The Youth Opportunities Program is a leadership and grant-making program for city youth. Its purpose is to make Boulder a better community for people of middle school or high school age by helping them access cultural, educational and recreational activities. 

The Program is advised by the Youth Opportunities Advisory Board (YOAB), a group of high school students. The 2008-2009 YOAB has 16 members who attend six different schools. Board members are held the first Friday of each month during the school year. New members join the Board each spring through an application process.

Now is the time to apply to be on YOAB next year!

Applications are currently available for the city of Boulder's 2009-2010 Youth Opportunities Advisory Board (YOAB).  City of Boulder residents (this includes most of Gunbarrel) who are currently in grades 8-11 are eligible to apply.  No previous leadership experience is required.   YOAB members learn valuable skills as they: make funding decisions about proposals for youth programs, advise the city government and local agencies on youth-related issues, and plan events for youth.  Applications are due Wednesday, April 8, 2009.  Please click here  for more information about YOAB and an application.  Feel free to call 303-441-4349 if you have any questions.

View the 12-minute video describing the Youth Opportunities Program and its impacts on the community (To download Quicktime, click on the blue Q icon to the right. Then open QuickTime Player, go to to the File dropdown menu, click on "Open URL", and paste in the address at the top of the page you get to when you click the video link above. Even though the page won't be displayed the necessary address (rtsp://.....) will appear at the top.)

download quicktime7

Youth Opportunities Advisory Board (YOAB) 

 

Front Row:  Katie Browning, Josh Smith, Lupita Sánchez, Bonnie Rogers
Middle Row:  Eric Davids, Patrick Autruong, Helen Rhea Vernier, Richa Poudyal, Sara goodman, Jake Stimmel, Karmin Barcenas
Back Row:  Peter Osnes, Katie Schweber, Daniel Vigil
Missing:  Andi Rudman, Thomas Williams

MORE PHOTOS: Outstanding Youth Volunteer Awards, Martin Luther King Day, YOAB Alums, etc

 Grants: The Youth Opportunities Program is funded through a city sales tax. The Program offers financial support for cultural, recreational, and educational activities for city of Boulder resident middle and high school age youth through grants to individual youth and to agencies. More information here about grants available through our program. List of 2008 agency grantees here . 

Volunteer Opportunities: Need ideas for where to do local volunteer work?   List of possible places with contact info, organized by age

YOAB Receives National Philanthropy Day Award 

Attention Boulder Youth: What do you think about life in Boulder for teenagers?
An important role of the YOAB is to provide information about youth needs and interests to Boulder's City Council, to city departments, and to local agencies. If you are between the ages of 11-18, YOAB wants to hear from you about your opinions of life in Boulder, about good things young people are doing, and about challenges they face. Please send a message to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Other Youth Focused Information:

Building Connections , a report of the community engagement process conducted in the spring of 2006 in response to the issues presented in the 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS).

Voices and Views , a report of the youth summit held with 115 young people in March, 2006 as part of the YRBS community engagement process.