HANCOCK — Keweenaw Community Foundation (KCF) has announced that funds are available for Spring 2024 scholarships and grants. The Kellogg Youth Fund is offering grants to support programs and projects that are directly related to youth in Houghton and Keweenaw Counties.

“The grant opportunities is for youth-related projects,” said KCF Executive Director Robin Meneguzzo. “That’s coming from the Kellogg Youth Fund that is held here.”

The goals of the Kellogg Youth Endowment Fund are to engage youth in philanthropy, address the needs of local youth, and perform effective community service, says the KCF website.

“The cool thing about that fund,” Meneguzzo said, “is that we have a student-led group, the Youth Advisory Council (YAC) that actually reviews the grants and makes recommendations to the Board, so it’s very youth-focused and youth-led.”

The trustees of the Community Foundation for Keweenaw and Houghton Counties created the Youth Advisory Council in 1992, in response to a challenge issued by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The Kellogg Foundation contributed $500,000 to the Keweenaw Community Foundation to create an endowment to be managed for and by youth in Houghton and Keweenaw Counties. YAC, a group of local students interested in leadership and philanthropy, is eager to review this year’s grant applications and help make funding decisions that affect local youth. The total amount available for grants is $13,000.

Meneguzzo added that it is an excellent opportunity for students to select projects that speak to what they believe is important to the community.

“It’s a great opportunity for kids, and also our organization to really work with them and meet their needs as they identify them,” she said. “We’re always really excited for the Kellogg Youth Funding.”

Previously supported projects have included an adaptive SCUBA program, a community garden at a local school, a bike rack at the Ahmeek park, and tools for a local high school robotics group.

The deadline to apply is March 16, 2024. Visit www.keweenawgives.org/spring-granting for the application.

The Scholarship applications are also available on the KCF website, from February 1 through March 16, 2024.

“I think most people think that scholarships are just for graduating seniors,” Meneguzzo said, “but actually, we have some other opportunities that are for adult learners, or those who aren’t necessarily graduating this year.”

“Those are some great opportunities for the community to be aware of,” she said.

Meneguzzo said there is also funding available for music scholarships for students who are engaged in stringed instruments that a donor was very passionate about.

“We have a really wide variety of different opportunities, not just for graduating seniors, but also for kids in elementary and middle school years for music, but also for some adult opportunities.”

A total of $40,000 is available this spring.

Visit www.keweenawgives.org/scholarships for the applications and eligibility information.