to spotlight the “Reality Tours” hosted by Global Exchange, an international nonprofit dedicated to promoting social, environmental and economic justice, as well as a recent grantee of our Teen Grantmaking Initiative.

Global Exchange’s Reality Tours are meant to promote “experiential education” by exposing travelers to less-traveled destinations that have a history of injustice - and present possible solutions to that injustice. Reality Tours offer more than 100 delegations each year to more than 40 destinations that address contemporary political, economic, environmental, and cultural issues around the world.

A notable Reality Tour destination is Palestine, where visitors have the opportunity to volunteer with local farmers during the olive harvest from Oct 26-Nov 4. These Palestinian olive farms are Fair Trade Certified - which helps ensure that workers are paid fairly, the products are grown sustainably, and that farmers have access to international markets. This trip will underscore the benefits of supporting Palestinian Fair Trade products in the U.S. as a way to promote solidarity between internationals and Palestinian farming communities. Travelers will also take part in Oktoberfest in Taybeh, which features traditional Palestinian dance, music, and (of course) food!

The Center for Arab American Philanthropy encourages you to keep a philanthropic mindset wherever you go this summer! Check out the rest of our travel philanthropy series, and learn more about us by visiting our website.

Related articles

• Travel philanthropy series - Destination: Morocco (Philanthropy in AAction)

Photo courtesy Global Exchange

As anyone who has been involved in any aspect of the grantmaking cycle knows, reviewing grants is a very involved process. Now, members of the Center for Arab American Philanthropy’s Teen Grantmaking Initiative (TGI) are learning about this process firsthand. Members of the group began reviewing grant applications in February after having released their first request for proposals in January. The 20 teens received training from Center for Arab American Philanthropy (CAAP) staff on the elements that make up a successful grant proposal, including the importance of the proposal having clear, measurable goals and the potential for larger impact. Running through an example proposal helped members discuss what to look for as grant reviewers.

TGI received 24 proposals from Metro Detroit youth-serving organizations. Using a scoring sheet system, they split into groups of three and reviewed five-six proposals each. Afterward, the youth came together as a large group and presented to each other their opinions of the proposals they read. Members had great discussions and even debated a little, and by the end of the meeting, they narrowed the number of proposals down to 17 they would like to further review. TGI plans to make site visits to some of the organizations and will meet again in late March before making final decisions.

TGI is a group of 20 youth working to make a lasting difference in their community through grantmaking. Keep up with the young grantmaking mavericks on our website here.

Related articles

• Young grant-makers seek teens’ opinions (Philanthropy in AAction)

Planting Roots of Youth Philanthropy

This past Sunday, a group of 20 teens involved in ACCESS ACTS (Active Community Teen Service), a youth community service project sponsored by ACCESS, gathered to launch the Center for Arab American Philanthropy’s own Teen Grantmaking Initiative (TGI). Together, they formed TGI’s mission statement  “to make a difference in our community through grantmaking and community service.” The group also decided that they will raise money for the initiative to make their own contribution to the funds they will grant to nonprofit organizations.

Jamie Kim, a program consultant for the Center for Arab American Philanthropy (CAAP), taught the students about the importance of philanthropy, helping them understand that a philanthropist is anyone who gives their time, money and resources to help others. Kim stated,

You are all already philanthropists. Now, it’s up to you to decide what is important to you and use your power to change the world.

The teens also learned about the meaning of terms like “nonprofit organization,” “foundation,” and “endowment” to help them visualize how TGI fits into the greater philanthropic system.

The teens will meet once a month over the course of the school year. They will perform a needs assessment of youth in the community, which will help inform which issue areas they will choose as their focus. Once they have chosen their focus areas, they will ask nonprofit organizations in the community to submit grant proposals. The teens will then review these proposals and decide how they want to allocate their funds. 

The Center for Arab American Philanthropy’s Teen Grantmaking Initiative is a project of ACCESS.