Young Philanthropy Fellows

Welcome to the Atlanta Jewish Foundation’s hands-on fellowship for Jewish youth. This fellowship program enables Jewish teens in Atlanta to truly affect change in the local community by providing opportunities for teens to:

• Learn about critical social issues facing the local community
• Understand strategic grantmaking and how to take action
• Develop a strong Jewish identity and understand Jewish values and imperatives that drive giving
• Engage in experiential programs with community organizations
• Recommend distribution of funds to causes they are most passionate about
• Form new friendships and have fun together!

Photo courtesy of Honeycomb and the Jewish Teen Philanthropy Initiative at the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center of Houston.

Program participation will ensure teens are developing into the community’s future philanthropic leaders, with a strong understanding of the most pressing issues in the community and their responsibilities to engage in acts of Tzedakah. 

Eligibility: The program is open to teens ages 13- 15. Interested teens will need to complete a brief application to highlight community topics they are most passionate about and what they hope to take away from the program.

Program experiences: This program is designed as a small cohort learning experience to ensure all participants have a voice in the learning environment and decision-making process of giving. In this small group setting, participants will have the space for self-reflection and personal growth as young, responsible contributors to change in the Atlanta community. Sessions throughout the program will provide teens with practical skills to put strategic grantmaking practices into action. Teens will learn about systemic issues as immediate charitable needs in the community through hands-on experiences with non-profit organizations and drive the group’s ultimate giving decisions based these experiences.

Our program also includes an interactive parent session as well as complimentary philanthropic advising for participating families to explore how their values and goals align with their giving. Our program aims to empowering families to work together to create meaningful and lasting impact on the causes they care most about.

Cost: Participating teens are required to open a Young Philanthropist Fund at the Atlanta Jewish Foundation with a minimum contribution of $500. Funds will be opened as a part of program registration before the start of the sessions. The Atlanta Jewish Foundation will match $500 of each student’s fund contribution and will pool these matching dollars toward the non-profit(s) of the group’s choosing at the end of the program. Decisions for funding allocation will be inspired by direct visits to non-profit organizations in Atlanta.

Programming commitments: The program consists of 5 sessions, which include site visits / community engagement opportunities with various non-profit organizations in Atlanta and culminates in a community ceremony where teens will showcase their granting allocation. The program will commence in January of 2025.

2025 Program Timeline