YOUTH IN PHILANTHROPY
The Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico (CFSNM) serves as a community resource, connects donors to needs, and supports charitable organizations in their work. Our vision is to create a community connected to the resources it needs to thrive.
CFSNM embarked on a new initiative to help create an understanding of philanthropy in the younger generation. With the leadership of our Board of Directors and current President Abel Covarrubias, the Youth in Philanthropy (YiP) concept was born with a focus on connecting with youth in elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as those at our higher education institutions throughout southern New Mexico. This program would allow the CFSNM to share the joy of giving through volunteerism, financial contributions, and the desire to treat each one around you with kindness and gratitude.
The Coalition of Community Foundations for Youth created a “Best Practices in Youth Philanthropy” report based on the 1999 White House Conference on Philanthropy. The report states, “Youth philanthropy programs provide authentic opportunities for young people to develop skills and knowledge that will make them better students and citizens in the present and increase the chances that they will continue to play active roles in the community in the future.”
With forty-two percent of Doña Ana county children living in high-poverty areas (2017 New Mexico Kids Count Data Book), the opportunities for low-income youth to learn about what philanthropy means are few and far between. By launching the Youth in Philanthropy Program, the CFSNM is able to provide the educational component regarding philanthropy and work with youth on finding ways to give back to their communities. Youth members will develop an understanding that one does not have to be wealthy to give back to your community.
With your support we will be able to continue the creation of a youth in philanthropy program and kick off the first random acts of kindness campaign in southern New Mexico!
