Foundation for MetroWest Celebrates New Youth Philanthropy Fund

April 13, 2018 (Natick, MA) — The Foundation for MetroWest, in partnership with the Fund for Wellesley, held a celebration last night for the launch of the Wellesley Youth in Philanthropy Fund. The endowed fund began with a $100,000 donation from Brian and Susan Kavoogian of Wellesley, Mass., and the Foundation for MetroWest and the Fund for Wellesley aims to reach a $500,000 campaign goal by December 2018. The fund will support the Wellesley Youth in Philanthropy program in perpetuity.

“We believe it is imperative to nurture a culture of giving in the next generation, so that philanthropy becomes embedded in the fabric of the Wellesley community,” said Susan Kavoogian. “We believe in the Foundation for MetroWest and the impact of Youth in Philanthropy, and that is why we’ve made the commitment to invest in the sustainability of the program that is right here in our backyard.”

The Foundation for MetroWest’s Youth in Philanthropy (YIP) program is a unique leadership development program designed to empower and educate local middle and high school youth to become our community’s next generation of philanthropists and civic leaders. The Wellesley YIP program enables students who live and learn in Wellesley to grant $10,000 to local youth-serving nonprofits, directly making an impact to local organizations of the program’s choice. Since its inception in 2015, Wellesley YIP has granted $40,000 to local organizations and 80 students have completed the program.

“We’re thrilled to embark on this initiative to endow the Wellesley Youth in Philanthropy program with this Fund. The importance of preparing our youth for lives of civic and community leadership has never been greater. Thanks to the partnership with the Fund for Wellesley, and the lead gift of $100,000 from Brian and Susan Kavoogian, we’re on our way to ensuring that this program is a permanent resource for Wellesley teens and local nonprofits forever.”

To learn more about YIP, visit https://yipmetrowest.org/, and to learn about the Wellesley YIP program, visit https://yipmetrowest.org/wellesley-youth-philanthropy/. To learn more about the campaign or to support the initiative, please contact Renee Quinn, Senior Philanthropy Officer, at rquinn@foundationformetrowest.org or 508.647.2260.

About Youth in Philanthropy

Since 1997, the Foundation for MetroWest’s Youth in Philanthropy program has been inspiring youth to give back and to truly become invested in the MetroWest community. Key to the future success of our region, we are proud to offer one of the largest youth philanthropy education programs in the country that has educated more than 1,250 teens who have granted $1.1 M to over 140 youth development organizations in our backyard.