This summer, the 8-week Machon had a special opportunity through the Jewish Teen Funders Network (JTFN) to create a teen philanthropy 
foundation. They received $1500 from the JTFN as well as $500 from the URJ Camps to donate money to organizations who submitted grant proposals. You can read more about the pilot program in general in a previous blog.
by Sara Crowe, Summer 2012 Machon Participant
Machonikim Help Box Books at Books for Africa on their Site Visit
As a part of the pilot program for the Camp Coleman Jewish Teen Funders Network, the 8-week Machon researched non-profit organizations throughout the summer to determine how to distribute $2000 in grant funds. In the end, we decided to give $1000 to send books to schools in Africa under Books for Africa, $500 to the peer-mentoring program PAL (under Jewish Family and Careers Services in Atlanta), and $500 to the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta to buy books for children’s primary care clinics.
In this program, we learned how non-profit organizations function, how philanthropy relates to Jewish values, and how to properly research non-profit organizations. We spent weeks researching and contacting organizations, and by the end of the summer, we all sat down and discussed how we would like to distribute the funds. This program taught us the importance of giving (specifically through a Jewish lens); we are proud of the work we accomplished and are excited that we were able to donate to some great organizations!
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