Donate Online   Pledge card (PDF)   Youth & Philanthropy Flexible Fund AmeriCorps COMPASS II       Mission   To empower youth as leaders who will make a difference in their community today and be important leaders in the future.   Program Overview   The Youth and Philanthropy Program is designed to introduce high school students to the importance of leadership, service, philanthropy, and the nonprofit sector.   History   In 2000, The Park Foundation provided the initial funding for United Way of Tompkins County's first Youth and Philanthropy initiative. Six years later, four hundred and thirty-one students from every school district in the T-S-T BOCES District have participated in one of United Way of Tompkins County's Youth and Philanthropy Programs. Since its inception, $587,369 in grant requests have been reviewed by all YAP programs. In that time, over 40 nonprofit agencies have been recipients of 74 grants totaling $137,500.   Project Components   Youth and Philanthropy/High School Youth and Philanthropy is a leadership initiative designed to develop skills in the areas of problem-solving, community assessment, financial management, program evaluation, fund distribution, team building and communications. The aim of the program is to help youth to think about philanthropy as an important part of their lives today and in the future. High School Students from all school districts in the BOCES system have been invited to participate in the Youth and Philanthropy program.   Youth and Philanthropy/Focus On Community and Understanding Service (FOCUS) United Way, in partnership with Cornell Cooperative Extension has created a six-week philanthropy program for middle schoolers. Students will be introduced to leadership development activities, talk about community needs and assets as well as learn a bit about documentary photography. For their final project, students will have $3000 to allocate in one time grants to nonprofit organizations serving residents in their town.   Postsecondary School Level Programs UWTC partners with Cornell University School of Human Ecology to support the course, Leadership in the Nonprofit Environment, that focuses on exploring the challenges and opportunities of the nonprofit sector. Students learn about charitable giving, consider actual grant applications from local community nonprofits, and make decisions to award $10,000 from The Sunshine Lady Foundation in grant aid. United Way of Tompkins County served as the administrator for the grant applications and successfully incorporated the funding process into UWTC’s Community Impact Online Data Manager (CI ODM) application system.   A partnership with Ithaca College, entitled Stone Soup, provides college students with a structure for collective campus-wide philanthropic efforts. Several planning meetings have taken place resulting in the completion of the implementation plan. United Way staff supports this program with training and grant administration and plans to manage the application process through the Community Impact On-line Data Management Computer Program.   PowerPoint file (requires a PowerPoint player to view, 2.4 MB)  Download the Youth & Philanthropy Nomination Form (doc)