The Youth Engagement Fund (YEF) began as a donor-advised fund in 2007 to organize traditional civic participation funders around a national strategy for supporting youth and young adult civic engagement. YEF quickly cemented a reputation as trusted support for state-based and nationwide youth organizing strategy, primarily through national voter organizations on college campuses. In 2018, we released a strategic plan pivoting our approach to:
Since 2018, we have granted an average of $10M to over 70 movement partners. We have also grown to meet new challenges by tripling our staff, launching state-based youth civic engagement collaboratives, and tailoring our strategies to reflect the social and racial justice issues impacting young people today. Our guiding star is to trust, fund, and follow the leadership of youth of color, as they hold the key to building a truly inclusive and multiracial democracy. We invite you to join us and support the next generation of movement and civic leaders.
NEO Philanthropy is a national leader in innovative philanthropic solutions. NEO Philanthropy leads large-scale collaborative grantmaking funds on a range of social justice issues; provides fiscal sponsorship and management to projects and campaigns; and develops organization and field-focused capacity building initiatives. Serving as both host and fiscal sponsor for the Youth Engagement Fund, NEO Philanthropy provides day-to-day management, fiscal and legal oversight, budget planning, fundraising, and administrative support to ensure peak operational efficiency.
We call our grantees movement partners to reflect the unique relationship we have with them that goes well beyond funding. We provide training, connections, and coaching to open doors to new funding opportunities, support leadership development, and build long-term sustainability in social movements. Movement partners are on the frontlines of movement-building and social change, guiding us toward what issues deserve our attention and funding.
YEF is committed to closing gaps in youth civic engagement, but we can’t do it alone. Everyday, we work with organizational partners—expert trainers, researchers, and consultants—to strengthen our programs, ensure our work stays in line with our mission, and incorporate the feedback we receive from movement partners on the forefront of making change.
YEF’s Guiding Circle is an advisory board consisting of foundations, institutions, and individual donors who contribute insights, share advice and ideas, and help sustain our organization. Guiding Circle members are wise and trusted leaders in civic engagement, movement-building, labor rights, philanthropy, organizational development, and the power of youth and historically disenfranchised communities. They are committed to supporting a generation of youth and young adult leadership through increased civic participation and meaningful social change.
YEF’s philanthropic partners are a community of foundations and individual donors committed to youth leadership and strengthening our democracy. Philanthropic partners receive regular communications showcasing our impact and are invited to briefings and convenings with movement partners and other experts in the field. This is part of our commitment to being a trailblazer and thought partner in changing the norms of philanthropy while prioritizing young leaders and investing in pipelines of leaders of color.
NEO Philanthropy is a national leader in innovative philanthropic solutions. NEO Philanthropy leads large-scale collaborative grantmaking funds on a range of social justice issues; provides fiscal sponsorship and management to projects and campaigns; and develops organization and field-focused capacity-building initiatives.
Serving as both host and fiscal sponsor for the Youth Engagement Fund, NEO Philanthropy provides day-to-day management, fiscal and legal oversight, budget planning, fundraising, and administrative support to ensure peak operational efficiency.
