We bridge funders and organizers to support youth organizing and its commitment to systemic change and social justice.
We provide direct support to youth organizing groups across the country through innovative programs.
LEARN MOREWe source youth organizing research, tools and stories to help funders and organizers do their work better.
LEARN MOREFCYO helps build philanthropic, intellectual and organizational capital necessary to strengthen and grow youth organizing.
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FCYO’s rapid response fund serves to support youth organizing groups in sustaining their organizations in this time and responding to the COVID-19 crisis. Funds will be designated for organizations that engage young people of color, low-income young people, and gender oppressed young people in collective action for systemic change. Funds should be used to help organizations make necessary pivots in program and strategy during this crisis. Size of grants: Grants will be up to $2,000 based on budget and need. FCYO has an initial pool of $50,000 for this fund, but will continue to raise funds with the possibility of expanding the number and size of grants.
We unite with the Parkland youth who have called on the entire country to move beyond thoughts and prayers and move into meaningful action. And we urge those concerned with making progress to think beyond the narrow debate of gun control vs. gun rights. Yes, we do have a gun problem in this country. There are too many of them and they are way too easy to access. We also have a systemic racism problem in this country. Historically, in the aftermath of tragic shootings such as the one in Parkland, the result has been laws that subject us - youth of color- to even more violence. Bringing more police into our schools, putting guns into the hands of our teachers, creating more reasons to lock up black and brown people, these are false solutions that increase the level of harm experienced in our day to day lives. If we truly want to make our society safe for everyone, we need solutions that address systemic injustice, invest in our communities, and rebuild social institutions that center human connection and supportive relationships.
FCYO is partnering with the Alliance for Educational Justice, Power U Center for Social Change, Dream Defenders, Youth United for Change, and Poder in Action to organize the Youth Power Lab. Launching in 2020, the Youth Power Lab will give youth organizers the opportunity to engage in deep evaluations of their organization and the broader field, identify key shifts that we need to make in order to take advantage of this political period, and begin designing shared experiments to test out new approaches to our organizing.
The Funders’ Collaborative on Youth Organizing invites Funders to join us on June 4th for a funder briefing focused on how young people today from across the South are building on long traditions of youth and intergenerational organizing. From the civil rights movement to current efforts for safe communities and just schools, young people from across the South have always been at the forefront of advocating for just and equitable communities. Building on this proud tradition, a new generation of Southern young people is organizing to improve conditions in their communities. FCYO, in collaboration with Grantmakers for Southern Progress, The Highlander Research and Education Center, Project South, The Southeastern Council of Foundations, Southern Echo, Inc., Southern Vision Alliance and The United Way of Greater Atlanta invite you to Atlanta, GA to learn about how how funders, youth leaders and communities are working together to advance young people as drivers of change.
Today, June 22, 2020, marks the beginning of a weeklong, nationwide call to support young people and their allies in the fight for police-free schools. This national week of action is being called by the National Campaign for Police-free Schools led by the Alliance for Educational Justice (AEJ) and Advancement Project National Office and supported by the Center for Popular Democracy, the Communities for Just Schools Fund, and the Funder’s Collaborative for Youth Organizing.
The FCYO Moment to Movement Fund will provide one-year grants to youth organizing groups responding to the current moment in ways that build long-term power for low-income young people, young people of color, gender oppressed young people and their communities. We will seek to support a diverse set of established and emerging organizations addressing the most pressing issues of our time. Priority will be given to organizations with a clear strategy for building power through base building, strategic alliances, and shifting public narratives. FCYO looks forward to strengthening our relationships with a wider range of organizations doing critical organizing in this moment. We currently have funds for 17 grants of $20,000.
The Funders’ Collaborative on Youth Organizing's (FCYO) is collecting information from youth organizing groups through a survey for a National 2020 Field Scan. The last field scan FCYO did was in 2013. 2020 will give us a chance to update that and take a longer view on the outcomes of the last 20 years. The field scan will identify and offer analysis of trends, opportunities and challenges over 20 years and how the field has grown over that time. This will also include a deeper dive into how key issues that youth organize around have changed, and the role of young people in moving issues on a national scale. These scans allow us to to improve our advocacy within philanthropy and increase resources for the great work that youth organizing groups do.
FCYO is seeking a highly experienced development consultant to create a fundraising strategy for a new fund. This fund is being launched as part of our 20th anniversary celebration and will support young people organizing for social justice over the next twenty years. The consultant will conduct an initial feasibility study and help develop and implement a fundraising strategy which will allow FCYO to connect with foundations and donors beyond our current set of relationships.
The Funders’ Collaborative on Youth Organizing (FCYO) is hosting a funder briefing on Youth Organizing in the South on June 4 in Atlanta, GA in partnership with several Southern funders and youth organizing groups. This statement was released on May 16 in response to Georgia and Alabama passing some of the nation’s most restrictive anti-choice laws.
This interactive webinar, held on November 14, 2018, brought together people from across the national youth organizing field to discuss major takeaways from the 2018 midterm elections. This exciting intergenerational panel offered analysis of the election, shared how their organizations are developing young people to lead electoral strategies, and answered questions from participants.
On July 9, 2018 FCYO held a special funder strategy session focused on young people of color leading movements for safety and justice. Attendees got to hear lessons learned from young people of color who have been on the forefront of this movement, connecting the symptoms of violence to root causes of injustice.
The Funders' Collaborative on Youth Organizing, in collaboration with Communities for Just Schools Fund, invites you to a Virtual Funder Brief: Youth Transforming School and Community Safety. This Virtual Funder Brief will create the opportunity for Funders and Donors interested in the current conversations and actions regarding school community safety to learn more about youth-led grassroots efforts.
Join the Funders’ Collaborative on Youth Organizing on July 9th for a special funder strategy session focused on young people of color in moment of powerful opportunity. Funders have an opportunity to support this work at a tipping point - FCYO invites interested youth-focused funders and donors to a special peer learning and strategy space to develop a shared response.
NEW YORK – On the heels of the national school walkout day on April 20, more than 50 youth organizing groups today announced a series of actions to end gun violence, reduce police presence in schools and invest in school counselors, restorative justice and other solutions that improve school climate. The youth of color-led groups include Alliance for Educational Justice, GoodKids MadCity, Los Angeles Student Activist Coalition, Padres y Jóvenes Unidos, Philadelphia Student Union, Urban Youth Collaborative, VOYCE Project and YVOTE. For these groups, and a host of national partners such as Advancement Project, the Center for Popular Democracy and the Schott Foundation, the school walkout is a continuation of the deep organizing work happening in local communities to push back on proposals that further criminalize Black and Brown students, including undocumented immigrants.
FCYO is teaming up with The Alliance for Educational Justice, Mobilize the Immigrant Vote/YVote, Advancement Project National Office and Philadelphia Student Union to host Youth of Color Take Lead on Safety. We invite youth organizers and their partners to this virtual forum on April 12th from 2:00pm - 3:30pm EST to discuss strategies for advancing the leadership of youth of color within the current debate on gun violence and safety.
Throughout the history of social movements in the U.S. and around the world, young people have played critical leadership roles. Over the past several decades, the youth organizing sector has grown in strength and impact. Yet most of our groups still struggle to achieve our ultimate aim - the Power to transform our communities. On March 15, 218, FCYO invited youth organizers and their allies to a virtual forum on to discuss key considerations for building meaningful power in the U.S. Over the past several years FCYO has analyzed how the youth organizing field approaches power building. We believe the central challenges facing youth organizers are reflective of those faced by organizers across the country. At the heart of those challenges is this critical question: how do we build the kind of power that transforms the conditions of everyday life for our people?
he Funders' Collaborative on Youth Organizing, in collaboration with Communities for Just Schools Fund, held a Virtual Funder Brief: Youth Transforming School and Community Safety on MArch 21, 201a. This Virtual Funder Brief created the opportunity for Funders and Donors interested in the current conversations and actions regarding school community safety to learn more about youth-led grassroots efforts. The brief highlighted: The holistic movement to end violence and transform school and community safety led by young people of color Reflections on the walkouts and next steps for future actions and policy change How to center narratives and policies with a racial justice lens Victories and campaigns that are already in place to create safe, healthy and just schools and communities What Funders and Donors can do to support this young people in this moment
FCYO is creating a new fund to support young people organizing for safety and justice. This fund will focus on efforts that employ a racial justice lens and connect gun violence to other forms of systemic violence. It will look to connect young people across race and class to build unity and broader political power.
This webinar highlighted emerging research across various studies on how involvement in youth organizing contributes to the social-emotional and academic development of young people in powerful ways, while also promoting their civic and community engagement, particularly for young people living in low-income communities and communities of color. This new research is beginning to indicate the engaging young people in organizing to address issues in their communities is in fact one of the most effective ways to support their holistic development.
Across the country, youth organizers have scored important policy victories, such as advocating for greater access to college prep curricula and introducing restorative justice models to replace punitive school discipline policies. As the field of youth organizing expands, a growing body of research is illuminating our understanding of youth organizing and the myriad ways in which participation in organizing shapes the lives of young people. Emerging research shows that involvement in youth organizing contributes to the social-emotional and academic development of young people in powerful ways, while also promoting their civic and community engagement.
August 1 & 2 of 2017, FCYO and the California Endowment will host funders in Los Angeles to learn about how, youth leaders and communities across California are working together to advance young people as drivers of change. This event is the first in a series of briefings and learning sessions for regional and national youth funders as we develop new philanthropic strategies to support young people working together to improve their communities.