Students from 10 Quad City-area high schools are accepting applications from nonprofits as they prepare to distribute $10,000 to charitable organizations serving Rock Island and Scott counties.

The students are members of Teens for Tomorrow (T4T), a youth philanthropy initiative of the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend.

During the nine month T4T program, 9th – 12th grade students from high schools in Rock Island and Scott counties learn about the role nonprofits play in the community. They work together to identify community needs and explore the grantmaking process. At the end of the year, they distribute T4T grants to local nonprofits. This is the only program in the Quad Cities that allows students to make grant decisions.

“Teens for Tomorrow opens participants’ eyes to the needs of their community and shows them they have the power to make a difference both today and in the future,” said Nicole Freise, the Community Foundation’s Youth Initiatives Advocate.

A year ago, T4T granted a total of $6,000 to six local organizations. Due to a gift from the Herb and Arlene Elliott Endowment, Teens for Tomorrow is now a permanent fund of the Community Foundation and is able to grant $10,000 to nonprofits.

“The teens are really excited,” Freise continued. “Starting this year we’ll grant much more than in past years. They know it will have a larger impact on the Quad Cities.”

Grant applications are available to download at www.cfgrb.org/t4t and must be submitted to the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend by March 1, 2011.

For more information about Teens for Tomorrow, contact Nicole Freise at (563) 326-2840 or nicolefreise@cfgrb.org.