The Chester County Fund for Women and Girls is offering high school girls who live in Chester County the opportunity to apply for the “By Girls, For Girl”, Girls Advisory Board (GAB). Selected 10th, 11th and 12th grade girls will be given $20,000 to award grants to non-profit organizations working to improve girls’ lives. From September to December, GAB members will discuss community needs, create their own grant application, review submitted grant proposals, conduct site visits, and work as a board to award grants to the organizations they feel best address the issues affecting girls in the county.
Applications for the Girls Advisory Board will be accepted online. The deadline for applications is August 6, 2010. Contact Marcia Wright-Soika, Development and Programs Assistant, at marcia@ccwomenandgirls.org or 484-356-0940 with questions about the program and application process.
Program Overview and Highlights
Now in its seventh year, “By Girls, For Girls” provides sophomore, junior and senior high school girls living in Chester County the opportunity to help improve the quality of life of girls by participating in the Fund’s Girls Advisory Board (GAB). Through GAB, the Fund aims to educate a new generation of young people about the importance of philanthropy, community service, and the positive difference each girl can make on the lives of others.
GAB members learn about:
- The economic, social and health issues affecting many girls across Chester County.
- The social service agencies meeting the needs of women and girls (through program and site visits).
- The grantmaking process, including how to create a grant application and how to evaluate submitted grant proposals.
Finally, the girls use what they have seen and heard throughout the course of the program to award $20,000 to programs that address the critical needs they identified together. GAB alumni return to volunteer for “By Girls,” For Girls” each year, continuing the tradition of leadership and service in the community.
Highlights of the “By Girls, For Girls,” Girls Advisory Board:
- 39 grants, totaling $110,000, awarded to area nonprofits serving girls in Chester County.
- Nearly every high school in Chester County represented on GAB since its inception, bringing together girls from 24 different public, private and parochial schools.
- Awarded the 2007 “Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy” Award by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Greater Philadelphia Chapter.
- Part of the Girls Grantmaking Network, an international network of women’s funds with girls grantmaking programs. Within this network, GAB members serve as advisors to similar programs around the world.
