Youth philanthropy is a powerful challenge to traditional philanthropy, which, in many ways, perpetuates the systems of power and privilege that it claims to address. By putting the decision-making power in the hands of young people—particularly low-income youth of color—youth philanthropy redistributes decision-making power to those most impacted.
Building Leaders in Innovative New Giving (B.L.I.N.G.) was founded on yli’s conviction that young people are deeply rooted in their communities and have developed knowledge and expertise from their lived experiences. This knowledge guides B.L.I.N.G.’s youth grantmakers as they discuss applications and award funding—they have a sharp sense of what projects will be effective for their communities and which projects will address issues that impact youth.
BLING youth grantmakers have provided up to $100,000 annually to 11-24 youth-led projects that directly address important social justice issues and inequities affecting San Francisco youth and their communities. Click here to take a look at our recent grants.