"YIP gets you involved in volunteering at an entirely different level. You learn skills that you retain for life. I think we've really opened the community's eyes to the power that youth can have."
Jason Wagar
YIP participant
Kingston (ON)
- What is Youth in Philanthropy (YIP)?
- Ok, but what do you mean by "philanthropy"?
- And what about "youth"?
- What is a community foundation?
- What is a YAC?
- What do YACs do?
- How does YIP help communities?
- How do young people get involved?
- Is YIP only in Canada?
- How can I find out more?
What is Youth in Philanthropy (YIP)?
YIP is a growing movement that engages young people in building philanthropy in communities across Canada by connecting them with community foundations and YACs.
Youth philanthropy in Canada is taking root and growing locally, but it is also being supported nationally by Community Foundations of Canada. Read more in the 2007 YIP Fact Sheet (PDF).
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Ok, but what do you mean by "philanthropy"?
The Oxford Dictionary defines it as "the desire to help others, especially through donation of money to good causes". The word philanthropy comes from the Greek philanthropia, which means man-loving, as in love for our fellow humans.
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And what about "youth"?
AskOxford.com gives a few definitions for youth. One is "the period between childhood and adult age", which is true, but even better is " the qualities of vigour, freshness… associated with being young". The young people in their teens and twenties taking part in Canadian youth philanthropy have lots of great qualities to contribute to their communities.
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What is a community foundation?
Community foundations are locally-run public foundations that build and manage endowment funds to support charitable activities in their area. There are over 155 across Canada, spread across all of the provinces and one territory. Together these foundations manage more than $2.7 billion in assets and in 2006 they contributed more than $137 million to local priorities.
Community foundations have a long track record in Canada, but they are getting younger and wiser by working with Canadian youth.
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What is a YAC?
A YAC is a youth advisory committee or council made up of young people from a diverse range of backgrounds who want to be actively involved in supporting their community.
Each YAC is part of its local community foundation, locally-run public foundations that build and manage endowment funds to support charitable activities in their area. Canada has more than 155 community foundations, and more than 50 YACs.
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What do YACs do?
With the support of an adult advisor, each YAC works to raise money, build endowment funds and make grants to youth projects in their local community. Because we are in the best position to understand the needs and concerns of other youth in our communities, it's a good fit for us to advise our local community foundation on its youth grantmaking.
In addition to our role as fund developers and grantmakers within our local community foundations, we also act as leaders in our local communities. Some of us sit on the boards of our community foundation or other local organizations, and have pumped up the volume for youth's voice in that way.
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How does YIP help communities?
In more ways than we can explain, but here are a few examples:
- the youth who take part in YIP develop leadership skills, learn a lot, and give even more back
- community foundations become stronger and more effective by involving young people in their activities
- the whole community benefits from innovative and well-resourced youth projects that support, connect, and build on the strengths of local young people
There are a lot of benefits to be seen now, but even more in the future as all of these investments start to "pay off".
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How do young people get involved?
In communities with youth advisory committees (YACs), young people hear about them through friends and family, local media, youth organizations, schools or the community foundation.
For community foundations that haven't yet started a YAC, interest from enthusiastic youth volunteers would certainly give them a reason to get started!
To find out if your community has a YAC, check out our YAC Finder for a full list of Canadian community foundations; those with YACs are clearly indicated. If the community foundation in your area doesn't have a YAC, you might want to talk with other young people in your community and then contact the foundation. For more on this, go to Starting a YAC.
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Is YIP only in Canada?
Youth philanthropy is local and global. A best guess has over 500 separate youth grantmaking bodies in the United States, more than half within community foundations. YIP programs have also been started in countries such as Australia, England, Ireland, Mexico and Poland, and there is growing interest in places such as Russia and Zimbabwe. This growing international network shares and learns from each other, as well as inspires and helps new YACs, close to home and around the globe.
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How can I find out more?
To get in touch with your local community foundation and YAC (if one already exists), visit the YAC Finder.
To find out more about the resources and support offered nationally by Community Foundations of Canada (CFC), contact Barbara McMillan, National Consultant on Youth in Philanthropy, tel. +1.604.986.3084.
To read more about youth philanthropy, check out the stories and resources on this website, especially the YIP Resources section.
To check out some great related websites, visit our Links page.
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