Youth Organizing & Leadership Development Overview

Young people are deeply involved in the fight for social and economic justice. They are today’s organizers, decision-makers and leaders. The Penney Family Fund supports organizations that are youth-led or multi-generational organizations with robust youth organizing and leadership development activities where youth have direct decision-making roles and responsibilities. It prioritizes organizations working directly with youth of color and low-income youth and engages youth in organizing, policy/advocacy and civic education as strategies for social change. The Fund supports organizations that:

• Involve youth at every level of the organization
   
• Demonstrate a strong commitment to leadership development and civic education
   
• Are actively involved in advocacy efforts as a main strategy
   
• Adopt strategies that including organizing youth of color
   
• Engage in coalition work and work closely with allies
   
• Create solutions that address the root causes of problems, such as racial and economic inequities
   
• Demonstrate a commitment to include an intergenerational component.