One of Sue Nelson’s dreams before she retired from the Community Foundation was to start a program for youth in our community to learn about philanthropy and the nonprofit sector. That dream came true through the Youth Philanthropy Leadership Program, which began in 2023. But could Sue have envisioned that one of the original students would go on to pursue a degree in philanthropic studies?

Meet Mosinee High School senior Jena Bartnik. “I’ve always been passionate about a lot of different social issues and politics—unlike your typical teenager,” she said, regarding her involvement with the Youth Philanthropy Leadership Program. “I’ve excelled in school and all my extracurriculars, but I’ve never really fallen in love with a specific subject. The Youth Philanthropy Program opened my eyes to what can be done for the community.”

Bartnik will begin studying philanthropic leadership this fall at Indiana University Indianapolis, at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, the only school of its kind in the country that offers a philanthropy major. She competed at the university’s Pitch Your Passion competition in March and was one of three students awarded a full-ride Thomasson scholarship. “Sue Nelson likes to call me her and Kelly’s ‘success story,’” Bartnik said with a laugh.

‘Kelly’ is Kelly Price, Director of Programs and Donor Relations at the Community Foundation. She talked about leveraging local talent. “We have these amazing students, like Jena, in the area who are willing to learn about philanthropy and capable of making big decisions as part of our Distributions Committee,” Price stated. “We couldn’t turn away all of this talent.”

Price said that junior-year students in the Youth Philanthropy Leadership Program experience what is called the “Year of Giving,” where they learn about the basics of philanthropy and how businesses, nonprofits, foundations, and government entities work together to support the nonprofit field. Senior-year students then go through a “Year of Receiving,” learning how that money is given in a relationship-building setting. “The students talk with our local funders, local businesses, and independent donors,” Price continued. “Then they work on the four pillars of fundraising, like an annual appeal, a fundraising event, grant writing, and personal asks.”

Read the full article about the Youth Philanthropy Leadership Program at Wausau Pilot and Review.