In 2004, based on programs she had seen in other communities, Lynn Schusterman decided that she wanted to begin a youth philanthropy program in Tulsa. Two of Mrs. Schusterman's philanthropic passions are children and education. Lynn envisioned a program where local teens would become philanthropists in their own right, and would become engaged and excited about participating in the civic and philanthropic life of their community.

Charged with the task of creating the new program, CLSFF staff asked Adam Seaman, a corporate coach and strategic consultant who had developed the curriculum for Leadership Tulsa, to work with them to create and implement YPI.

Together, the vision they created for the program was unlike any other youth philanthropy project in the nation to date. Not satisfied with teaching kids how to make grants to existing nonprofit organizations, Adam wanted the students to become social entrepreneurs and change agents. In YPI, the participating students are asked to identify an issue facing teenagers that is not being addressed in Tulsa. They are then charged with gathering resources and implementing a program through strategic partners to address their identified issue. In addition, whereas most youth philanthropy programs are one year in length, YPI asks students to commit to a three year program. The skills the students gain from this experience run both deep and wide.

The impact of YPI is multi-fold:

• Develops a group of teens from across the community to be strong leaders.
• Creates a positive image of teens contributing to the community.
• Models for other teens and adults the importance of giving.
• Raises awareness of teen issues that may not get the attention they deserve.