- Program Civil Society
- Program Area Enhancing Community Philanthropy
- Grant Amount $200,000
- Grant Period May 1, 2015–April 30, 2017
- Location Istanbul, Turkey
- Geographic Focus Turkey
About this grant
The project goals are to encourage youth engagement in community development and stimulate local philanthropy in Turkey. To these ends, the Community Volunteers Foundation will support the development of YouthBank, a model for youth-led, community-based grantmaking, in Turkey. During the grant period, the grantee will support and develop existing YouthBanks and establish three more. The grantee will provide financial support for local projects identified by YouthBanks in their communities and support the capacity of young people and other stakeholders in YouthBank through training, mentoring, networking, and study visits. Additionally, the grantee will experiment with the adaptation of YouthBank to other contexts, including school dormitories, culture houses, and youth centers, with the goal of scaling up the number of YouthBanks in operation in Turkey. During 2013-2015, the grantee increased the number of YouthBanks that it runs from 5 to 11, organized extensive network and training opportunities for participants, and commissioned an in-depth, independent impact analysis of YouthBank in one community. Based in Istanbul, the Community Volunteers Foundation was established in 2002 and is a national-level nonprofit working to increase youth activism through volunteerism.