Imagine your community in 30 years. Who will be on your local fund advisory committee? Who will be your community’s elected leaders? Who will be local business owners, educators, and volunteers? Most likely, those future leaders are already living in your community… or perhaps, have yet to be born. What can you do now to connect the next generation to their hometown so they will be ready to return and lead in the future? How can you instill community values now so that the future stewards of your unrestricted endowment can carry your legacy forward?
NCF is here to help you design a youth engagement strategy that fits your community. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, but this is essential work that cannot be ignored.
Youth Engagement Contacts
Chloe Carlson | ccarlson@nebcommfound.org | 402.323.7326
Becky Boesen | bboesen@nebcommfound.org | 402.323.7347
What is Youth Engagement?
NCF’s youth engagement is rooted in Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD). We believe young people are an essential asset in our communities. NCF seeks to support your community in unleashing the unique contributions of the next generations to engage them in philanthropy, leadership, and local impact.
Youth engagement at NCF is guided by three principles:
1. EXPERIMENTATION
What strength might we uncover if we trust young people enough to invest in them? Rather than fearing failure, let’s recognize the potential. Even the bumps along the way teach us. When we invest in youth, we’re investing in the community’s capacity to grow, adapt, and lead into the future.
2. PEOPLE ATTRACTION AND SUCCESSION PLANNING
When we invite young people to be in community with us, we are not only helping them grow a deeper love for our places but also activating a generation of homegrown leaders. This is simply some of the most important people attraction work we’ll ever do together.
3. WITH
Youth are leaders today. They are not just beneficiaries but partners in the work of community building. What do young people have to offer? What do older generations have to offer?
NCF Support for Youth Engagement
NCF offers several opportunities for communities to begin or expand their youth engagement efforts. Not sure where to begin? The best place to start is with a conversation. NCF’s Youth Engagement Specialist can support you in unleashing local assets to develop your community’s unique approach to youth engagement.
Hometown Internships
A Hometown Intern works alongside their local affiliated funds on a mission to discover and unleash their community’s assets. A Hometown Intern is a high school graduate who has spent at least one academic year away—whether at school, the workplace, or elsewhere—and lives in their hometown for the summer. Interns are immersed in a unique Asset-Based Community Development curriculum and spend their time on discovery, relationship building, and learning – all customized to their unique interests and your community. Learn more at nebcommfound.org/hometowninternships.
Youth Engagement Grants
Youth Engagement Grants are flexible funding to support youth-led projects, service efforts, or learning experiences. Based in NCF’s principles of youth engagement (With, People Attraction, and Experimentation), there is no formal grant application. Rather, if local youth have an idea, share it with the Youth Engagement Specialist to start the conversation. These grants flow from a larger youth engagement strategy in the community and are meant as a supplementary tool, not a starting point.
Grant ProcessYouth Surveys and Visioning Conversations
The best way to learn what young people want in their community is to ask! NCF can support you through our Youth Survey initiative in partnership with University of Nebraska-Omaha’s Center for Public Affairs Research. If you prefer a more personal approach, we can support you in designing a conversation or visioning with local young people.
Read about Youth SurveysYouth Fund Advisory Committee Members and Youth Advisory Committees
Many NCF affiliated funds have invited young people to join the work of the fund either as fund advisory committee (FAC) members or in an affiliated committee made up of local youth. This is a great opportunity to expand your intergenerational efforts. NCF can connect you to resources and peer communities to explore this opportunity for your affiliated fund.
One-on-One Support
Funds interested in starting or strengthening youth engagement can always reach out to NCF’s Youth Engagement Specialist for one-on-one support. NCF can help you:
- Think through readiness and next steps
- Explore available opportunities and tools
- Connect with peer communities doing similar work
- Learn from communities across the network
- Establish safety practices for work involving young people
Inviting youth to lead, grows stronger communities today and for generations to come.
