Foundations that work to foster leadership in communities know that there’s nothing more inspiring than working with area youth — the leaders of the future. The Community Foundation’s 15 Forever program engages civic-minded teen leaders in a grant-making program that directly impacts youth in Boulder County.
Talk about inspiration: Each year, these students come together to fund programs that improve the quality of life here, all before high school graduation. A request for proposals was released Feb. 2, 2015, and requests are due by 5 p.m. March 9, 2015. The teens will dole out $15,000 to non-profit groups that address the needs of low-income youth in Boulder County.
“Working with this diverse group of young people has been such an inspiration. Seeing the light bulbs come on and stay on — I couldn’t ask for a better gift,” says Stefan Reyes, grants administrator at The Community Foundation. “These kids really get the issues we’re trying to tackle and are able to make the tough decisions required to develop a funding focus.”
The program was established in 2006, the 15th anniversary of The Community Foundation Serving Boulder County. Grant proposals between $1,000 and $15,000 are welcome.
Sixteen-year-old Cammie Keel speaks to the heart of the program: It gives teens the tools and respect they need to be influential philanthropists in their own environment.
“This program means a lot to me because I am able to contribute to the community in a way that uses my strengths. I find the discussion, creativity, insight and analysis to be the most intriguing parts of our meetings at 15 Forever,” says Keel, who attends Fairview High School in Boulder. “I also think it is especially powerful that I, being a youth of Boulder, get to contribute to the decision about how to help my peers.”
For Laya Krishnan, a 15-year-old who also attends Fairview, the opportunity to directly address genuine needs in Boulder County is a major draw.
“ I really love how the 15 Forever Program is so youth-oriented. It allows us to have a voice in making decisions — specifically to direct money toward groups that address the achievement gap with relation to poverty — giving us the opportunity to handle and learn from all the different aspects that we must take into consideration during the entire process of grant making,” Krishnan says.
The teens say they learn from each other’s diverse backgrounds and unique experiences while working together in 15 Forever.
Alyssa Losino, a 17-year-old at Silver Creek High School in Longmont, said that diversity has given her a different perspective of the world around her. She also likes the youth-centered leadership focus.
Losino says it is a format where the teens — and not an adult facilitator — make real decisions. Learning about the struggles of other area youth has been enlightening, she said.
“I have learned a lot of things by being a part of the committee and it has really made me realize the different problems that are re-occurring — and how they affect our youths’ ability to be successful,” Losino says.
Reyes says there’s a lot to learn from this inspiring group.
“They know what’s at stake and have worked with each other to come to consensus better than many groups of adults. How encouraging to know they might be the next generation of Boulder County leaders,” Reyes says.
Training for applicants who are seeking funding from the youth group begins Feb. 11, 2015, here at The Community Foundation, 1123 Spruce St., Boulder.
