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About the Challenges

We hold two $1 million open funding calls annually

Young Futures supports youth-centered solutions that strengthen belonging, wellbeing and healthy digital habits.

Addressing the most pressing
issues facing youth today

Each YF Funding Challenge is a national open call inviting nonprofits to address high-need themes facing young people today—from loneliness to the pressures of growing up in a tech-filled world.

We fund promising early-stage solutions, accelerate their growth and connect innovators across fields to build a shared movement for youth wellbeing.

National Reach, Human Impact

5
Challenges Launched
$3.25M
in Funding Distributed
$75M
In Funds Requested
41
YF Innovators Funded
50
States Reached

Meet our grantees

(a.ka. The YF Innovators)

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VIEW ALL YF INNOVATORS
Co-Chair
Zamaan Qureshi
Design It For Us
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Founder & CEO
Trisha Prabhu
ReThink Citizens
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Founder
Jennifer Chiou
CodeSpeak Labs
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Co-founder & CEO
Samin Bhan
Lookupp
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Founding Director
Dr. Lynn E. Fiellin
play2PREVENT Lab
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Co-founder & Executive Director
Jake Stika
NextGen Men
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Founder
Larissa "Larz" May
#HalfTheStory
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Policy Implementation & Grants Manager
Lindsay Butrum
The Policy Project
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Assistant Professor
Dr. Erin Truesdell
Skyscraper Games (Entrepreneurial Game Studio at Drexel University)
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Founder & President
Lewis Bernstein
Sesame 3G
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Assistant Principal
Valerie Tillman-Bankhead
Holmes Consolidated School District
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Founder & Executive Director
Valerie Grison-Alsop
Give Us The Floor
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Co-founder
Niobe Way
agapi.kids
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Chief Operations Officer
Kat Eves
Give Us The Floor
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Founder & Director
Regisha “Reggie” Rijkaard
Pause4Peace
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Chief Executive Officer
Alex LeeNatali
Health Connected
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Co-founder
Alex Owens
Be Loud Studios
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Founder
Michelle Culver
The Rithm Project
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Founder & CEO
Trisha Prabhu
ReThink Citizens
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Assistant Principal
Valerie Tillman-Bankhead
Holmes Consolidated School District
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Co-founder
Niobe Way
agapi.kids
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Chief Executive Officer
Alex LeeNatali
Health Connected
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Founder & Director
Regisha “Reggie” Rijkaard
Pause4Peace
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Founder & Executive Director
Beth Rosenberg
Tech Unlimited
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Founder & CEO
Maddie Freeman
NoSo
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Founder
Larissa "Larz" May
#HalfTheStory
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Executive Director
Carolyn Gan
California Partners Project
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Executive Director
Luke Wall
Only7Seconds
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Senior Director of Implementation and Partnership
Marcus Bratton
Colorado Education Initiative
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Founder
Tony Weaver
Weird Enough Productions
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Policy Implementation & Grants Manager
Lindsay Butrum
The Policy Project
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Executive Director
Domenico "Dom" Ruggerio
We Are Family
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Chief Program Officer
Alise Dixon
Boys & Girls Club of Southeastern Michigan
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Research Engineer
Dr. Kathryn Youngblood
Debris Tracker Junior (University of Georgia)
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Co-Chair
Arielle Geismar
Design It For Us
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CEO & Co-Founder
Josh Thompson
Civics Unplugged
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Explore the Challenges

Here Comes the Fun

Reimagining play as a pathway to wellbeing.
Impact Snapshot

Year Launched

Spring 2025

Number of Applicants

78

Awardees

8

Total Funding

$800,000
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LEARN MORE

Lonely Hearts Club

Beglonging in a hyperconnected world.
Impact Snapshot

Year Launched

Spring 2024

Number of Applicants

195

Awardees

10

Total Funding

$1,000,000
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LEARN MORE

Call Me Maybe

Reimagining phone use in schools by putting students at the center.
Impact Snapshot

Year Launched

Spring 2025

Number of Applicants

50

Awardees

7

Total Funding

$500,000
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Oops!...AI Did It Again

Empowering teens to navigate a world reshaped by artificial intelligence.
Impact Snapshot

Year Launched

Fall 2025

Number of Applicants

209

Awardees

TBA 2026

Total Funding

TBD
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LEARN MORE

Under Pressure

Alleviating the pressures pre-teens and teens face in today's tech-driven world.
Impact Snapshot

Year Launched

Fall 2024

Number of Applicants

176

Awardees

10

Total Funding

$950,000
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LEARN MORE

Introducing the

YF500 Initiative

$26M Raised

$50M Goal

The YF500 is our five-year initiative funding 500 visionaries to impact +20 million youth across the nation.

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Learn More

Featured Grant Recipients

Be Loud Studios
Amplifying youth confidence through radio and digital media production.
Be Loud helps kids turn screens into tools for self-expression and courageous collaboration in New Orleans, helping youth find their voice and use it powerfully through storytelling, podcasting, and media production.
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Learn More
Civics Unplugged
Cultivating the Future of Civic Innovation.
Civics Unplugged is an intergenerationally-led organization that equips young people with the training, funding, and community they need to become civic innovators.
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GiveThx
Improving student mental health by ensuring every student knows they belong, one thank you at a time.
GiveThx is a digital program that strengthens student and educator wellbeing and social-emotional skills through gratitude.
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Learn More
Tech Unlimited
Diverse Minds. Unlimited Futures.
Tech Unlimited (TU) is a non-profit education organization that uses technology tools, computer science thinking, and social-emotional learning to ignite unlimited futures for neurodiverse students in need.
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We Are Family
An affirming space for LGBTQ+ youth and allies
We Are Family is South Carolina's oldest nonprofit that provides life-affirming and life-saving programs for LGBTQ+ young people that have a lasting and measurable impact, with a focus on those who are BIPOC and/or low-income.
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Learn More

Young Futures is dedicated to providing the resources to build a better future for the next generation, one where every young person feels a sense of belonging and has the agency to shape their own path.

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