A grant that funds youth projects in DeKalb County is now available.
Noah Nordbrock is the donor services and marketing director at the DeKalb County Community Foundation. This foundation has a program called Youth Engaged in Philanthropy, also known as YEP. Nordbrock said the program is run by high school students and they are the ones who determine who receive the grants.
“There's a student leader who contacts the organizations, sets up a site visit,” he explained. “The big idea is for them to go on site to learn more about the requested project program, how the grant dollars are going to be used.”
Organizations can request up to twenty-five hundred dollars each.
Nordbrock said there are a few organizations who’ve benefited from this grant over the years. The Kishwaukee YMCA is one of them. One project included an outside shelter. Another was geared towards making a space at the YMCA more attractive for middle school students.
“The money went towards some arcade games,” he said, “so they actually have, like, NBA Jam right now and the kids love it. So that was a pretty cool program.”
The YEP program has been around for over a decade. Currently 10 DeKalb County high schools and about 80 students are a part of the program. Nordbrock said the goal is to get 100% participation.
Students who participate learn about grant making and nonprofits.
The deadline to apply is Feb. 1. Applications can be found here.
