Learning to Give
The Council of Michigan Foundations has developed a comprehensive set of curriculum lessons, units and materials for teaching philanthropy from kindergarten through high school. 

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YOUTH VOLUNTEERING & COMMUNITY SERVICE

Youth are some of our country's most powerful and effective volunteers, serving our communities in varied and helpful ways. Volunteering is a great way for a young person to develop new skills and meet new people (see the Top Ten Reasons for Youth to Volunteer).

Many of the volunteer opportunities that you'll find through the Toolkit's list of volunteer resources are appropriate for young people. Here are some other helpful resources for youth volunteering and community service:

Americorps
AmeriCorps, the domestic Peace Corps, engages more than 40,000 young Americans in intensive, results-driven service each year. Most AmeriCorps members are selected by and serve with projects for local and national nonprofit organizations. Others serve in AmeriCorps*VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) and AmeriCorps*NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps). Most programs have a minimum eligibility age of 17 or 18, and some have a maximum age of 24. At the AmeriCorps website, you can search for opportunities in Minnesota and around the country.

Do Something
Do Something provides information to help and inspire young people around the country to make a difference in their communities and take action to change the world around them.

National Youth Leadership Council
NYLC works to build vital, just communities with young people through service-learning. The organization offers many useful trainings, publications and other resources to help young people become leaders in their communities.

Youth on Board
Youth on Board provides resources to build mutually respectful relationships between young people and adults and prepare young people to be leaders and decision-makers. One of the ways Youth on Board achieves its goals is by helping nonprofits bring youth on their boards in an effective and positive way.

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YOUTH AS FUNDERS

A new form of youth philanthropy is springing up around the country: Youth Advisory Committees (YACs). YACs typically work like this: a community foundation donates some dollars to establish a youth-focused fund at the foundation (other donors might also contribute to the fund, including private foundations and corporate givers). Then the community foundation appoints a group of youth advisors to help decide how money from the fund will be distributed to meet specific needs in their community — YACs are often focused on addressing youth-related issues and concerns. The youth advisors research potential recipients of the funds and make giving recommendations to the community foundation's board. Sometimes the youth advisors are also involved in raising money for the fund.

Case Study: KIDS PLUS Youth in Philanthropy Board
In Minnesota, a good example of a Youth Advisory Committee is the KIDS PLUS: Youth In Philanthropy Board at the Northland Foundation in Duluth. The board, which is comprised of 15 young people from several northeastern Minnesota communities and adult mentors, meets quarterly to review youth-developed grant proposals and make funding recommendations. 

• Lessons Learned — Read about lessons learned from the KIDS PLUS: Youth In Philanthropy Board in an article from the Minnesota Council on Foundations' "Giving Forum" newspaper.
     
• More Information — Learn more about the youth board at the Northland Foundation's website.

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YOUTH PHILANTHROPY PUBLICATIONS

The Minnesota Council on Foundations offers several useful publications on youth philanthropy for sale. For details, see Giving Resources.