The Winston-Salem Foundation: Become A Member

HOW TO BECOME A MEMBER OF YOUTH GRANTMAKERS IN ACTION

The application deadline for the 2008-2009 school year has passed. We will be accepting applications for YGA membership for the 2009-2010 school year in the spring of 2009.

WHAT IS YOUTH GRANTMAKERS IN ACTION?

Youth Grantmakers in Action (YGA) of The Winston-Salem Foundation is an exciting opportunity for youth from across Forsyth County. This youth-led group comes together to gain leadership experience, represent youth in their community, voice their opinions, and make grants to youth-directed projects that address community issues and challenges in Forsyth County. This project was created because youth need opportunities to work in partnership with adults to turn positive ideas into real solutions. YGA is unique because it is a board of young people who make decisions about which projects in their community will receive money!

HOW DOES IT WORK?

FIRST, youth-led groups from schools & community organizations come up with project ideas.
NEXT, they fill out applications in which they say what they want to do, why it's important for the community, and how much money they need to carry out the project successfully.
FINALLY, they submit their applications to Youth Grantmakers in Action. YGA reviews the applications and makes decisions about whether or not to fund the groups.

WHO CAN BE A PART OF YOUTH GRANTMAKERS IN ACTION?

Youth who are 14 to 17 years old and live in Forsyth County. We want a group that represents the true diversity of our community, so we are NOT just looking for youth who already have lots of leadership experience.

WHAT DO YGA MEMBERS DO?

Meet and work with other teens from across Forsyth County.
Design a grantmaking program.
Reach out to youth in the community to encourage them to plan a project and apply for money to carry it out.
Review proposed project ideas from youth-led groups.
Make decisions as a group about which projects will receive money.
Follow up with and give support to the youth-led groups that were funded.
Gain a lot of important leadership experience and job skills.
Help to sustain the program with volunteer hours and fundraising assistance.

WHAT'S THE COMMITMENT?

A mandatory full-day orientation in August, one meeting a month from September to May, and additional optional activities. There will also be some independent work between meetings.

QUESTIONS?

Please contact Andrea at the Foundation at 725-2382 or yga@wsfoundation.org.