YP Grant Committee Member Megan Nelson, center, presents the giving circle's 19th annual grant award to representatives from Motherland Gardens Community Project. The award was presented at an evening reception at Bloom Wine Bar & Florals on December 5, 2024.

Future Fund Total Grantmaking

Since Young Philanthropists' inception in 2006, more than $170,000 has been awarded to local organizations making a difference to positively change the lives of local youth and children.

Year Organization Grant Awarded Purpose
2024 Motherland Gardens Community Project $10,000 Expansion of "From Seeds to Table" to a year-round program, helping to empower Springfield's underserved youth with continuous education in gardening, cooking, and entrepreneurship.
2023 Springfield & Central Illinois African American History Museum $12,500 To support a week-long history summer day camp for less advantaged children in grades 4 - 6, focusing on African American history and culture. The theme of the camp will be "Learn from the Past - Create Your Future."
2022 St. Patrick Catholic School $12,500 Establishment of a new Student Culture Coordinator position that will serve as a behavior interventionist, social-emotional educator and parent educator to enable the school to expand in scope and function of the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports framework.
2021 Compass for Kids $12,500 Club Compass, an after-school program that serves approximately 125 low-income elementary students in Springfield Public Schools - District #186 through academic and social-emotional supports to help them perform at or above grade level and close achievement gaps.
2020 Previous Grant Recipients $24,000 Young Philanthropists awarded unrestricted grants to all of its past grant recipients to help support their operations through the COVID-19 pandemic. A generous matching gift from the Hanson Family Fund at the Community Foundation doubled grant funds available this year.
2019 Kidzeum of Health & Science $11,000 Young Engineers Club, a new eight-week after-school program, designed to introduce second and third graders to concepts surrounding engineering. The grant covered costs for students with limited means to participate in the program. Curriculum for the two-hour courses was co-created with local engineers and addressed how engineers approach design, circuits, coding, and more.
2018 Matheny-Withrow Elementary School $10,000 Camp Kindergarten: Ready, Set, Go!, a three-week class held in the summer to improve school readiness among incoming kindergarten students. The program introduces children to four key concepts that underpin successful learning outcomes: academic goals, school expectations, social/emotional development, and fine and gross motor skills development.
2017 The Outlet $10,000 College Ready, a program that guides young men looking to become the first of their generation to attend college through a year-by-year process to prepare them for post-secondary education.
2016 Compass for Kids $10,000 The Parent Teacher Home Visit Project, a high-impact, evidence-based program designed to effectively engage less advantaged parents in supporting the educational development of their children.
2015 Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Illinois $10,000 The LEGO League Program, designed to introduce real-world engineering challenges to students in grades K-8 by building LEGO-based robots to complete tasks.
2014 Girls on the Run of Central Illinois $8,000  Life-skills program teaching girls to take charge of their lives and define the future on their terms.
2013 Mini O'Beirne Crisis Nursery $7,000 Formula, diapers and offsetting transportation costs for families that utilize the nursery's emergency services.
2012 Family Service Center $6,000 Camp Compass summer program that provided 100 homeless and low-income Springfield Public Schools elementary students with math and reading instruction by certified teachers for 3.5 hours a day, five days a week for four weeks leading up to the beginning of the school year.
2011 Camp Care-A-Lot $6,000 Residential camp program that serves children ages 6-10 in the Sangamon County area where volunteer counselors are dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty through a balance of social, educational, recreational, and emotional activities.
2010 Asbury's Children's Supper Hour $5,000 Asbury's became the first organization to be a two-time recipient of a Young Philanthropists grant. The grant-funded program provides hot, nutritious meals and  well-supervised activities, including homework help, for local children.
2009 Elizabeth Ann Seton Program $5,000 Moments Make Memories educational project to assist women in creating closer bonds with their children.
2008 Prairie Center Against Sexual Assault $5,000 The Hug Away the Hurt program, a therapy program that offers abused children an opportunity to create their own personalized teddy bear for consolation.
2007 Asbury's Children's Supper Hour $4,000 Expand the program from three days a week to four days a week to serve nutritious meals to disadvantaged children and supervise after-school activities, including help with homework.
2006 The Parent Place $3,000 The first grant award from Young Philanthropists was awarded to The Parent Place to provide diapers for its Diaper Pantry, as a way to tangibly help families in need.
 
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