Youth Empowered Philanthropy (YEP) Grants

Youth Empowered Philanthropy (YEP) Grants is sponsored by Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne. The Youth Empowered Philanthropy (YEP) program teaches youth about charitable giving and empowers them to make grant decisions for nonprofits in Allen County, Indiana. Nonprofits can submit a short application for operational funding for programs serving youth.

Youth Empowered Philanthropy | Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne Youth Empowered Philanthropy Youth Empowered Philanthropy (YEP) is a program of the Community Foundation and teaches youth about charitable giving while empowering them to make real decisions, with real money to create an impact in Allen County.

YEP strives to make our community a more vibrant place to live, work, and play while inspiring philanthropy as a habit for future generations. YEP is a youth philanthropy pod that is structured as a once-a-month meeting, during the school day, for students in grades 10-12. Students have the opportunity to learn about the nonprofit community, boards, charitable giving, and how to be a good steward of funds.

Students have grantmaking dollars and collectively decide whom to grant the monies to, while also learning about how to give their time and talent through community volunteer projects. Students also learn a variety of skills such as public speaking, critical thinking, and decision making, from experts throughout the community. To develop soft skills such as leadership, public speaking, critical thinking and decision making.

To build relationships with peers and the nonprofit community. To become more aware of community needs and challenges and learn how to address community needs by serving and giving back to your community. To learn about philanthropy and what it means to be a philanthropist.

To serve as community resources and leaders through real decisions, real money, and real impact. For the 2024 -2025 school year, new applicants must be a Sophomore or Junior at Canterbury, Concordia, Homestead, New Haven, North Side, Northrop, Snider, South Side, and Wayne High Schools. Be in good academic and behavioral standing.

Able to attend a 2-hour meeting once a month from 11 AM – 1 PM. Available to volunteer for monthly service projects as determined by YEP members. Meeting Dates for 2025-2026: Saturday, September 13 – YEP Half Day Retreat Wednesday, October 29 – 11 a.

m. – 1 p. m.

Wednesday, November 19 – 11 a. m. – 1 p.

m. Wednesday, December 10 – 11 a. m.

– 1 p. m. Wednesday, January 14 – 11 a.

m. – 1 p. m.

Wednesday, February 11 – 11 a. m. – 1 p.

m. Wednesday, March 18 – 11 a. m.

– 1 p. m. Wednesday, April 15 – 11 a.

m. – 1 p. m.

Youth Empowered Philanthropy (YEP) begins accepting grant applications in December. Nonprofits can submit a short application for operational funding. Grant applications open November 1, 2025 and close December 1, 2025.

Applications are short and only take 5-10 minutes to apply. Nonprofits can apply for funding from YEP members. Nonprofits must be located in Allen County and serving Allen County to apply.

Grants range between $1,000 – $5,000. All grant applications will be reviewed and decided on by the current cohort of YEP members. Nonprofits that advance will be asked to host a site visit with students via phone, zoom, or in person.

Nonprofits will be notified in March on funding decisions. Looking for YEP student volunteers? Please reach out with your request to yep@cfgfw .

All requests will be monitored and approved by the current cohort of YEP members. YEP students only volunteer between the months of October – May. Your project must fall within this timeline.

Volunteers are high school students. Your project must be willing to accept volunteers 15 years of age and up. Volunteer time requests will close on December 2, 2025.

Nonprofits must be located in Allen County and serving Allen County to apply. All applications will be reviewed and decided on by the YEP members. Each year, students in our Youth Empowered Philanthropy (YEP) program participate in a hands-on grantmaking process, learning about community needs and nonprofit funding challenges.

On March 5, the 2024 -2025 YEP cohort gathered to make funding decisions, marking the culmination of months of site visits, research, and thoughtful discussions. This year, a key topic of discussion was the financial vulnerability of organizations reliant on federal grants and external funding.

After careful deliberation, students allocated $10,000 in grants to the following local nonprofits: Positive Resource Connection – $2,500 The Literacy Alliance – $3,000 As the only youth philanthropy pod in Allen County, the Community Foundation sees this as a vital program to teach the next generation about the nonprofit sector and philanthropy.

Without your support, vital initiatives like this would not exist to make impact on the education of youth in the community. To learn more, please contact either Jaren or Stephanie: Senior Donor Engagement Specialist Stephanie Carlson Plimpton, CFRM You can also contact another member of the Grants team .