This Alliance is supported by Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, and The Blagrave Trust and hosted by the Civic Power Fund.
We share a vision of a world in which young people are aware of their power and can build and wield it to achieve change.
Young people are at the forefront of some of our most urgent struggles. They are demanding racial, economic and climate justice and they are standing in solidarity with trans and migrant communities.
Meanwhile, rising housing, education and living costs threaten their futures. And scarce and short-term funding is hampering our youth sector, with brilliant organisations left firefighting.
By building power, agency and intergenerational solidarity, community organising offers a powerful route for young people to transform this present and reclaim their futures.
Yet youth organising is under-resourced, meaning the full potential of the field is not yet realised.
Following extensive engagement with young campaigners, activists and community organisers, we have identified an Alliance for Youth Organising as a way to change this.
The Alliance will act as an intergenerational collective, working together to strengthen youth organising infrastructure. They will:
In November 2023, we will open recruitment for 7 to 9 founding members, aiming for the Alliance to start working together by February 2024. We estimate the time commitment is around 12 days a year. Members will be paid £350 a day.
The Alliance for Youth Organising will shift money and decision-making power to the people who know what youth organising needs to thrive. By pooling and targeting resources, it is key to attracting new money and having impact at scale. And it is an opportunity to nurture the networks that youth organisers and activists have told us they need to do their best work.
We are starting up with an initial two year investment of £600,000. This is to both resource the Alliance and for the Alliance to start investing in the work. We will then work with the Alliance to map out and fundraise for a longer-term vision.
In the meantime, the funders involved in this start up phase will continue to fund youth organising through their existing programmes.
They are also establishing a new Funder Collaborative for Youth Organising inviting other funders dedicated to advancing youth organising as a strategy for youth development and social justice to share learning and help bring new money into this space.
