Empowering Chicago Students: AfG's Collaboration with Chicago Youth Philanthropy Group

By: Isabelle Canaan

Isabelle has double duty as Chairman for Education and Co-chair on the Executive Board for the Chicago Youth Philanthropy Group. CYPG, a student organization at University of Chicago, was Allowance for Good's first Allow Good collaboration. They strive to "empower the community, one student at a time." In partnership with CYPG, we are teaching over 200 students on Chicago’s South Side at King College Prep High School and Kenwood Academy. CYPG has also acted as our working partner to develop an additional AfG chapter at Northwestern University. 

A black, lesbian, obese, bad feminist, Roxane Gay is the exemplary fighter.  Against the backdrop of Black Lives Matter, a feminist rebirth, and a re-examination of societal values, she, in a talk last fall, discussed allyship. An ally is not a passive role. You have to act, but must do so in a restrained manner, walking the fine line between being a spokesperson, but not THE spokesperson. You must actively fight for a cause without donning it. 

It is so easy now to pick up the banner of injustice, but without authenticity, sometimes when speaking for another you actually harden divisions. Every week, as part of the Chicago Youth Philanthropy Group (CYPG), I discuss current events with public high school juniors and seniors on Chicago’s Southside. Our goal is to give the students a safe space to champion issues and voice discontent. Yet, it would be disingenuous for me, someone who did not go through their experience, to stand in the spotlight or drown them out. As an ally, I have a responsibility to fight, but I should never forget that I am an accessory to their cause. 

My role is a mentor and a facilitator, but also a fellow student. We college students, we are often trapped in an academic and social bubble, viewing the city through the prism of our campus. CYPG has been my way to connect with the neighborhoods beyond the ivory tower and the echo chamber that is academia. My students offer a different, arguably “real-er” perspective. They do not have the luxury of stepping away into the library and forgetting about the discrimination, danger, and dysfunction that exists on the Southside. They confront these issues on a daily basis and it is exceptionally rewarding to see the classroom dynamic succeed. When a student can get up and share a personal anecdote about a time in their lives when they were directly confronted with one of the issues we discuss, the classroom atmosphere succeeds. A safe environment allows students to share openly, without fear of judgment. 

After creating a safe environment, the next most important role as a teacher is to push the students to remain hopeful and to really believe in their individual power to change. There are times when the students will sigh and say, “Nothing’s going to change”, but we must show them that they have the power to create change, no matter how small and no matter how gradual.

Rising Up: Hearing from the Next Generation of Changemakers

By: Natalie

Natalie, a 7th grader at Haven Middle School, is a participant in Allowance for Good's 2016 Spring Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy class in the Evanston location. 

The Evanston ELP class engaged in an activity.

How have you been a philanthropist in the past and how do you envision being one in the future? 

I feel very lucky that since fourth grade I have been a part of the Justin Wynn Leadership Academy. As a part of this, I have had the chance to do a lot of community service. In the past couple of years I have done many soup kitchens, volunteered at a retirement home, worked at a basketball tournament where the money goes to a good cause, and I have made holiday cards for kids in hospitals. In the future, I do see myself doing more but also for bigger causes. I am passionate about the issue of helping people in need. I believe that everyone should have their necessary daily needs met. For example, I have helped with food drives that go to people that don't have enough food. In the future I hope to help build homes for low income families. I can see myself not only helping the Evanston community but also helping others around the world. 

The Evanston ELP class listens carefully.

Allow Good: Engaging High School Students in Philanthropy

By: Rachel
Rachel is on the leadership team for Northwestern University's chapter of Allow Good. 

Allow Good teacher engages
students at the first class at YOU.

"Not only do millennials lack the kind of empathy that allows them to feel concerned for others, but they also have trouble even intellectually understanding others' points of view," reported Time magazine writer Joel Stein in 2013. In his article, Stein accused millennials of having the lowest generational dedication to civic engagement but the highest rates of narcissism as the so-called "Me, Me, Me Generation." However, I feel this increasingly popular narrow mindset mislabels individuals as self-absorbed when in actuality many are empathetic and engaged and those who are uninvolved in their community simply are not presented with adequate accessible volunteer opportunities. The issue of disengaged youth greatly motivated myself and a group of my Northwestern peers to work with Allowance for Good in producing a high school program teaching students about philanthropy through a civic engagement and social justice lens. We felt high schoolers deserved a chance to be treated as competent young-adults, educated about their local non-profits, and then given the resources and skills to responsibly give $1000 back to their community.

The idea for this curriculum stemmed from a spring course my project partner, Imani Wilson, and I took at Northwestern called the Philanthropy Lab. We spent the course learning about the history of philanthropy, how to evaluate non-profits, and meeting with potential grantees to receive a portion of our class grant of $100,000, which was sponsored through the Once Upon a Time Foundation (OUTF). We worked on the class's Child and Youth Development Team and in the end granted $20,000 to Girls in the Game (GiG), a local Chicago organization that encourages girls to use sports to improve self-esteem and reinforce healthy lifestyles. Once the class ended, OUTF encouraged students in our class to apply for their Changemakers Grant of $5,000 to sponsor any project that would educate students about philanthropy.

Rachel, at the Allow Good teacher training

Shortly after, we were put in contact with Allowance for Good and discussed our vision of an adaptation of our philanthropy lab class taught to high schoolers by Northwestern students. Soon after filling out paperwork, we received the $5,000 grant and quickly found two more NU students, Fannie and Matt, to join the project as credit for our Civic Engagement Certificate non-profit internship class. Fall quarter, we worked tirelessly to create a pilot program with 14 lesson plans lasting 45 minutes each including a detailed teacher's manual. Last week, we spent 6 hours training teachers in philanthropy education and classroom facilitation strategies. Now, I am happy to announce that our first day of classes will launch last week at Niles North High School and Evanston Township High School's after-school program called Y.O.U.

Reflecting on the past few months, I believe the best part of working on the project has been seeing the assets of my team come together. Fannie joined the team with expertise in philanthropy curriculum development. As a passionate social justice advocate on campus, Matt brought a wealth of knowledge on teaching students about current inequality issues. And, Imani's ability to pay close attention to detail and insistence on meeting deadlines helped our group stay on pace. With their contributions, the curriculum and camaraderie among group members has surpassed anything I originally imagined.

Looking to the future, I can't wait to see the impact of the curriculum on high school students. Once presented with the opportunity to learn and give back, I am confident that these students will rise to the occasion and erase any association with the so-called "Me, Me, Me Generation."

Philanthropy = Love of Humans

By: Nia
Nia participated in Allowance for Good's 2015 Global Philanthropy Summit in June, which focused on Global Engagement.

This summer of 2015, I have done a lot of programs but one I will never fail to remember is the Global Philanthropy Summit I did late June. For starters, the majority of kids my age are not even familiar with the word philanthropy. Right on day one the camp taught us what philanthropy truly is. It’s not just for rich people, and it’s a long term commitment and service to groups and organizations. It’s like community service but a full time and forever impact on the group. That idea made me smile because there is such a great joy that comes from giving back to the world and to do it long term seemed like an impact I know I wanted to give.

Nia, center, discussing with other GPS students.

For some, you might not know that philanthropy means the love of humans. Just the thought to being a part of something that can bring love to humans was something that compelled me in immediately. I truly want to thank GPS for the commitment and ideas they gave to me from this camp.

Not to mention, from this wonderful, and inspiring camp lead me to get my backpack for this upcoming school year. One of the speakers was from CAUSEGEAR which is a low-profit group that helps people with economic problems of their low pay in India. I loved their idea and I loved their backpacks and I went home immediately and bought it so now I have it for this school year.

An organization like that, that was helping people in India really made me think about global engagement. During this camp we talked a lot about how to globally change the world, I mean why be small and change only your neighborhood. Go big or go home! At camp we learned about how to be globally engaged and know that the blessed area we live in, is not at all the norm for the rest of the world. We have a lot, and great resources as well. So we should make a change as big as we can and really help the world.

Any student who wants to come to a camp to learn about how they can make a change and get inspiration from leaders should no doubt sign up as soon as they can. This summit was a great impact on me and I can’t wait to grow up and join the world of philanthropy.

Building Strong Communities

By: Meredith

Meredith is a participant in the Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy: Changemakers class.

Asset-based community development is when groups in a community work to change and further expand their society. This development could be technological, numeral, or emotional. Asset-based community development demonstrates a community coming together to make a bigger and more significant impact. Groups include residents, voluntary associations, institutions, physical assets, economic activity, and stories. The mapping activities we did in class helped show how every group in a community works together. The map showed us that even though we may be a part of completely different societies, the same characteristics can be used in each society to create change. Mapping out our own communities and the different ones that we were a part of showed the class how much we all had in common. Most of our communities were not the same but served the same purpose for ourselves. It also showed us how many skills we have in common that we use everyday in our different communities.

Building strong communities is very important to the development of a society. Without strong communities our world would not be as unified as it is now. Strong communities create order and success that create change and advance the world faster. Strong communities consist of strong leaders and accepting members. Although some people may have more of a say or a bigger impact on final decisions, without all of the components of a community, nothing would function smoothly. Coming from the On The Table dinner discussion, our minds were much more open to the different types of communities in the world and how many of them function with and without the same characteristics. Something I took from the On The Table dinner was that even though some communities may have different levels of development, they all find happiness in their own way. No community needs electricity or running water or huge houses to have happiness. A community creates happiness based on their own needs and things they find essential to their life. This stood out to me because there are many places in the world that function perfectly well and happily, even though they don't have as many luxury items as developed cities do.

Inspiration and Fresh Perspective at Google Chicago

By: Riley
Riley participated in Allowance for Good's summer 2014 Global Philanthropy Summit program. 

I was lucky enough to take part in the Global Philanthropy Summit last week.  It was a riveting and insightful experience, and I now feel like a more engaged citizen!

Thursday was definitely the most exciting day of our week, with several important activities in downtown Chicago.  After taking the train in from Evanston, we trekked downtown and settled in our destination.  Soon after we arrived, so did our presenters: representatives from A Better Chicago, a venture philanthropy group, and one of its funded programs.  They told us all about the great projects they were involved in currently, and where they hope their programs will be in the future.  The impact that these programs had made on the community of Chicago and its young people was obvious.  It was inspiring for us to be presented with some of the greatest philanthropic work going on in Chicago!

After the presentation, we walked to Google's Chicago headquarters, probably the highlight of our week at the GPS.  This was definitely my personal favorite place we visited in our two days downtown.  Besides taking a tour of Google's progressively-designed workplace and its fascinating employees, we participated in a Google+ Hangout with an AFG affiliate at Liger Learning Centre.  We also learned about all of Google's philanthropic work, which was simply amazing.  Google already has a reputation as a very socially responsible business, and its philanthropy was no exception to this principle.  The company has helped get thousands of people out of slavery, donated technology, and otherwise helped people in ways big and small.

I cannot describe how personally inspiring the visit to Google was for me.  The trip taught me that philanthropy can truly be on any scale and that even helping a few people is great philanthropic work.  Google's work with spreading technology and knowledge about it showed great promise for the future of the world and technological progress in it.  Google has encouraged me to be more aware of the world around me and to use my skills to help the people that I can.

I'd like to thank everyone who worked to make the GPS happen and my classmates for making the entire week a great experience for us all!

Passionate Youth Building Awareness, Taking Action

By: Kate
Kate is participating in Allowance for Good's spring 2014 Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy: Explorers program.     

One issue that I am passionate about is domestic violence and abuse. I am passionate about this topic because I was exposed to this through my swim club and through my church. I swim for the YWCA Flying Fish in Evanston. While this is a completive swim program, it is unique because the pool is located in the YWCA which houses displaced women and their families. Every year our team raises money for the YWCA through a ‘swim marathon’. For the swim marathon we swim as many laps as possible within one hour. We each raise money by collecting donations for each lap we swim. This year the Flying Fish raised almost $100,000 and it is all donated to the YWCA to help the abused women and their families. I have been doing this for the past eight years. During this time I have learned about domestic violence and abuse.

I also experienced the affects of domestic violence and abuse this past winter while doing volunteer work for my church. A few friends and I volunteered to work at the Night Ministries in downtown Chicago. We helped serve food to the homeless and less fortunate. Before we started, the person in charge told us that some of the women we were going serve are victims of domestic violence. This really hit home when a young woman came through the line with tears in the corners of her eyes. I could tell immediately that something was wrong but it was not my place to ask too many questions. When she went through the line my dad asked her if he could do anything for her, but she shook her head no. Just from looking at her tear stricken face, I could tell something was very wrong and it made my mind wonder with questions. Was she a victim of domestic abuse? Did she have anyone she could talk to? I was only there to give her a warm meal, but I wished there was a way I could do more. 

From my involvement in both of these organizations, I have had some exposure to domestic violence and abuse. However, I’d like to become more involved. To build onto the work I have already accomplished I can look into volunteering at the YWCA to help these women. This issue inspires me because I do not think it is something anyone should have to go through. I also think that people everywhere should become more educated about this issue so we can try and prevent it from happening again.

Kate, left, discusses leadership styles with AfG Executive Director Elizabeth Newton at an Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy seminar.

If I Had a Family Foundation...

By: Genevieve

Genevieve is participating in Allowance for Good's winter 2014 Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy program.

If I was the head of a family foundation, I would support education and housing for those in need. I would support these causes because I believe that they are the two most important things one needs in order to have a successful life. There are so many people without shelter. Homelessness exists throughout the world, from San Francisco to Italy. Once you are homeless, it is very hard to get back to a normal life without a group of people who want to help. My foundation would not just provide a shelter for people who need a place to stay for a little while and then go back out onto the streets. During the day, all school age children would go to a public school so that they can be educated. Their guardians would be learning about how to get their life back on track, continuing their education and getting some job training. When the kids come home from school, they would be able to do their homework and then have a good, healthy dinner. I would want these families to feel safe without worrying about where they are going to sleep the next night. I believe this stability is the core to having a successful life. If the kids are staying in school and getting an education while their guardians are improving their lives, these families will have a higher chance of success out in the real world. 

I think that education is very important, because if one is not educated, then they will not be able to get a stable job and support their families. I have noticed at the shelter that I volunteer at, that when a family has been staying there for several weeks, the older kids end up taking care of their younger siblings. This is a big responsibility for the older siblings and I wonder how much time they have left over to do their own homework. It seems to me that the kids have just as hard of a time being homeless as the their guardian does. I volunteer on Wednesdays at a women’s homeless shelter and I help the children with their homework. As a reward, we play games after they are done. I try to encourage the kids to work hard so that they can develop good study habits and enjoy going to school. 

Genevieve, right, listens to guest speaker Sharmila Rao Thakker of The Siragusa Foundation during the Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy seminar.

Celebrating Our Growing Cohort of Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy

By: Clarkie

Clarkie has volunteered with Allowance for Good for over two years and serves as an advisor to our educational programming.

It has been an honor to co-lead the Autumn 2013 session of Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy. Throughout the past ten weeks, we have explored all things philanthropy -- from the philanthropic landscape to international development and non-profit accountability. We discussed individual giving, corporate philanthropy, and the different types of foundations. Our students listened -- and asked thoughtful questions -- to speakers from the field: Stephanie Denzer, from our partner Spark Ventures; Sharmila Rao Thakker of The Siragusa Foundation; Sejal Shah-Myers of The Springboard Foundation; Jenny Daugherty of AbbVie; and Maya Cohen of GlobeMed. On October 30, we attended a talk by Princeton professor of Bioethics, Peter Singer; as leaders, we were especially impressed by the critical way our ELP students responded to his opinions on effective altruism.

Moving forward, our students are going to work together on their own philanthropic project to increase awareness of Allowance for Good, share their newly developed knowledge with their peers, and raise funds to send to our partner Spark Ventures in Twapia, Zambia. The ELPers will use the skills they have learned and the ideas sparked from our weeks together in the classroom to develop ideas and execute what we have faith will be an informative and successful project. I cannot wait to follow their progress, and we look forward to sharing their project with our AfG family. 

Our group is filled with engaged learners and future philanthropic leaders. They understand what it means to be a global citizen and are true AfG Catalysts. We hope they will continue exploring and asking questions as emerging leaders and are excited to announce that they will have the opportunity to keep learning with Allowance for Good in our Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy second level course. In ELP Level 2, we will delve deeper into non-profit organizational structure, grant making, the relationships between grantee and grantor, and assessing the good governance of non-profits. ELP level 2 will be offered in the Spring.

Members of our second cohort of Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy with their certificates in Global Philanthropic Leadership. 

Opening Eyes to New Ways of Giving

By: Clara

Clara is participating in Allowance for Good's autumn 2013 Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy program.

This past week at ELP, we had a really inspiring talk about how to give back and make a difference.  I learned a lot about foundations and how they connect those who want to help others with those who need help. We learned about family foundations, as well as about corporate foundations.  These organizations, as well as the individuals involved in them, make a huge difference in the lives of those in need.

During our session, we talked a lot about the reasons for giving back. I feel that giving back is our way of showing that we are thankful for the resources we have, such as health and education. In the past, I have tried to give back as much as possible through volunteering to help people and organizations in need.  However, our discussion opened my eyes to all the ways people can help others.

One way is you can help to start or get involved in a family foundation. I really like this idea and thought it was interesting because it is something you can do with your family. Family foundations tend to focus on issues that mean a lot to them. I think that knowing and acting upon your personal values is very important and family foundations are a key point in doing this.

This week at EPL, we had a very inspiring guest speaker who helped educate us about family foundations. We were very fortunate to have Sharmila Rao Thakkar, who told us about both the family foundation she works and also about how family foundations work in general. Sharmila Rao Thakkar has been working in non-profit for 17 years and she is currently the eyes and ears of the foundation staff at the Siragusa Family Foundation. She really opened up my mind to the possibilities and advantages of working with family foundations. It was amazing to hear (especially from someone who has worked with non-profits for so long) that I can actually make a difference in a community or in the life of an individual, despite the fact that I am only one person. Sharmila is personally opening up doors that lead to opportunities for giving back in our community.

In the future, I am looking forward to learning more about all the different and unique ways I can give back both big and small.  I have learned the difference between temporarily fixing a problem and finding a permanent solution. I am looking forward to being exposed to all the different kinds of solutions that I can personally help to construct and develop in the future!

Beyond Borders: My Role as a Global Citizen

By: Caroline

Caroline is participating in Allowance for Good's autumn 2013 Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy program. 

Last week's session on global citizenship was really inspiring. Before the class, I really didn't see myself as a "global citizen"---I saw myself as an seventeen-year-old American girl. I knew that as an American (as with any ethnicity or culture), I tended to focus on the problems that were evident in the US or, at the very most, world problems that affected the US. It's a very narrow-minded approach especially in this day and age, where one event can spark a change around the world. But in another sense, it seemed the typical response from any person as most people are more concerned with how things will affect them and not the world in general. 

However, during class, we discussed our obligations as global citizens. That whether we want to accept it or not, we affect others all over the world by our actions, and it's our job to be socially aware of that. For example, when we toss out our extra food after a meal, it affects people in an area where hunger might be an issue. Instead of wasting that food, it could have been donated to families that could really benefit from having that food in their home. Which brings me to my next point: as global citizens, we also have an obligation to give back to others because there are others who give something to us whether that's their time, money, etc. We are a part of a larger context, not just one country, state, city---we are a part of huge community, and it's our job to help one another in that community. 

One example of how I am a global citizen that I didn't recognize before the class is that I volunteer at a fair trade store in Evanston called Ten Thousand Villages. The idea is that artisans in developing countries who can't make a decent living in their own country are able to sell their crafts through Ten Thousand Villages. TTV is then able to take the money made from these crafts and send it back to those families. It's amazing because it really provides families with financial security, which they otherwise would not be able to find if they continued to try to sell their crafts only within their community. The other neat thing about TTV is that even if all crafts are not sold, those families are still paid in full. I volunteer at TTV to help promote awareness of fair trade and to help assist customers. So as I global citizen, I am able to give back to many families so that they don't have to worry that they won't be able to take care of themselves financially. I know that in another country, I am putting a smile on someone's face and money in their pocket. Volunteering has been a moving experience also because I realize that I have the resources to help make the world a better place. I know that not everyone is in the same position I am to help others, but because I am, I want to take advantage of that as much as possible. 

Something to Talk About: GPS 2013

On Monday, June 24th, 2013, Allowance for Good launched its second annual Global Philanthropy Summit, which brings together a catalytic group of youth for intensive gatherings to advance personal understanding in and encourage collective action toward global education equity.

Zoe reflects on Day 2 of GPS, during which we heard from Crossroads Advisors, Crown Family Philanthropies, and Google.

Sometimes life decides to hit you over the head with a big foam bat. Today traveling down Wacker drive, I had a small epiphany on a big idea. We’ve been talking a lot about asking “what’s wrong?” and making sure that our services are actually helping and are actually needed. That communication is one of the necessary things for any program to work, whether in Uganda or Louisiana. The idea that there are things people don't need aid with, or that people can actually suffer from the misappropriation of aid is not something I’ve really thought of. I have to admit, and I know its sad, but its not something that's occurred to me before. I don’t like to think that good intentions can go wrong.

When I was in the 6th grade, I organized a coat drive. I knew that the shelter, Connections for the Homeless, needed to increase their amount of winter clothes they could distribute if they wished to provide for the homeless in Evanston. I gathered coats from November till January and gave them to the shelter. This worked because I had close personal connections with the shelter. It doesn’t work nearly as well when the place the donations are going to is a NGO is a developing, third world country. We don’t know what they are doing and can't infer what they need from halfway across the world like we can in our own communities. The biggest idea I’ve gathered, as to working in and with philanthropy, is Communication. Talk about ideas, talk to people, and talk with people. Create a conversation.

Communications is an important part of the world, since more people have a cellphone than access to a toilet. Companies like Google are helping to create ways to open lines of communication and connecting the world. By using their technology and going above and beyond, Google is giving in several key areas both locally and globally. As an internet company Google understands how important communication is in the modern age.

Personally, I really like what Google is doing. They are applying their skills and the skills of their “Googlers” to help the world. They have such an expansive network, and do so much to aid in the creation of communication that I feel they were the real focus today. We have so many opportunities to connect with the world these days, we need to use them. We need to apply our ability to be able to chat with people on another continent to our ideas, and combine it in a way to benefit humanity.