High school students award $38,000 to eight local organizations

Celebrating its 20th year, Quad Cities Community Foundation’s Teens for Tomorrow program reaches new grantmaking record

Youth philanthropy is making an enormous impact in the region thanks to the Quad Cities Community Foundation’s Teens for Tomorrow (T4T) program. This year’s cohort set a new record for program grantmaking, awarding $38,000 to eight local nonprofits.   

“We let the students lead the way,” said Kaleigh Trammell, Community Foundation grantmaking specialist, “and this year they were determined to make a big splash.” With the support of the Community Foundation’s development staff, these exceptional young philanthropists raised $28,000 on top of their $10,000 yearly grantmaking budget by working directly with local donors.

Each year, the students determine specific areas of need in the region. The priority areas for this year's grants encompass vital societal issues: domestic violence and abuse prevention, food security, homelessness, and immigration support.

The Community Foundation’s T4T program provides a safe space for idea-sharing and inventive collaboration between its students, leading to remarkable outcomes. After a rigorous nine-month period of proposal reviews, site visits, interviews, and fundraising, students selected eight final grant recipients working to address prioritized local issues, and they learned a lot through the process.

Gifts to the Teens for Tomorrow endowment fund support the program’s grantmaking and continued operations. Contributions can be made here.

“There’s never a right answer,” admitted Nathan Musal, a rising senior at Pleasant Valley High School. “It’s all trade-offs.” Nathan and his peers from a range of area high schools balanced those trade-offs and ultimately decided that focusing on unrestricted operational grants, rather than funding specific projects, was the way to make the biggest impact. “These organizations know better than we do where their need is and how to use these funds. We chose to put the final decisions in their hands.”

Trammell recalled that one of the most rewarding moments for students was making “happy calls” to inform grant recipients of their selection. In these heartfelt conversations, the teen philanthropists see firsthand how their hard work and dedication make a tangible impact in their community. “Philanthropic work doesn’t happen in a vacuum,” Trammell said. “It’s really about building these personal types of connections.”

At its core, T4T—now in its 20th year—aims to support young philanthropists as they continue to step out of their comfort zones, take on challenges together, and cherish the joyful moments along the way. Sue Hafkemeyer, Community Foundation president and CEO, believes that “these students are building a brighter future and forming a generation of generous leaders who recognize their ability to shape the world for the better.”

“Going into this, I was an average person who recognized a need,” Musal reflected, “but now that I’ve seen what a difference these nonprofits make, I intend to remain involved in helping our community in the future. It’s something I view as essential to being a good citizen—helping out and doing what you can.”

The following eight nonprofits received Teens for Tomorrow funding this year:

  • Christian Care, to provide support to the Community Meal Site Program—$2,500

  • Family Resources, Inc., to maintain sheltering and housing initiatives—$10,000

  • Humility Homes and Services, Inc., to fund housing stability—$1,500

  • NEST Café, to support ongoing operation—$7,000

  • One Eighty, for sustaining the Hope Center Food Pantry—$2,500

  • St. Anthony Church, to preserve the mission of the McAnthony Window Program—$2,000

  • Tapestry Farms, to grow the social services program—$2,500

  • World Relief Quad Cities, to advance ongoing relief efforts—$10,000

Will Van Camp