Social:Youth Innovation Fund

The Youth Innovation Fund is a national program that seeds youth activism, service learning, youth-led media through civic engagement programs in eight cities across the United States . Based in Washington, D.C., the Fund operates in Ypsilanti, Michigan, San Francisco, California , Portland, Oregon , Portland, Maine, Nashville, Tennessee, Hampton, Virginia, Cleveland, Mississippi and Chicago, Illinois. It is funded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and supported by the National Service-Learning Partnership.

History

In 2003 the Youth Innovation Fund was funded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation to help the National Service-Learning Partnership, at the Academy for Educational Development, establish a new development source for "youth-directed civic action". The Youth Innovation Fund's primary purpose is to support youth, working in partnership with community institutions, and to create innovations that address public issues and problems using a service learning framework.

Eight sites were chosen nationwide to receive grants in Chicago , Cleveland, Mississippi, Hampton, Virginia, Nashville, Portland, Maine, Portland, Oregon , San Francisco and Ypsilanti, Michigan. These boards were to consist of diverse youth ages 12-19 that represented the wide variety of races and socio-economic backgrounds of the youth population at the site. Each youth board makes strategic mini-grants to youth-directed civic action projects that utilize a service-learning framework. The youth boards also develop impact plans to create the structures and policies to sustain systemic youth engagement in a city and/or school district.

External links

• Youth Innovation Fund website.
• San Francisco Youth Innovation Fund website.
• Portland/Multnomah County Youth Innovation Fund website.
• Nashville Youth Innovation Fund website.
• Hampton, Virginia Youth Innovation Fund website.