Sammie Holzwarth, of Foundant Technologies, writes about the youth philanthropy movement. Read a preview of the article here, and find the full text on PhilanthroFiles.

Interested in reading more on youth development? Visit this selection on Giving Compass.

At Foundant Technologies—provider of online grants management solutions for grantmakers and grantseekers—we have always been supporters of the youth philanthropy movement. We began as early sponsors and supporters of Youth Philanthropy Connect (YPC), a youth-led peer advisory network for young people involved in philanthropy. We attended their conferences and even joined them during their on-the-road events in 2015.

Mark Larimer, our VP of Marketing and Client Success, and I were amazed time and time again at how thoughtful and professional the participating youth, ages 8–21, were at making real granting decisions. It was on the road in 2015 that Mark and I discussed starting a youth philanthropy project in our hometown of Bozeman, MT. Right away I was excited to be involved and work hands-on with the young adults in our community, helping them learn about our community’s needs and the grantmaking process.

Now, in my second year of our Youth Giving Project, I have some tips for those of you who, like me, may have limited experience mentoring youth. Heck, most days I feel like I’m their age myself! These may seem like simple tips—because they are. A youth philanthropy project should be the product of the participants, not the adults advising them.

  1. You don’t have to go it alone. I have the pleasure of working with two wonderful ladies who make the work fun and manageable as we move 10+ students through a 6-month program.
  2. Your role is to mentor. The term mentor is important because we don’t hold any weight in the decision-making process; we are there as advisors.
  3. Make it fun whenever you can. We’ve found that it’s very important to create bonds through movement and fun.
  4. “Step up” to voice your opinion, even if it doesn’t come easily, and “step back” to allow others space to talk.

Read the source article at PhilanthroFiles