From a road trip across the country to a greenhouse in a bus, the first two years of the Bozeman Youth Giving Project have been quite the journey!

In 2015, Foundant partnered with Youth Philanthropy Connect on their trip across the United States as they hosted gatherings of youth philanthropists. This trip opened our eyes to the potential for success a program like this could have in our own community in Bozeman, Montana.

However, we knew bringing this project home was not something we could (or should) do alone. So we jumped at the chance to collaborate with the Bozeman Area Community Foundation and a local youth center non-profit.

The first year of our program empowered 10 area students to disburse grants totaling $10,000 to projects affecting youth in the community. (Check out nationwide youth funding at the youthgiving.org funding map!) One of our most impactful grants in this first year was to the local HRDC Youth Transitional Home. This program supports youth ages 16-21 to get back on their feet and recover after being homeless. Unable to use traditional housing supports without the presence of their parent or guardian, it can be more difficult for these youth to recover from the circumstances that created their homeless situation in the first place. These grants will help support not only the home where these youths can find shelter, but also programs to help them build living skills, set goals they can work toward, recover from any trauma they’ve experienced, and more.

Read the source article at ncfp.org