By Youth For Youth
By Youth For Youth (BYFY) is a unique opportunity for Dane County high school youth to be impactful leaders in their community. BYFY provides the opportunity for youth to make local investment decisions to support youth-led and youth-designed programs and projects in Dane County.
Learn More About BYFY
BYFY members identify issues impacting youth in Dane County. They establish funding priorities, review grant proposals, and recommend funding from County and City grants. BYFY is a collaborative program organized by UW-Madison Extension, the City of Madison, United Way of Dane County, and the Dane County Youth Commission.
“BYFY is a program where youth are given the opportunity to impact their community by funding different youth programs in the area. It’s a great program to be a part of and helps you understand the needs of our community along with helping others.” – Past BYFY Member
“BYFY is an opportunity to work as part of team to fund youth-led social justice projects in Dane County. The program lets you gain experience in evaluating grant proposals and making funding decisions, which is a very impressive thing to have on your resume as a teen. BYFY is an incredible way to have an impact on issues you care about.” – Past BYFY Member
BYFY News & Updates
- From 2023-2025, By Youth For Youth members served on the Youth Climate Action Fund, an international grant program through Bloomberg Philanthropies. $150,000 total was received for BYFY members to award funding to youth-designed climate solutions that aligned with the City of Madison’s sustainability and climate resilience efforts.
BYFY 2025/2026 Youth Cohort Applications – CLOSED
By Youth For Youth 2025/2026 Youth Cohort applications are now closed. If you are interested in receiving information about participating for 2026/2027, please add your information to this google form.
BYFY 2025/2026 Grant Applications – CLOSED
By Youth For Youth 2025/2026 grant applications are now closed. If you are interested in receiving information about submitting a grant for 2026/2027, please add your information to this google form.
Staff Contacts & Program Partners
Staff Contact Information:
Taylor Seale, UW-Madison Extension
seale.taylor@danecounty.gov
Nathan Beck, City of Madison
nbeck@cityofmadison.com
Michelle Van Asten, United Way of Dane County
michelle.vanasten@uwdc.org
Bonnie Erikson, Dane County Youth Commission
Erickson.Bonnie@danecounty.gov
Program Partners:
Thank you to our partners! By Youth For Youth is a collaboration between:
- UW-Madison Extension
- City of Madison
- Dane County Youth Commission
- United Way of Dane County
