NORTH-BOROUGH – Freshman at UMass Amherst, graduate of Algonquin Regional High School and resident of Northborough, Sravaya Tanikella used the lessons learned through a program known as Youth in Philanthropy (YIP) to support ongoing work with the Rotary Interact Club.

The Rotary Interact Club operates as a service program for 12 to 18 year olds under the umbrella of Rotary. Tanikella has been an active member for six years and is currently leading corporate sponsorship efforts for an upcoming conference hosted by the group in Calgary, Canada.

“I used everything I learned from YIP to prepare myself,” she said in an interview with the Community Advocate late last year.

A student joined Youth in Philanthropy

Already linked to the Rotary club, Tanikella responded to an ad at the school in 2020 by visiting the Algonquin Career Center and applying to Youth in Philanthropy. She was accepted into the program.

According to its website, YIP is an experiential leadership development program designed to empower and educate local youth to become the next generation of philanthropists in our community.

Operating 14 programs in MetroWest each year between September and May, YIP is one of the nation’s largest and longest-running youth philanthropy programs.

It is managed by the Foundation for MetroWest.

“YIP is trying to increase its presence in a community and has presented me with a great way to get more involved in the technical side of philanthropy,” said Tanikella. “It’s the oldest organization of its kind in the country that engages students, creates presentations and undertakes other small tasks, including the technical aspects of grant writing. ”

As Tanikella explained, “The YIP training walked us through the process of knowing what to look for in a grant application, looking for the essence of the organization. “

“We learned how to look at a budget in detail, make sure all the right boxes were checked and determine if an organization was staying true to its cause, then we met with representatives of the organization, all virtually,” he said. she continued, noting the precautions taken during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tanikella made a grant advocacy presentation to the Southborough Community Fund. She raised money through GoFundMe and made a video highlighting what YIP does and where the money is going for the program’s website.

At the end of Tanikella’s session, her group awarded grants of $ 5,000 to two organizations – Horizons for Homeless Children and Doc Wayne.

“Horizons for Homeless Children is revolutionizing what it means to provide day care to homeless children, giving parents tablets to install during the pandemic, with the goal of tackling the issues of these still late children and is totally inclusive, ”she said.

“Doc Wayne provides therapeutic mentorship and mental health support through sport to clients as young as six,” she continued. “Both are such useful organizations. ”

“She is exactly what Rotary needs”

Matthew Jose of the Foundation for MetroWest remembers being impressed by Tanikella’s YIP graduation speech.

He added that he was thrilled when she asked for advice on writing a grant for the Rotary Interact conference.

“We strive to help our YIP graduates when they are trying to do something beyond, like this Rotary project,” said Jose. “She’s exactly what Rotary needs – a youthful brew.”

To learn more about YIP, visit their website. To learn more about Rotary Interact, visit Rotary.org.

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