Just when you were about to buy into the notion that Generations X,Y and Z are a self-obsessed, instant gratification seeking bunch of techno-geeks who’ve been raised on a constant diet of World Wide Web, Instant Messaging and MP3 players, someone like Andrea Cohen comes along and restores your faith in the next generation.
Cohen is the founder and director of the Jewish Community Foundation’s Youth Philanthropy Board of Greater Phoenix. Since she started the board in 2005, more than 275 young people have participated in the program and given out grants surpassing $60,000.
This year 27 high school students serve on the Youth Philanthropy Board. Cohen asserts that the students “represent a true cross section of our Phoenix Jewish community.” The board meets monthly and participates in programs aimed at teaching students to become strategic philanthropists and community leaders.
“In the fall they meet and decide on a focus for the year,” explains Cohen. “They research potential grantees, author a request for proposals (RFP), solicit and review all proposals, and then spend time making decisions as a group over the granting of [funds] into the local community.” Additionally, board members serve as leaders at various B’nai Tzedek events such as last year’s family fun day at UMOM New Day Center. A few years ago they hosted a Senior Prom at Kivel where they served brunch, danced and engaged residents in dialogue about their own past giving and philanthropic contributions. Over the years the board’s giving has focused on areas of education, food insecurity, helping people live more independent lives and vocational skills. In September they met with Lisa Kaplan, JCA director of planning and organization relations, to learn how to assess communal needs and help them to identify the greatest needs within their local Jewish community. Cohen asserts emphatically that while the board does not grant exclusively to Jewish organizations, they absolutely recognize the importance of supporting Jewish causes.
Approximately one-quarter to one-third of the board is new each year. Any teen who has established a B’nai Tzedek Fund at the foundation is eligible to apply for a seat on the board each spring. Any local Jewish teen, from approaching bar/bat mitzvah through high school senior, can establish a B’nai Tzedek Fund with a donation of $500 or more. Once the fund is created, it grows each year through investment income and other donations, and the teen can give 5% of the fund balance to the charitable organization of his/her choice each year.
“There is prestige in sitting on the board,” Cohen says. “It’s actually become a wonderful incentive to motivate post-bar/bat mitzvah teens to establish B’nai Tzedek Funds.”
The 2012/2013 Youth Philanthropy Board’s mission focused on funding for organizations that promoted educational opportunities in the Greater Phoenix area. Grants included $3,000 to the Anti-Defamation League’s Peer Links program to help address bias and prejudice in high schools throughout Arizona. They granted $1,800 to fund two staff personnel for the Bureau of Jewish Education’s Baby and Me Shabbat and Mother’s Circle programs. A grant of $3,000 went to the Camp SWIFT Foundation to enable five children from low-income
families to attend Camp SWIFT’s summer program and to support year-round programming for middle school students. The Jewish Community Association’s PJ Library was granted $1,250 to encourage ongoing efforts to engage young Jewish families in Jewish learning by providing them with free books and music. Temple Beth Sholom of the East Valley received $1,600 for technology integration, which enabled their religious school to purchase a portable Smart Board. The 2012/2013 grants totaled $9,000.
To date the Youth Philanthropy Board has been more focused on allocating funds than raising them. But this year, Cohen tells me, “Young Jewish Funders has issued a challenge grant to (the board), and they are now engaged in raising $5,000 to be matched by this very generous group of philanthropists.”
Teens who participate in the Youth Philanthropy Board learn that they have the capacity to positively impact lives and improve local communities.
“They learn that philanthropy isn’t charity,” says Cohen. “It’s an investment in the success of an organization. They also learn the value of engaged leadership.” With teens like this in our community, it’s hard to remain cynical about the future.
“It’s a great group of teens who want to help out and make our world a better place,” offers Cohen. “Their tagline is ‘Making the world a better place, one mitzvah at a time.’ ”␣
To learn more about the B’nai Tzedek Youth Philanthropy Program, visit the JCF website at jcfphoenix.org or contact Andrea Cohen at acohen@jcfphoenix.org.
