In 2019, the Creative Youth Development (CYD) National Partnership engaged in a project to better understand the funding landscape of their field. To illustrate their findings, researchers connected with funders and CYD program leaders in four settings to better understand the dynamics of their partnerships.
The following case story showcases a partnership between a funder and a local CYD program, demonstrating the “funding skill” and “funding will” traits of the funder.
The Lighthouse Project began organically, working with teenage students in media arts and music, originally in a local high school. Eventually, the program found its way to the YMCA and began to grow. As part of the YMCA, the program was eligible for funding through the Heinz Endowments, a large, regional funder – in fact, they were the only request to the arts/culture portfolio of the foundation from the Y. Not only that, but this was a very rare request focused on the intersection of the arts and youth development.