Youth Advisory Council

In 1989, W.K. Kellogg Foundation conceived an idea to help seed community foundations throughout Michigan if the local Foundation agreed to establish a permanent youth fund and a Youth Advisory Council (YAC). They wanted to help create a strong philanthropic training ground for youth and, in a few short years, over 86 YACs were formed across Michigan. The goal was to help young people learn generosity and leadership and at the same time build stronger and more caring communities.

What is the Youth Advisory Council (YAC)?
The Youth Advisory Council is a special “youth as grant makers” project of the Community Foundation for Mason County. The Council is made up of adult advisors and 22 student representatives from Mason County schools and involves young people in solving real problems affecting their communities and peers. YAC members help set policy and guide distribution of $15,000 a year in grants to promising youth related projects in Mason County. This special group of young people are Mason County’s own local panel of experts regarding youth issues who provide recommendations to the Foundation’s board of directors about grants to be awarded from the fund each year.

What do members do?
Members of YAC attend one meeting a month to make grant making decisions or to learn more about youth issues in Mason County. Three times a year the Council reviews grant proposals for youth projects and determines which projects will receive funding by evaluating the proposals and occasionally making site visits to the agency requesting funding. Since its inception, our YAC has made over 350 grants to local youth projects totaling over $362,000

Past grants funded by Mason County YAC:

  • Teacher “mini-grants” to assist with classroom projects
  • “The Boot” project in all Mason County classrooms
  • Ludington Skate Park
  • “Girls on the Run” program in Scottville
  • Sandcastles Children’s Museum

For more information on our Youth Advisory Council, contact Andrea Large.

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