|
Community Foundation Launches Seventh Annual $10,000
Community Spirit Youth Giving Challenge
Published: September 26, 2023
at 09:15 a.m.
By: Press Release from NNY Community Foundation
Community Foundation Launches Seventh Annual $10,000
Community Spirit Youth Giving Challenge
Tri-County Seventh and Eighth Graders Could Win One
of Ten $1,000 Grants to Support a Favorite Local Charity
WATERTOWN — The Northern New
York Community Foundation’s 2023-2024 Community Spirit Youth Giving
Challenge is now open to tri-county students. The challenge seeks to engage
seventh and eighth graders in learning about their communities while they
compete for an opportunity to award a $1,000 grant to a local nonprofit
organization of their choice.
This is the
seventh year of the program, which is made possible by donors to the
Community Foundation’s Friends of the Foundation Annual Community
Betterment Fund, corporate support from Community Bank and
a major gift from an individual donor. Last year, grant awards were doubled
to $1,000 with 10 winners selected, which means entries will be
competitively judged and should be well-written and articulate a compelling
case for support.
Students
presently enrolled in seventh and eighth grades in schools in Jefferson,
Lewis, or St. Lawrence counties are eligible to compete for a share of
$10,000 in total grant awards. Ten students will be selected to each
present a $1,000 grant to a charitable organization of their choice. The
initiative aims to have students explore their view of “community” and
select a local charity for a grant award that makes their community a great
place to live. To enter the competition, students must complete an
essay-based application in writing.
“This is a
meaningful opportunity for local students to more deeply explore the
meaning and importance of community while also providing direct support to
a charitable organization of their choice,” said Rande Richardson,
Community Foundation executive director. “As it continues to grow, we hope
to see the best participation to date representing a diverse range of
viewpoints. To do this, we need the help of parents, teachers, friends, and
others to make eligible students aware of the opportunity.”
In its first six
years, 112 students and an entire class from 19 different tri-county school
districts have been selected to present 109 grants totaling $60,000 to 82
different nonprofit organizations that serve tri-county residents.
Applications are
available online at nnycf.org/givingchallenge, at
local schools, or at the Northern New York Community Foundation, 131
Washington St., Watertown. Students selected to award grants in previous
years are not eligible to enter.
Entries must be
made online, postmarked, or hand-delivered to the Community Foundation no
later than Friday, Oct. 27, 2023. A grant review committee will
judge all entries and select 10 winning students to present grant awards. Eligible
recipient organizations must be a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization in
Jefferson, Lewis, or St. Lawrence counties.
An announcement
of winning submissions and grant awards will be made no later than early
January. A Community Foundation representative will then contact winning
students to schedule them to personally visit their chosen organization,
learn more about its work and mission, and present their grant award.
Contact the Community Foundation, 315-782-7110, or info@nnycf.org, to learn more about
the Community Spirit Youth Giving Challenge.
About the
Northern New York Community Foundation
Since 1929, the
Northern New York Community Foundation has invested in improving and
enriching the quality of life for all in communities across Jefferson,
Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties.
Through
partnerships with businesses and organizations, charitable foundations, and
generous families and individual donors, the Community Foundation
awards grants and scholarships from an endowment and collection of funds
that benefit the region. Its commitment to donors helps individuals achieve
their charitable objectives now and for generations to come by preserving
and honoring legacies of community philanthropy while inspiring others.
The Community
Foundation is a resource for local charitable organizations, donors,
professional advisors and nonprofit organizations.
It also works to bring people together at its permanent home in the
Northern New York Philanthropy Center to discuss challenges our communities
face and find creative solutions that strengthen the region and make it a
great place to live, work, and play.
|
