Awarded Funds

By LINDA LOU
Special to The Press-Enterprise


Adam Fletcher liked the idea of giving away money as a teenager and making a difference when he applied for The Community Foundation's Youth Grantmakers Committee.

Adam was a sophomore at North High School in Riverside when he joined the pilot committee in 2009 and had only thought about philanthropy in vague terms. But after staying on the committee for a second season, Adam, 16, said he has gained perspective. He has immersed himself in learning about the needs of youth in the community and has seen nonprofits at work.

"We really see the importance of money," Adam said. "We're giving them a chance to expand their horizons. Sometimes, even if you have 100 volunteers, the only way to expand or start new programs is with money. You need that money."

Youth Grantmakers Committee members Brittney Sutton, left, a senior at Ramona High School, and Adam Fletcher, right, a junior at North High School, meet with Celia Cudiamat, The Community Foundation's vice president of grant programs. The 24-member youth committee recently selected seven nonprofits to receive a total of $15,000.
The committee's 24 students mostly live in Riverside, County but a few are from San Bernardino County.

On Tuesday, the committee will celebrate with the seven nonprofits that were chosen to receive a total of $15,000 at City Hall. The foundation has approved the choices.

The grant recipients are: Operation SafeHouse, $2,500; Olive Crest, which is dedicated to addressing child abuse, $2,500; Riverside Area Rape Crisis Center, $2,500; Oak Grove Center for Education Treatment & The Arts, $2,500; the Child Leader Project, which promotes higher education for children around the world, $2,255; Special Olympics, $2,000; and The Arc of Riverside County, which supports people with developmental disabilities, $745.

Applications with detailed project proposals and budgets were submitted by 12 nonprofits earlier this year. They were reviewed by the committee, which wanted to help teens dealing with alcohol use, drug use, sex and pregnancy, peer pressure and violence.

About two-thirds of the committee's students attend Arlington, Martin Luther King, Norte Vista, North, Ramona, and Riverside Poly high schools. Students from Woodcrest Christian, Notre Dame and Aquinas high schools are in the group, too.

It was hard to reach a consensus about the grantees, said Brittney Sutton, 18, a senior at Ramona High School in Riverside. She said students went to bat for the nonprofits they preferred, but in the end the group felt good about the choices because everyone had a chance to weigh in.

"It was a priceless experience that we accomplished together," Sutton said.

The Community Foundation was founded in 1941 by a Riverside businessman. Since then, it has expanded to serve the Inland area by managing donations, awarding grants and distributing college scholarships. Last year, it gave about $3.1 million in grants and scholarships.

The committee formed after foundation board member Stan Grube attended a national conference and saw how teenagers in Michigan were engaged in making decisions about grants that affected youth in their community. In late 2008, the foundation board approved the Youth Philanthropy Initiative, which launched the youth committee.

"The goal is to teach young people the traditions of philanthropy and giving, and addressing the needs of the community through grant making," said Celia Cudiamat, the foundation's Vice President of Grant Programs. "We want them to practice philanthropy at a young age and give as they develop into contributing members of society."

Cudiamat said the youth committee may be the only group of its kind in Riverside County. The foundation has initiated another such committee this year on a pilot basis with Reach Out, an Upland nonprofit that empowers young people. Interest in forming similar youth grantmaking groups in the High Desert is growing, Cudiamat said.

During the next year, veteran committee members such as Adam, will help write grant proposals to increase the group's funding ability beyond $15,000 a year, Cudiamat said.

Adam, a junior, said he used to be more focused on himself before joining the committee. He comes from a middle-class family, is an honors student, and participates in many school activities. Going to college and attaining a well-paying job are within his reach, he said.

But he said he didn't realize that some teens were struggling with hurdles such as problems at home until he visited Operation SafeHouse, which runs two emergency children's shelters in Riverside and Thousand Palms. He said he met a student who had been kicked out from home, and the visit made him feel inspired to give back to his community one day.

"I never thought I could change a person's life," Adam said. "But I could see that I could really make a difference, even as a high school student. We are changing people's lives through what we have given."

Sutton said she recognized someone she knew from school at the shelter.

"I never thought that someone in my daily life would be there," she said. "We got to talk to kids and it was unscripted."

Sutton said her experience has been humbling and eye opening. She will attend UCLA this fall and plans to apply for the university's Program Activities Board. The group decides how to allocate money provided by student registration fees for programs in the community and on campus.

Members of the Inland youth committee also attended a planning retreat, heard from guest speakers and developed leadership and team-building skills.

Applications for the 2010-11 Youth Grantmakers Committee are now being accepted. Applicants must be sophomores or juniors during the 2010-11 school year and be able to meet once a month, September through June. For more information, call Cudiamat at 951-684-4194