Kaplun Foundation Youth Board

The Kaplun Foundation Youth Board is an initiative of the Morris J. & Betty Kaplun Foundation. The Youth Board, established in 2019, gives high school and first-year college students an opportunity to learn about concepts of Jewish philanthropy, explore Jewish values, dive into grant making, and review and analyze grant proposals during a series of online board meetings over a school year.

Students who enter the Kaplun Essay Contest are invited to serve on the next Youth Board. A new youth board is seated each year. Board members from around the country meet online roughly every two weeks from October through May. They explore concepts of Jewish philanthropy, identify values the board will use to guide its decision-making, develop a mission statement, invite nonprofit organizations to submit proposals for funding, review their proposals and narrow the list, go on virtual “site visits,” and make a final choice about how to distribute $5,000 of the Kaplun Foundation’s funds.

Board meetings are facilitated by Trisha Swed, a Jewish educator who comes to us via Honeycomb, the authority on Jewish teen philanthropy. Honeycomb developed and delivered our program in 2019 and we continue to be thrilled to have them as a partner.