Courtesy Photo Introducing Mac, the Golden Yak. As a fun addition to YAC Day and inspired by the Foundation’s popular Giving Tuesday Golden Goose, the YAC that raises the most donations on May 7 will win Mac.

ALPENA — The Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan (CFNEM) and its Affiliate Foundations are hosting the first-ever YAC Day on Tuesday, May 7. YAC Day is a special event focused on fundraising and building awareness of the Foundation’s Youth Advisory Councils, or YACs, which award annual grant funding to youth projects in their communities.

Much like CFNEM’s popular Giving Tuesday Northeast Michigan event, YAC Day is a primarily online, 24-hour giving event aimed at helping local YACs increase their grantmaking capabilities.

Youth Advisory Councils are groups of youth ages 12-21 who are engaged in philanthropy through grantmaking, leadership opportunities, and community service. Through this program, young people throughout Northeast Michigan are learning about the important role philanthropy plays in a community.

“Our YAC program has quite a reach across our region. We have about 130 YAC members serving in 19 different schools across our nine-county service area,” said CFNEM Executive Director Patrick Heraghty. “The impact these youth are having on their communities is so positive, so inspiring, and so needed. We are very excited to have a special day of fundraising that is geared 100% toward helping our YACs increase their impact.”

On YAC Day on May 7, community members will be able to visit the Foundation’s website at cfnem.org and donate to the YAC serving their community. Half of each donation will be permanently endowed to increase future grantmaking. The other half will be used for grantmaking in the YACs next round of grants, which will be awarded in early 2025.

Heraghty added that the Community Foundation is offering a matching grant of $4,000 to each of the six YACs in its service area as incentive to encourage community support and giving.

YACs include:

∫ Northeast Michigan Youth Advisory Council (Alcona, Alpena, Montmorency, and Presque Isle counties);

∫ Iosco County Youth Advisory Council (includes all of Iosco County);

∫ North Central Michigan Community Foundation — Crawford County YAC;

∫ North Central Michigan Community Foundation — Ogemaw County YAC;

∫ North Central Michigan Community Foundation — Oscoda County YAC;

∫ Straits Area Community Foundation (Cheboygan County and Mackinaw City).

“This program is truly growing the next generation of givers in our communities by connecting them to their communities through philanthropy and through this grantmaking process,” said Heraghty. “We have seen our former YAC members become donors, leaders in their communities, and even trustees on our own governing boards.”

YAC grants are awarded from the Kellogg Youth Endowment Funds held at CFNEM and its Affiliate Foundations. Since the local YAC programs started in 1995, YACs across Northeast Michigan have awarded a combined $2.5 million to nonprofits for youth-related projects.

As a fun addition to YAC Day and inspired by the Foundation’s popular Giving Tuesday Golden Goose, the YAC that raises the most donations on May 7 will win Mac the Golden Yak. Mac was named by Youth Advisory Council members from across Northeast Michigan.

To support your local YAC on YAC Day, visit cfnem.org on Tuesday, May 7, between 12 a.m. and 11:59 p.m. to donate online, or stop into the Community Foundation office to make a cash or check donation. The office is located at 100 N. Ripley, Suite F, Alpena.