Community 101: The Philanthropist Wears Sneakers | Philanthropy in Ed. Reform

Portland, Oregon—Students across Oregon are learning it's better—and sometimes harder—to give than to receive. They're part of an innovative youth-giving program called Community 101, funded by the Portland-based PGE Foundation. The corporate foundation of Portland General Electric has invested more than $1 million in the program since 1997 and has seen it grow from just two schools to 26.

Based on Colorado's El Pomar Youth in Community Service model, the program turns kids into grantmakers by awarding each class up to $5,000 to run their own mini-charitable foundation. Each group surveys community needs, develops a mission statement, and researches local nonprofit agencies. Students then solicit grant requests and ultimately make tough decisions on who gets funded and by how much. The young philanthropists commit to performing four hours of community service a month and are encouraged to raise an additional $500 for their program, which is matched 1:1 by the sponsor.

Carol Reed, PGE Foundation's Community 101 coordinator, calls it a "win-win" program that adds value to the education system by developing civic responsibility among students. At the same time, it provides funding for needy nonprofits and strengthens ties between schools and the community. Another plus is that the course supports Oregon's CAM (Certificate of Advanced Mastery) requirements with real-life lessons in leadership, teamwork, communication, and decisionmaking.

Narrowing down choices was a challenge for Leigh Halverson's class at Westview High School in the Portland suburb of Beaverton. The class decided to address poverty in rural Washington County just days before September 11th turned the world upside down. "We ended up choosing as our mission statement, 'Terrorism occurs randomly while poverty terrorizes constantly,'" she recalls. "We felt poverty was more likely to affect our local area and we could make more of an impact in that than in fighting terrorism."

Halverson, a college student who now mentors younger participants in Community 101, experienced the program as part of a technical writing/marketing course. Other schools incorporate it into the social studies curriculum or offer it as an after school activity. One school handed the program over to a Spanish language class that concentrated on issues affecting the Latino community.

Classes are advised to survey their student body to help determine what's of greatest concern to their peers. Materials prepared by the PGE Foundation walk students through the process of conducting an effective survey and publicizing their findings through press releases. Identifying local nonprofits can be as informal as talking to parents and friends or as complex as contacting social service clubs like Rotary and interviewing Chamber of Commerce officials. Then the hard work of soliciting requests and weighing the needs of one agency against another begins.

"I like the kids to come here, because it gives them first hand knowledge about what our charity is trying to do," says Kathy Oliver, Director of Outside-In, a downtown Portland agency that serves homeless youth and low income adults. The students—many from middle or upper income homes—are exposed to the gritty realities of life on the streets as Oliver talks about services like HIV prevention, mental health counseling, job training, and transitional housing.

Oliver, who's received a number of youth grants over the years, sees Community 101 as a way for "kids in school to help peers who aren't as fortunate." A $1,000 grant may not seem like much, but it goes far when Oliver parcels it out into $5 gift certificates that are used to motivate her young clients. "For example, when we offered an alcohol and drug treatment group, no one showed up," she remembers, "But as soon as we told kids they'd get a $5 gift certificate at Fred Meyer's (a local grocery store), 29 came to the session. Community 101 helped finance that with their grant."

Though the details may differ, youth philanthropy programs like PGE Foundation's Community 101 are springing up worldwide. Seven countries and 30 states in the USA have youth grantmaking initiatives tied to community foundations. A study of 12 years of evaluation research from the Michigan Community Foundations' Youth Project found that students not only gained enhanced leadership qualities from their experience, but "(they) continue to give their time, talent, and money after leaving their Youth Advisory Committees. Some are even pursuing degree programs and career paths in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors."

While most of Oregon's Community 101 sites are high schools, tiny Carus Elementary School proves that even young students benefit from the program. "Our philosophy is that we may have to modify the level, but certainly not the activity," says Ed Armstrong, Research and Development Coordinator for the Canby School District, which is located in the Willamette Valley, a half-hour's drive from Portland. Armstrong convinced PGE Foundation to let Carus Elementary pilot a program after his daughter participated in a Community 101 class at her high school. "With state standards that are career-related, we were able to embed this program into the curriculum," says Armstrong. "It was so cool to watch our second graders come out with big Styrofoam checks and award them to the community at the end!"

"What an awesome experience it is for kids to know they can have a positive impact on people," adds Carus Principal Jennifer Turner. Turner admits the program requires a passionate teacher and a huge investment of time. "The key," she advises, "is to find out how you can incorporate it into the existing curriculum and not make it one more thing to do on top of everything else."

For second graders or seniors, Community 101 is—above all—a real eye-opener. "Physically it removes you from the classroom and forces you to interact with people who you usually don't come in contact with," says Halverson. "You're having experiences with business people, nonprofits, people who require help and are using the services. You realize that people right next door aren't eating every day or can't pay their electric bill." She pauses, "That's something you can't learn by staring at a blackboard."

Postscript

For more information on Community 101 and related youth-giving programs, visit these Web sites: