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Vol. 3, No. 1 January 2007

Arizona Youth Philanthropists Gather in Tucson

On Saturday morning, January 20th, 45 youth philanthropists representing seven groups from Prescott, Phoenix and Tucson gathered at Tortolita Middle School in Tucson for the first Youth Grantmakers of Arizona Summit.

(A list of Arizona youth philanthropy groups is provided at the AGF website.) AGF, Social Venture Partners AZ and Every Voice in Action (EVA) co-sponsored the event, with EVA staff handling most of the logistics. Lodestar Foundation provided additional funding.. The purpose of the event was to provide a forum for youth grantmakers to 1) get to know each other, 2) share grantmaking experiences and 3) generate ideas on how the youth can support and expand youth philanthropy efforts throughout the state.

The day began with some creative ice breaker exercises which quickly enabled a group of strangers to begin connecting via laughter and shared stories. This was followed by presentations by each of the 7 groups describing who they were and some details about their grantmaking program. One group had created a video to describe their program, several others used a skit and one even composed a song to describe their activities. All were enthusiastic about what their respective grantmaking activities.

Following the presentations, the youth divided into six small mixed groups, to learn more about each other and to discuss the question of what the youth could do to expand youth philanthropy efforts throughout the state. Each group was assigned a youth facilitator who had received special training for this event. The groups brainstormed a number of ideas and selected their top two. Once each group had reported out and similar ideas combined, the youth were invited to "vote with their feet" by standing in front of the one idea they felt had the most promise.

Four teams formed and members of each then took on the assignment of developing a more detailed action plan around their preferred idea. The ideas generated fit into two major categories:

1) Strengthen the communication and collaboration between existing local and statewide youth groups through the development of a website which maintains a data base of current programs, resources, blog space, etc., as well as periodic local and statewide gatherings.

2) Expand public awareness in order to encourage greater youth participation and expanded grant dollars. Suggested tools included flyers, school assemblies, school counselors, radio stations, acknowledgements by grantees, and connection with politicians.

Evaluations completed by the youth at the end of the day were very positive, with most expressing real interest in helping to bring their ideas to fruition. The AGF Youth Philanthropy Affinity Group will meet soon to debrief and determine what funders can/should to next to support the youth in strengthening philanthropy in Arizona. For more information, contact Marissa Theisen (mtheisen@arizonagrantmakersforum.org).

To read the entire article click here.

To view the list of Arizona youth philanthropy groups, click here.