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Funding for Youth Development
Positive Experiences + Positive Relationships + Positive Environments = Positive Youth Development
PYD is an intentional, prosocial approach that engages youth within their communities, schools, organizations, peer groups, and families in a manner that is productive and constructive; recognizes, utilizes, and enhances young people's strengths; and promotes positive outcomes for young people by providing opportunities, fostering positive relationships, and furnishing the support needed to build on their leadership strengths.
The Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs developed a research agenda focused on positive youth development. Through a collaborative consensus-building process, representatives from federal agencies identified three research domains (conceptual issues, data sources and indicators, and program implementation and effectiveness) and key research questions that could benefit from future research.
PYD has its origins in the field of prevention. In the past, prevention efforts typically focused on single problems before they surfaced in youth, such as teen pregnancy, substance abuse, and juvenile delinquency.
Over time, practitioners, policymakers, funders, and researchers determined that promoting positive asset building and considering young people as resources were critical strategies. As a result, the youth development field began examining the role of resiliency - the protective factors in a young person's environment - and how these factors could influence one's ability to overcome adversity. Those factors included, but were not limited to, family support and monitoring; caring adults; positive peer groups; strong sense of self, self-esteem, and future aspirations; and engagement in school and community activities.
Researchers and practitioners began to report that young people who possess a diverse set of protective factors can, in fact, experience more positive outcomes. These findings encouraged the development of interventions and programs that reduce risks and strengthen protective factors. The programs and interventions are strengthened when they involve and engage youth as equal partners, ultimately providing benefits for both for the program and the involved youth.
Source: youth.gov
Foundation and philanthropic support for youth development from around the Web.
Foundation: New York Community Trust
Nearly 5,000 kids in the New York area will get a boost in their academic and sports lives thanks to the Heisman Trophy Fund for Youth Development. The fund, a partnership between the Heisman...more
The Legacy Foundation in Ottumwa, Iowa, is putting its money where its mouth is. The foundation has awarded $25,000 in grants to six local nonprofits, including $10,000 to the Cardinal Youth...more
The Legacy Foundation in Ottumwa, Iowa, is putting its money where its mouth is. The nonprofit has awarded $25,000 in grants to six local nonprofits, including $10,000 to the Cardinal Youth...more
The Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County in North Carolina awarded $35,000 in Creative Placemaking Grants this quarter to 14 individual artists and four nonprofit organizations, the...more
Foundation: Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa, Winnebago County Community Foundation
The Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa is putting its money where its mouth is. The foundation, which is affiliated with the Winnebago County Community Foundation, is accepting grant...more
A North Carolina district court judge and three other county officials have been selected to participate in a national program designed to improve the lives of young people in the juvenile justice...more
Illinois is offering $30 million in grants to communities of color that have been hardest hit by the state's war on drugs, the Chicago Tribune reports. Gov. JB Pritzker announced the Restore,...more
"Today's youth may often think of healthcare in terms of the traditional sense of simply working with patients," Henri Crockett, president of the Crockett Foundation, says in a press...more
Foundation: Floyd County Community Foundation
"We are fortunate to have these local nonprofits in our region. The Floyd County Community Foundation is proud to uplift organizations that strive to create impact in our communities." So says...more
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has appointed nine new members to the state's Commission on Hispanic Affairs, the Baltimore Sun reports. According to a press release, the commission is tasked with...more
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Building a Million Dollar Company Where Everyone Counts
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