Youth philanthropy
FIST: Forever Improving Steuben County Together
FIST is a youth philanthropy organization founded by the Dekko Foundation under the direction of the Steuben County Community Foundation. Students from Hamilton, Angola, and Fremont become members as 8th graders and remain through high school. Each school has an adult representative. The focus of the group is to promote philanthropy among young people.
FIST meets once a month to plan ways to empower the youth of Steuben County and assist in service projects. Collectively they donate more than 1000 hours a year of their time to improve their communities. In addition to volunteering their time and talents through service projects in the community, FIST offers grants to community nonprofits and school projects that promote youth involvement in philanthropy.
FIST Mission Statement
FIST seeks to inspire the youth of Steuben County to become leaders of tomorrow by sharing their resources and empowering others to donate their time, talent, and treasures.
FIST Grants
FIST often accepts applications for grants for nonprofit and school projects that impact the youth of Steuben County. FIST’s goal is to fund projects that will teach young members of our community how to be a philanthropist. FIST is also looking forward to opportunities to volunteer at events. FIST hopes to inspire local nonprofit organizations to involve the youth who will be our community leaders in the future.
Any school employee or nonprofit organization in Steuben County or that serves Steuben County is eligible to apply for a FIST grant, including churches and service clubs. Grants of up to $1000 will be awarded to activities that correspond with the FIST mission statement. The application requires a description of the project, itemized budget or estimates, and must demonstrate how it connects with the mission of FIST.
The grant cycle is open August 1st through October 31st. CLICK HERE TO APPLY
FIST will not fund shipping/handling, food items and transportation costs.
FIST Community Projects
Each year, FIST develops new ideas about how they make a difference in Steuben County. Their mission statement is “to inspire the youth of Steuben County to become the leaders of tomorrow by sharing their resources and empowering others to donate their time, talents, and treasures.”
In the last few years, their projects have included:
- Trick or Treat for Canned Goods, gathering around 10,000 canned goods items each year to donate to local food pantries
- Grants to classrooms and nonprofits that provide ways for young people to give back to their community
- FLIP (Future Leaders in Philanthropy), where FIST members teach 5th-grade students across Steuben County about giving their time, talent, and treasure. They also teach them about grantmaking and help the classes award $500 grants to nonprofits.
- Volunteering with other nonprofits and community events, such as Cahoots Coffee Cafe, the WLKI Pie Auction, Cops for Kids, and Lake James Christian Camp & Retreat Center
- Collaborating with Jenny Lou’s and the Heritage Club to put on a Growing Together Picnic with Heritage Club members
Meet the 2024-25 FIST executive board
President
Jed Mortorff
Vice President
Delaney Bock
Secretary
Marissa Mercer
Treasurer
Kiersen Crowl
Public Relations
Gabriella Concus
Contact Information
If you need additional information, please call the office and ask for our Youth Philanthropy Coordinator at 260-665-6656, or email FIST@steubenfoundation.org.
