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Hancock, Michigan—The Youth Advisory Council (YAC) of the Keweenaw Community Foundation (KCF) is now accepting applications for its spring granting cycle. $15,100 is available from the Kellogg Youth Fund for local organizations benefiting youth in grades 6-12. To be considered, grant applications must be submitted to the KCF office no later than 12 P.M. on April 13th, 2016. Grant award recipients will be announced by April 28th, 2016.
Applications are available on KCF’s website at http://keweenawcommunityfoundation.org/grants-scholarships/field-interest-grants/. Applicants may request up to $3,000 per proposal, and only non-profit organizations that are tax-exempt, school districts, municipalities and other governmental units are eligible to apply. Projects should take place before May 31st, 2017 and must benefit youth in grades 6-12 in Houghton and Keweenaw Counties.
The projects should address at least one area of need highlighted by the Youth Needs Survey. Conducted in Fall 2014, the survey collected responses from students in grades 7-12 at local area schools. It found that depression, drug abuse, and harassment represented the greatest challenges to local youth. The survey also asked teens which youth programs would be beneficial to youth in the community. The majority of teens were interested in after-school activities, skill building classes, career development, leadership building, and health programs. The full survey results are posted on the KCF website: http://keweenawcommunityfoundation.org/who-we-are/youth-advisory-council/
“The Youth Advisory Council spends a lot of time reviewing the applications and listening to the applicants to ensure we make the proper decisions to impact as many youth in Houghton and Keweenaw County as possible,” said YAC co-president, Lindsay Sandell, a Houghton High School junior.
“It is very rewarding to see that decisions that a group of young people make can impact our peers in such a powerful way,” stated Ben Lilleskov, Houghton High School junior and YAC co-president, “and I feel like this is a very unique way that I can impact my community and the lives of many youth in our area.”
The Keweenaw Community Foundation’s YAC was developed and supported by the Michigan Community Foundations’ Youth Project to spread youth philanthropy in the state, an initiative that was launched by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the community foundation members of Council of Michigan Foundations. Today, there are over 1,500 young people serving on 86 youth grantmaking committees statewide. Endowment fund assets exceed $62 million and collectively give $1.5 million in grants per year. KCF’s YAC alone has granted over $134,000 in funds since its inception.
For more information on giving or grant opportunities, please visit the KCF website (www.keweenawgives.org) or email mail@k-c-f.org. To be placed on KCF’s request for proposals list, please email your contact information to mail@k-c-f.org. You will be notified when grants become available.
Through philanthropic services, strategic investments and community leadership, Keweenaw Community Foundation helps people support the causes they care about, now and for generations to come. For more information on Keweenaw Community Foundation and how to give, visit its website at www.keweenawgives.org.
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