WHAT WE DO
Young Women’s Initiative
The Collaborative works to advance systems changes and impact marginalized young women and gender-expansive youth and communities of color through the Young Women’s Initiative program (YWI). The YWI program was designed to ensure all young women — particularly young women and gender-expansive youth of color — lead, prosper economically, and live safe and healthy lives.
Each women’s foundation plays a key role in launching and supporting a YWI program in their state or region. This includes:
Convening Cross-Sector Partners
Committing to a collective mission that centers young women and girls of color and gender-expansive youth of color.
These partners include local and state levels of government, NGOs, philanthropy, corporation, college presidents, and more.
This model emphasizes the need to make institutional shifts in each sector and implement the recommendations of young women of color.
Advocating for Policy Changes
Centering the voices of young women of color and gender-expansive youth, supported by ongoing research and data collection.
Prioritizing partnerships with a local or state government partner and young women to influence the policy and legislation of young women.
Government partners work hand-in-hand with young women to identify and make needed policy changes.
Grantmaking and Fundraising
Funding and grantmaking to key organizations that drive day-to-day programmatic work of the Young Women’s Initiative and the Young Women’s Advisory Council.
Each local YWI focuses on driving dollars into organizations that can have substantive impacts on communities.
The primary focus is to ambitiously fund those organizations that are led by women of color, serve young women and girls of color and foster broad systemic change.
Creating and Facilitating Young Women’s Advisory Councils (YWACs)
YWACs amplify young women’s voices and leadership, increase outcomes, and provide voice and leadership to priority issues.
YWAC is central to each local YWI and is built on advocacy, leadership, civic engagement training, and the notion that young women of color themselves can drive policy change.
If government and philanthropy can come to the same table in agreement that girls of color are worth their investment, local community-based organizations can provide a platform for them to substantively shape their own futures.