As anyone who has been involved in any aspect of the grantmaking cycle knows, reviewing grants is a very involved process. Now, members of the Center for Arab American Philanthropy’s Teen Grantmaking Initiative (TGI) are learning about this process firsthand. Members of the group began reviewing grant applications in February after having released their first request for proposals in January. The 20 teens received training from Center for Arab American Philanthropy (CAAP) staff on the elements that make up a successful grant proposal, including the importance of the proposal having clear, measurable goals and the potential for larger impact. Running through an example proposal helped members discuss what to look for as grant reviewers.
TGI received 24 proposals from Metro Detroit youth-serving organizations. Using a scoring sheet system, they split into groups of three and reviewed five-six proposals each. Afterward, the youth came together as a large group and presented to each other their opinions of the proposals they read. Members had great discussions and even debated a little, and by the end of the meeting, they narrowed the number of proposals down to 17 they would like to further review. TGI plans to make site visits to some of the organizations and will meet again in late March before making final decisions.
TGI is a group of 20 youth working to make a lasting difference in their community through grantmaking. Keep up with the young grantmaking mavericks on our website here.
- Young grant-makers seek teens’ opinions (Philanthropy in AAction)