The possibility of achieving meaningful progress towards racial and socioeconomic justice depends on the ability of communities to organize across issue area, identity, and region to build broad movements for enduring change. Young people in particular can be a powerful force for reclaiming community power, and participating in organizing at a young age can change their perspectives for a lifetime. The following two Foundation initiatives help strengthen and develop the pipeline of next-generation movement leaders to lead social justice and racial equity work.

Youth Organizing Capacity Building Initiative

This three-year collaborative launched in 2018 to strengthen the effectiveness of nonprofits that work to increase the number of young people leading grassroots social justice campaigns. Nonprofit partners receive multi-year Unrestricted Operating Support grants and participate in a peer learning community. In 2019, Initiative funders announced $4.1 million in grants to 26 nonprofits engaged in youth organizing. We are proud to partner here with the Annenberg Foundation, California Community Foundation, the Liberty Hill Foundation, and The California Endowment. To learn more, click here.