Home
Focus Areas
About Us
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: Humana Foundation
The city of Louisville, Ky., is getting a $25 million boost to fight racism and other inequities in health care. The Humana Foundation, Humana Inc., and the University of Louisville have teamed...more
"Young people once trusted and brought into key and significant intergenerational decision-making and dialogue spaces, not only bring alternative perspectives, but can help us challenge together,...more
A Cincinnati nonprofit is looking for a full-time Youth Development Program Facilitator to help run its after-school and summer programs for at-risk girls. The ideal candidate has a degree in...more
Save the Children is ramping up its global presence with the appointment of four new board members, including a Kenyan woman. Teresa Mbagaya, a principal at impact investment firm Imaginable...more
Washington is one of several states that have set aside monies from marijuana tax proceeds to support social equality initiatives. Gov. Jay Inslee wants $125 million per year to be allocated to areas...more
Foundation: Arkansas Community Foundation
Arkansas Black Hall of Fame Foundation (ABHOF), in collaboration with Arkansas Community Foundation, is granting grants to initiatives in Arkansas that help African Americans or other neglected...more
A New Mexico nonprofit has been named one of America's "most visionary art centers for youth development" by CNN. Now, Moving Arts Espaola is getting ready to open a new Digital Media Lab that...more
Foundation: Community Foundation of South Puget Sound
TOGETHER! has been igniting change across the South Sound and beyond since 1989 with health promotion, youth development and prevention initiatives. TOGETHER! is acutely aware of the alarmingly...more
Foundation: Central Valley Community Foundation
Over $500,000 was awarded by the Central Valley Community Foundation to seven community organizations for work in youth development. Fresno County in California has a high rate of teen pregnancy...more
The Warriors Community Foundation, along with the Koret Foundation, Taube Family Foundation and Pacific Gas and Electric Company, picked up the Hoops for Kids program again. Through this program, the...more
Moved Permanently
The document has moved here.
Social Enterprise Network Sites
Social Entrepreneurship
Spotlight
Change in the World of Work and Enterprise: Get Young People Into Work
The position young people are dealt with can be complex, and yet the entire economic system is still focused for an age that’s almost gone astray. The solution? Promoting social enterprise and getting these young people integrated into work.
