Youth in Philanthropy Announces 2025 Grantround

February 25, 2025

High school students from 18 school districts and groups are serving as youth grantmakers through the Community Giving Foundation’s Youth in Philanthropy program. This year marks the 21st year of the program, bringing more than 250 students together to create visible impact in their schools and communities.

Youth in Philanthropy empowers students across the region to take a hands-on approach to community giving as they learn about philanthropic values and principles while developing leadership skills. Throughout the school year, students develop a set of funding priorities determined through needs assessment surveys conducted in their schools and communities. Each school group uses the information collected to review grant applications, awarding up to $5,000 to support youth-related programs. This year, students will work together to award a record $90,000 in local grants, presented at the program’s end-of-year ceremony on April 15, 2025.

Applications for Youth in Philanthropy grant opportunities are now available. Each school group has their own service area, funding priority areas (see below), and application through the Foundation’s web-based grant program. Applicants may apply to more than one school. Visit csgiving.org/grants to apply. Grant requests must be submitted online by 11:59pm on March 17, 2025.

For grant-related questions, please contact Karri Harter, Grant and Scholarship Administrator, at 570-752-3930 ext. 6 or [email protected]. For questions on the Youth in Philanthropy program, contact Alyssa Meyers-Sanonu, Director of Philanthropy, at 570-752-3930 ext. 3 or [email protected].

Funding Priority Areas

BENTON AREA HIGH SCHOOL
Benton Area School District’s Youth in Philanthropy program has been given $5,000 from the Berwick Health and Wellness Fund of Community Giving Foundation: Berwick. They will be accepting applications from nonprofit organizations and selecting recipients based on who will provide support for their community based on their needs assessment results. The needs assessment has indicated local needs are community mental health, school food opportunity, school spirit, and community involvement.

BERWICK AREA HIGH SCHOOL
The Berwick Youth in Philanthropy students wish to create a positive impact within their community and seek to improve the community by funding programs that help improve the lives of youth. Berwick High School’s Youth in Philanthropy members are looking for ways to better their community by distributing grants to interested organizations. According to their peers, the top priorities for the youth in their community are mental health, extracurricular activities, and basic needs.

BLOOMSBURG AREA HIGH SCHOOL
Bloomsburg High School Youth in Philanthropy is giving out grants up to $5,000 to local organizations that will help their community. Some of the top needs they are concerned with include bullying, mental health, and access to food/clothing.

CENTRAL COLUMBIA HIGH SCHOOL
Central Columbia Youth in Philanthropy has $5,000 dollars in their grant round to award for the 2024-2025 year. Their school’s top 3 needs are bullying/safety, mental health, and substance abuse. Their group is very honored to be able to award this money and see it better their community.

CENTRAL SUSQUEHANNA INTERMEDIATE UNIT
The Youth in Philanthropy group from CSIU – Beyond Boundaries Non-Traditional Program are high school students from different school districts who are part of a range of different CSIU programs tailored to fit the individual needs of students, including social-emotional, academic, and career development. They have come together to work on this grant round to help those in need. The group is giving out grants up to $5,000 to local organizations that will help their community. Some of the needs they are concerned with are students struggling with food and nutrition, clothing and hygiene, bullying, and mental health services.

COLUMBIA-MONTOUR AREA VOCATIONAL TECHNICAL SCHOOL
The Youth in Philanthropy group from Columbia-Montour AVTS is giving out grants up to $5,000 to local organizations that will help their community. Some of the needs they are concerned with include bullying prevention/awareness, hygiene awareness, and college and career prep.

DANVILLE AREA HIGH SCHOOL
Danville’s Youth in Philanthropy group does their best to reach the needs of their community each year. They have $5,000 to award to nonprofits. Based on their needs assessments, they are looking for nonprofits that target improving mental health, bullying, and career readiness. They are also open to supporting programs that target other needs in their community.

LEWISBURG AREA HIGH SCHOOL
The Lewisburg High School Youth in Philanthropy group discovered the following needs during their survey to students and staff: health care/mental health, cost of healthy food, transportation, work/job, and recreation centers.

LINE MOUNTAIN HIGH SCHOOL
The Youth in Philanthropy group from Line Mountain Area School District is giving grants up to $5,000 to local nonprofits to help their community. After completing a needs assessment through focus groups at their school district, they would like to focus on the following three goal areas: youth facilities (space for activities and involvement), food access, and technology/internet access.

MIDD-WEST HIGH SCHOOL
The Midd-West Area Youth in Philanthropy program has $5,000 in grant money to award to worthy nonprofit organizations in the community. Students in the program have identified needs in their community to focus these grant awards. Focus needs include ways to help children with bullying, finances/financial aid, and more community involvement. Organizations that can provide services targeting the focus needs are encouraged to apply.

MIFFLINBURG AREA HIGH SCHOOL
The Mifflinburg High School Youth in Philanthropy is a group of student leaders that seek to improve their community by promoting the art of giving, partnering with local service organizations, and granting money to programs that aim to help their community’s youth. Through a student survey at their school, results show that some of the main concerns are access to more resources (food, hygiene, clothing), help for low-income families, mental health support, and improvement of sports facilities.

MILLVILLE AREA HIGH SCHOOL
The Millville Youth in Philanthropy group seeks to improve their school and community by granting money to organizations aiming to benefit local youth. Nonprofit programs are encouraged to apply if committed to addressing youth issues, including but not limited to vaping/substance abuse, bullying, stress, anxiety/mental health, and school spirit/culture. The Millville group has $5,000 to distribute back into the community.

MILTON AREA HIGH SCHOOL
The Youth in Philanthropy group from Milton Area High School is giving out grants up to $5,000 to local organizations that will help their community. Some of the needs they are concerned with include students struggling with access to food, recreational and green spaces, and affordable housing.

NORTHWEST AREA HIGH SCHOOL
The Northwest Area Youth in Philanthropy group is pleased to announce that they will be awarding $5,000 in grants to nonprofit organizations for 2025. This project is sponsored by the Community Giving Foundation: Berwick. Students completed an assessment regarding the needs of students from the Northwest Area High School. As a group, they are seeking proposals that will positively respond to the following, equally important needs: mental health issues/stress outlets, motivation, and school spirit/student involvement.

SELINSGROVE AREA HIGH SCHOOL
The Selinsgrove Area High School Youth in Philanthropy club provides grant opportunities to nonprofit organizations in the Susquehanna Valley. The group focuses on analyzing the needs throughout the community to provide assistance for local students and other community members. After a recent survey, the top needs identified in the survey were mental health, bullying, and food and nutrition. The group currently has $5,000 to distribute between organizations that will provide for the community’s needs.

SHAMOKIN AREA HIGH SCHOOL
The Youth in Philanthropy group from Shamokin Area School District is giving out grants up to $5,000 to local organizations that will help their community. Some of the needs they are concerned with are students struggling with substance abuse, mental health, and youth activities. Shamokin identified many community needs that could have a substantial impact on their community, and believe they can begin the process of bettering the community in partnership with donors and the Youth in Philanthropy program.

SHIKELLAMY HIGH SCHOOL
Shikellamy students are looking for applicants for their Youth in Philanthropy grant round. Nonprofit applicants must help support the group’s three priorities for their community: mental health, support of low-income families, and food and nutrition. They have been granted $5,000 to give back to the community.

WARRIOR RUN HIGH SCHOOL
The Warrior Run High School Youth in Philanthropy is a group of student leaders that seek to improve their community by promoting the art of giving, partnering with local service organizations, and granting money to people and programs that aim to help our community’s youth. The group has recognized that Warrior Run students are struggling with mental health, nutrition, and lack of opportunity due to layout of the district. They have been allotted $5,000 from the Warrior Run Education Foundation to grant to 501(c)(3) organizations that meet their student’s needs.

Youth in Philanthropy is a program of the Community Giving Foundation, which manages over 375 charitable funds and makes grant investments throughout the region to improve the quality of life in the Central Susquehanna area. Learn more about Youth in Philanthropy at csgiving.org/youth-in-philanthropy.