Three good causes, but only one can receive a $1,000 grant.
It’s a tough decision to make, especially when you’re a seventh-grader and have not been in this position before.
Students from Jackson County schools involved in the YoJack youth leadership program recently heard from representatives of three local nonprofit organizations — Southern Indiana Center for the Arts, Boys & Girls Club of Seymour and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southeast Indiana.
After learning what each organization does and what it plans to do with the money, the students talked to others at their table, filled out a scoring rubric and tallied up the scores.
The results were shared with the whole group, and together, the students found out which organization had the highest score and agreed on the grant recipient.
The students’ recommendation will be passed on to the Community Foundation of Jackson County’s board of directors, which will make the ultimate decision during its April 25 meeting. Until then, that information is confidential.
Historically, the board has given the grant to the cause selected by the YoJack students, said Dan Davis, president and chief executive officer of the Community Foundation of Jackson County.
The students thought it was a great opportunity to learn about the grant-awarding process and have a hand in it. All three organizations shared plans to target youth if they receive the grant money.
“It’s just cool to know that you actually helped and did something to help kids out,” said Carter Waskom, an eighth-grader at St. John’s Lutheran School Sauers who is serving as a YoJack youth adviser.
Elizabeth Kloote, a seventh-grader at Immanuel Lutheran School, said learning about the organizations allowed her to put herself in their shoes and see where there is the most need. She knows the $1,000 will make a big impact.
“I like how invested into their time they were and the projects and how they were trying to get people interested in their cause,” she said of Georgiann Coons and Jane Hays with SICA, Ryon Wheeler with the Boys & Girls Club and Kate Eder with Big Brothers Big Sisters.
“If I think something is important as well as other people and we agree on the same thing, then it will be a big result,” Kloote said.
At the beginning of the YoJack session April 10 at the Community Foundation of Jackson County, Davis shared a message with the students that the previous president and CEO, Bud Walther, once told him: Giving is hard, and it is not easy.
“What I think Bud truly meant was that giving away money wisely is difficult, and I think you’ll learn some of that here today,” Davis said to the students. “I hope that by the end of the session, you will have seen just what we’re talking about.”
Priscilla Wischmeier helped with the session. She’s the chairwoman of the foundation’s grant committee, which is responsible for distributing grant money each fall. The committee includes some board members and also people from all areas of the county.
“We try to get a good cross-section of individuals so that we make sure that we know what the needs are out there,” Wischmeier said. “We don’t want to just focus on Seymour or just Brownstown. We want to make sure that we know what’s going on in all of the county.”
Once applications are submitted for the fall grant cycle, Sue Smith, vice president of the foundation, ensures the applicants qualify to receive grant dollars under federal regulations and laws. Typically, they receive 30 to 50 applications.
Then each committee member takes a handful of the applications and visits with the applicants to learn more about them, what they want funded and how many people the money will impact.
“What the committee members are trying to do is gather the most complete, extensive information they can about the project,” Wischmeier said.
They then gather to share their reports and make recommendations on who should receive funding. Last year, she said they had $38,000 to give away, but applicants requested more than $50,000.
“So that’s why we really have to work hard to make sure that we’re making the biggest impact,” Wischmeier said.
She then makes a presentation to the board for final approval.
The hardest part is telling an organization it is not among the recipients, Wischmeier said.
“That’s why giving dollars away is tough because you have to tell somebody ‘no,'” she said. “We try and make the biggest bang for the buck, and we do the best job that we can as a committee.”
Soon, Wischmeier will follow the same process in making the YoJack class’ recommendation to the board.
“I hope that you find it rewarding that you will be able to award some organization $1,000 for a cause that they deem worthy and that you’re a part of that,” she told the students.
Davis said part of the foundation’s mission is to promote philanthropy, which is the desire to promote the well-being of others.
Whether that’s raising money for a sports team or group you’re involved with or volunteering at church activities, Davis said it’s all about donating your time, talents or treasures.
“You may not think that you’re a philanthropist,” he said, “but really, it’s pretty easy, pretty simple to get involved with it at many different levels.”
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The Community Foundation of Jackson County was established in 1992 after the Lilly Endowment made $240 million available to help launch Community Foundations around the state.
The first grants were awarded by the local foundation in 1994.
Since then, it has been able to grant more than $6 million for local community projects and programs and scholarships.
Today, it oversees 197 funds and manages more than $11 million in assets.
For information, stop by the foundation office at 107 Community Drive, Seymour; call 812-523-4483; or visit cfjacksoncounty.org or facebook.com/cfjacksoncounty.
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YoJack, Leadership Jackson County’s youth leadership program, started in 2000.
There are five meetings per session, conducted once a month at different locations around the county.
In each session, there are nearly 40 seventh-graders participating and 12 eighth-graders serving as youth advisers. The eighth-graders participated in the program in the previous session.
The first four meetings focus on small- and large-group activities to enhance team-building, leadership, diversity and communication skills. The students also learn how to use their time, talent and treasures to give back to the community and help others.
During the fifth meeting, each student makes a presentation in front of their peers sharing how the YoJack experience helped them. That’s conducted in the council chambers at Seymour City Hall.
Participation in the program and the presentations help determine the 12 students who come back to the next session as youth advisers and serve as mentors to the seventh-graders.
There are now fall and spring sessions.
For information about YoJack, email [email protected].
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