Youthprise

Promoting Healing through Health and Safety: Youthprise supports programs and initiatives that promote the health and safety of young people. We champion work that promotes the healing of our youth and their right to health and safety. In addition to meeting basic food needs through our Nutrition Program, we work with community-based organizations to link healthy lifestyles with good nutrition. We take a holistic approach to health and safety and advance intervention strategies that prevent the criminalization of youth, which can pose a threat to public safety. In 2024, Youthprise supported over 40 Nutrition sites across the Twin Cities metro region, distributing 210,262 meals and snacks to school-age children and youth. Additionally, we supported 25 Twin Cities-based organizations through a cohort-based grantmaking and technical assistance initiative focused on non-clinical mental health support for youth. In 2024, Youthprise invested approximately $1.6 million in grants and strategic investments.

Building Power through Learning and Leadership: We invest in learning opportunities that build knowledge, power, and agency among our youth; we support and amplify youth as leaders by building networks, developmental opportunities, and shifting policy/laws. Youthprise promotes the learning, leadership, and social-emotional development of youth. Programs and initiatives supported in this area expose youth to arts and culture, enrichment activities, technical assistance, and youth leadership opportunities. We seek to shift how programs interact with youth and support programs that engage youth in leadership and governance, a practice we model at Youthprise. We embed young people across all areas of our organization, and we have a goal of 50% representation of youth on our Board of Directors. In 2024, Youthprise supported organizations and activities that center young people in decisions impacting them through training and technical assistance, as well as financial investment. Among our activities in this area was an investment in a cross-state initiative to co-design afterschool systems in six locations across the country. In 2024, Youthprise invested $1.2 million in Learning and Leadership grants and strategic investments.