Youthprise

MISSION

Youthprise is the only youth centered philanthropic organization in Minnesota.  We invest in the future of Minnesota by investing in youth. Founded in 2010 by The McKnight Foundation, our mission is to reduce disparities with and for youth. Youthprise combines funding, capacity building, policy advocacy, and research under one roof, all while authentically engaging youth throughout our governance and operations. We leverage our youth development expertise, organizational infrastructure, and financial, political, and relational capital to achieve large scale impact.

OUR WORK AS A YOUTH CENTERED PHILANTHROPIC ORGANIZATION

The rich cultural and ethnic diversity of Minnesota and the ingenuity of our young people position our state to thrive in an increasingly global society. Lack of opportunity for ALL young people significantly threatens our prosperity as a state. As our population diversifies at an expanding rate, the burden grows to ensure our next generations are positioned to succeed.

Youthprise exists to shift the trajectory for underserved young people in Minnesota. Guided by a strengths-based approach, Youthprise works to transform how funders, institutions, providers and communities work with youth. 

In all that we do, we seek to impact the following priority areas:

• Learning and Leadership – Promote the learning, leadership and social emotional development of youth and seek to shift how programs engage youth in leadership and governance.
• Economic prosperity – Create opportunities for economic prosperity by supporting programs and initiatives that build workforce skills, promote youth entrepreneurship, and expose youth to career pathways.
• Health and safety - Promote the holistic health and safety of young people by meeting basic needs and ensuring young people are safe and not criminalized.