The Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) of the Otsego Community Foundation needs to hear your voice. You can do this by participating in the Youth Needs Survey.
The Youth Needs Survey is used to identify the concerns of the youth in the community and region, and this assessment is utilized by the Youth Advisory Committee to determine the best way to allocate funds in the community.
This survey is usually conducted every two or three years by YAC following the best practices guidelines of the Michigan Community Foundations Youth Project. It is conducted in Otsego County schools and through peer outreach, and clearly identifies the concerns of the youth in the community.
Needs Assessments are a vital part of the grant process because they give direction to grantmaking and help determine where the grant money is most needed in the community and region. They also highlight changes in key problem areas identified in previous assessments.
Once the needs of the youth in the community are identified, incoming grant applications can be prioritized based on the needs that have been recognized.
Who can take this survey? Youth ages 12-19 who live in or go to school in Otsego County.
To start the survey, please click here.
YAC members tell the importance of the Youth Needs Survey:
"YAC makes a commitment to representing the youth of our community. To honor our commitment, we listen to what the youth has to say through the Youth Needs Survey and we use that information when evaluating the impact of the grants presented to us. The Youth Needs Survey is an essential component in helping YAC recognize our priorities each grant cycle." - Claire Gilling
"The Youth Needs Survey gives us a direct line of communication to the youth in our community about the issues impacting them most, which allows us to make the best, most impactful grants possible." - Daniel Reynolds
"Being part of YAC means that we are part of an organization for the the youth, by the youth. In order to fulfill our duties, we need to know what the issues are that are impacting the youth in our community so we can apply the concerns in our granting decisions." - Elizabeth Pallarito
"The Youth Needs Survey is the basis of YAC. Finding out what the main issues facing the youth of our community are is SO important, especially when it comes to the grants that we can give out to fix these issues." - Kaylie McKinley
