Youth Advisory Council Program
The Community Foundation Youth Advisory Council (YAC) involves young people as youth leaders and grantmakers. YAC participants act as advisors to the Community Foundation Youth Endowment, annually reviewing grant applications and recommending grant awards.
Benefits of Our YAC Program
Our YAC Program offers students the chance to:
- Be decision makers for youth issues, needs, and opportunities.
- Build leadership skills.
- Earn community service hours.
- Learn about local philanthropy.
- Give back to our community.
Over the years, hundreds of area students have participated in our YAC program—meet some of our alumni!
How to Join YAC
- High school students (home school, private and public school students) in Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska and Leelanau Counties are all invited to participate!
- To apply for a spot on the Youth Advisory Council, please complete a New Member Application.
How to Continue with YAC
- If you are a continuing YAC member, please complete your Member Commitment Form prior to the upcoming YAC program year.
About the Youth Endowment
The Youth Endowment was one of the first endowments created at the Community Foundation and was established through a matching grant opportunity from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. This meant that for every $2 raised for our other endowments, $1 was then matched for the Youth Endowment. As a result, donor partners came together to contribute $4 million to launch the Community Foundation, with $2 million contributed toward the Youth Endowment.
To date, with the leadership of YAC students, our Youth Endowment has supported more than $2.3 million in grants for youth causes across our region.
Discover more about our Youth Endowment:
- Check out recent grant awards to nonprofit partners.
- Learn about the grant application process.
- Donate to the Youth Endowment to support youth causes across our region.
For more information please contact our Youth & Community Impact Coordinator, Torey Caviston at (231) 935-4066 ext. 111 or tcaviston@gtrcf.org.
