“Adults can only reflect on what it was like to be a youth. Youth feel what it’s like and know the issue(s)” – Shai, Fall and Spring 2016 Grantee
Twice a year, BLING youth grantmakers ages 15-18 come together and spend a full day making careful funding decisions. BLING is a youth-led social justice philanthropy group that grants up to $5,000 to youth leaders creating social change in their communities across San Francisco.
Each funding cycle, BLING’s cohort of 8 grantmakers review each application they receive, interview all youth applicants, and present on each project to their fellow BLING board members on Decision Day. After 6 hours, 18 powerpoint presentations, 2 rounds of thoughtful review, and meta-decisionmakers tallying votes and scores, exciting decisions were made on who to fund.
This was one of BLING’s most competitive cycles, and youth grantmakers focused on equitable social justice grantmaking by funding a record number of 12 projects! By giving young people the resources and platform to share their expertise about what their communities need, hundreds of youth leaders become able to engage in direct community change.
We are excited to announce our Fall 2016 Grantees:
6th Annual Bayview Youth Summit (BVHP Youth Summit Planning Committee)
Goal: The 6th Annual Bayview Youth Summit will hold workshops and educate youth ages 13-18 about the public education system. Spreading this awareness amongst youth will encourage them to think differently about how their education may impact their future and the future of the community.
31st State Charter Bank Operated by Minors and Youth (WhoMentors.Com)
Goal: To create a California State-chartered bank that provides account services to teens 13-18 and educates youth through first-hand experience about finances.
Our Lives, Our Choice Mural Project (Sunset Youth Services)
Goal: To host 3 week-long mural-making workshops that engage youth in collaboratively creating a mural that addresses community issues and explores solutions to social injustice.
Silence Isn’t Golden Here (Sister’s Rising/Young Women’s Freedom Center)
Goal: To create a Town Hall meeting that will engage young people who are disconnected but impacted by the recent presidential election, and create a forum that is led by youth. The meeting will educate youth on their legal rights, strategies for engaging others, and ways to get involved and have their voice heard.
Guerilla Theater & Art at June Jordan School for Equity (JJSE Students)
Goal: To develop as artists and activists and engage youth in theater and art production that will allow them to address inequities in their own lives and communities.
Power Youth Movement Conference (CHALK Workshop Facilitation Team)
GOAL: The 3rd Annual Power Youth Movement Conference will provide a platform for youth and adult allies from all over the Bay Area to share resources, build community, and become agents of change.
C.I.P.S. Lemonade Week (Project WHAT!)
Goal: To raise awareness and provide a space for youth people with incarcerated parents at three schools within SFUSD through events, trainings, and peer support around how prisons impact families.
Project Chances: 2016 West Coast College Tour (Horizons Unlimited)
Goal: To educate the next generation of disenfranchised youth in the Bay Area about educational opportunities in the West Coast in hopes to break the cycle of barriers to higher education to youth of color in San Francisco.
Cultural Awareness Films (Future Project Youth)
Goal: To give youth a platform by creating videos that spread awareness about the lives of youth of color, undocumented, LGBTQ+, and special education students, and their experiences of institutionalized oppression.
Youth Artist Conference (Youth Advisory Board – Youth Art Exchange)
Goal: To show young people that there are various pathways to success in the arts by providing a space for young artists to experience the variety of careers that are available in the arts and provide opportunities to connect with organizations and potential employers.
Harambe (June Jordan School for Equity)
Goal: To uplift and bring together African American students through peer mentorship, personal support, and academic support.
Multicultural Student Union (Rooftop Middle School Students Addressing Inequities)
Goal: To create a space where students of color and allies can come together to discuss culturally relevant issues, build community and form deeper relationships with one another across differences.
BLING will be celebrating and building community with all of our Fall 2016 Grantees at our Grantee Kickoff on Thursday, February 9th 2017. Stay tuned for our Spring 2017 Grant Application, releasing soon!