HENDERSON—Janay Carr is a novice when it comes to philanthropy, but she's learning quickly. Carr, 16, is a member of Vance County's "Teens with Power," one of Henderson's newest grant-making organizations.
"I thought it was crazy," says Carr when she first was asked along with others her age to be community philanthropists. The group of eight or nine students met last summer at the Henderson YMCA.
They were there to listen to Eric Rowles, 35, a consultant based in Charlotte who works for the Youth Leadership Institute. "He told us were going to make history," recalls Carr. And they have.
Youth grant-making is part of a growing movement in philanthropy that develops small "giving circles" or foundations that target their own communities for small grants. Teens with Power is such a group, and it plans to award about $3,000 next year in grants ranging from $250 to $1,000. Carr and her fellow grantmakers will direct the application process and determine which projects to fund.
Teens with Power has been meeting monthly since that first gathering, and its members have learned how philanthropy works and the responsibilities that go with it. Youth grantmakers typically are attached to area community foundations, and Carr's Teens with Power got its start with an initial grant from the North Carolina Community Foundation (NCCF) in Raleigh.
Carrie Gray, NCCF's Northern Piedmont Regional associate, says, "They thought it was going to be like school. A few knew each other. There's just something about young people and their collective power and enthusiasm." When the teenagers learned that they, not adults, would be making the decisions, one responded, "I'm just thankful that someone cares enough to give us this money," recalls Gray.
Janay Carr's philanthropy lessons got a boost recently at a Greensboro summit of six youth grant-making groups. About 100 teenagers came from Vance, Forsyth, Mecklenburg, Davie, Gaston and Guilford counties. The meeting was directed by Rowles and sponsored by NC Gives, a Raleigh-based initiative.
"We talked about things they (other grantmakers) were doing," Carr explains. She attended workshops on fundraising and facilitation—"how to listen and remember what people say." Her group has completed its application form, RFP (request for proposal), and will distribute copies to schools, churches and "where kids hang out."
Carr herself would like to see some requests for projects that would reduce teen violence and teen pregnancy in her community. She also has looked deeper at the role of the youth grant-making movement: "When I thought about it, we are the future and we need to find a way to help our community. I'm just glad to be part of history. It's cool."
Vance County teens practice philanthropy ‘power'
