YAC at our Community Foundation

Home
United States
Lansing, MI
YAC at our Community Foundation

Youth Advisory Council (YAC) is a group of teens that make grants for local youth programs.

06/11/2026

"Young people are experts in their own lived experiences and understandings of power. When engaged thoughtfully as collaborators, they can bring critical insight, perspective, and creativity to improve philanthropic practices and help build stronger, more meaningful foundation-community connections."

We love this article from the Council of Michigan Foundations about why youth philanthropy matters and best practices for making a difference across generations.

We're excited for more insights to come from the Youth Grantmakers Summer Leadership Conference next week!

Read more:

05/28/2026

Help us say a big CONGRATULATIONS to some of our YAC graduating seniors! 🎓️💛
We are so proud of their accomplishments and know wherever they go, they will carry on their commitment to community service.

Rachel Jackson, St. John's High School, will be heading to the University of Michigan for International Studies.

Callan Maxwell, Waverly High School in Lansing, is heading to Brown University to study Computer Science and Public Policy.

Eden Peele, St. John's High School, is committed to Howard University to study Architecture and play lacrosse.

Nolan Koenigsknecht, St. John's High School, will be attending Mid Michigan College to study Exercise Science.

05/20/2026

YAC was featured in the Council of Michigan Foundations' Annual Report! 📢📰

The article focuses on the new Labyrinth in St. John's as an example of how YAC's Youth Needs Assessment guides grant decisions. The last two assessments showed mental health as a top issue for young people across the region — and the Labyrinth is just one way YAC is helping address that.

We love seeing YAC's hard work celebrated across the state. Read the full article here: https://annualreport.michiganfoundations.org/community-features/youth-leaders-champion-new-community-space-to-support-mental-health/

04/29/2026

April is Volunteer Appreciation Month!

We appreciate our YAC members who volunteer their time to understand the needs of local youth and make grants to organizations that address these needs. Our YAC students are actively engaged in their schools and communities — their efforts are truly making a difference, and we see it. 🫶

04/15/2026

We were able to fully fund 16 projects for local nonprofits serving young people across the Capital Region!

YAC students came together to discuss the projects, share scores for each proposal, and make decisions as a group at YAC Grantmaking Day this past weekend.

This is philanthropy in action, and we are so excited to tell these nonprofits about the funding support coming their way!

03/27/2026

Are you spending your spring break in Lansing? Enjoy a sunny day along the Lansing riverfront at one of the parks the Community Foundation has created: Rotary Park, Play Michigan!, and our newest addition, Fish Ladder Music Park!

We'd love to see your adventures — comment with your photos from the riverfront!

03/25/2026

We hope you enjoyed our videos last week! Today we're wrapping up our phone ban discussion with a few final thoughts from YAC members who created these shareable graphics.
Share if these resonate with you! 🤳

03/21/2026

Grab your popcorn, our last YAC video on cell phone usage in schools is here! 🍿

YAC members had fun expressing their opinions in these videos, and we hope you learned something from watching them! We're committed to exploring issues that affect local teens, and directing grant funds to organizations that provide support for these needs.

03/19/2026

Did you know YAC members are also filmmakers? 🎬️ Here's another perspective on cell phone usage in schools, created by our students.

03/18/2026

Part of YAC's work is to bring awareness to issues that affect local teens. During our recent meeting, members discussed cell phone usage in schools and recent legislation that passed in the state of Michigan.

Students then created videos demonstrating their views. Don't just read what they had to say on the topic -- watch! 📽️

Address

330 Marshall Street, Ste 300
Lansing, MI
48912

Telephone

+15176649857

Website

https://ourcommunity.org/get-involved/yac

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when YAC at our Community Foundation posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Want your organization to be the top-listed Non Profit Organization in Lansing?