The institute is committed to continue providing Youth Government Day free of charge for students and schools. Financial barriers such as registration fees and costs for meals during the program have been removed. The institute has made it as simple as possible for students: just show up.
To assure the long-term future of Youth Government Day, the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute seeks to build an endowment of at least $200,000 that will enable it to expand the program's reach and to continue eliminating financial barriers for student participation.
Investing in today's young people through Youth Government Day means more students will have the opportunity to discover new possibilities for career paths in various fields related to government. It means more students will have their fledgling interest in politics and government bolstered and that future leaders of our state and nation may one day reflect on this experience as a "formative and influential event in their lives," as high school teacher Paul Hanrahan wrote following his experience with the program.
Contributions to the Youth Government Day endowment fund at the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute are tax deductible as allowed by law. Checks should be made payable to the SIU Foundation, a recognized 501(c)(3) organization by the IRS.
For the purpose of strengthening the advancement program and partially defraying the costs associated with the execution of the Southern@150 initiative to increase private support, a fee of six percent will be assessed on gifts made to Southern Illinois University or the Southern Illinois University Foundation.
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