San Francisco, CA – October 15, 2024 – The Stuart Foundation and the California Community Foundation are proud to announce a coalition of 11 donor partners — representing a broad range of regional, statewide, and national philanthropies — in the California Thriving Youth Initiative. The effort, designed to support the learning, leadership, and well-being of adolescents in California, is seeded with a $30 million commitment from the Stuart Foundation in support of the Initiative’s two complementary funds, the Purpose of Education Fund and the Youth Thriving Through Learning Fund. To ensure flexibility and responsiveness, the funds are by being managed by the California Community Foundation, as part of its ongoing education portfolio.
A Collective Effort to Support Adolescents
The California Thriving Youth Initiative aims to provide the state’s adolescents, especially those furthest from opportunity, with the conditions, opportunities, and support they need to thrive. In addition to strategic grantmaking to nonprofits and school systems, the initiative will also convene funder and grantee partners to support collective learning and will invest in narrative and storytelling to advance a positive, inclusive vision for public education. In doing so, the initiative seeks to deepen and quilt together the individual work of its funder and grantee partners.
As Sophie Fanelli, President of the Stuart Foundation, noted, “California is uniquely positioned to lead the way in reimagining public education and preparing young people for a future where their leadership, creativity, and civic engagement are essential. We are excited to join with funder and field partners who share our vision for equitable and thriving public education systems.”
Miguel A. Santana, President and Chief Executive Officer of the California Community Foundation, added, “Few things impact our community more than ensuring our young people are inspired to engage civically and are connected to opportunity, regardless of where they live, their backgrounds, or financial status. We are so proud to partner with the Stuart Foundation and our growing list of funders to ensure our teens, in LA and across the state, are connected to meaningful learning opportunities that prepare and empower them to be engaged members of our communities.”
Initial philanthropic partners investing in one or both funds of the California Thriving Youth Initiative include:
- The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation
- California Community Foundation
- College Futures Foundation
- Crankstart Foundation
- William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
- Longview Foundation
- James B. McClatchy Foundation
- San Diego Foundation
- Schott Foundation for Public Education
- Spencer Foundation
- Stuart Foundation
Kent McGuire, Program Director of Education at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, which is partnering with both of the California Thriving Youth Initiative funds, explained the Foundation’s investment this way, “Today’s students are building the communities we will all live in together in the future. They represent the heart of our multiracial, multilingual democracy, and our nation’s public schools are what support both their individual successes and our collective good. In this critical moment, when our public institutions are under attack, we need to do everything we can to support them.”
Purpose of Education Fund
The Purpose of Education Fund seeks to strengthen young people’s sense of belonging, purpose, leadership, and agency within our democracy. This fund reasserts the critical role public education plays in preparing adolescents for active participation in a diverse, multiracial democracy.
“Public education is one of the first places where young people experience democracy in action. It’s where they can engage with and shape their communities,” said Kathryn Bradley, Director of the Purpose of Education Fund. “Through this initiative, we are pursuing the means to cultivate youth voice and agency, ensuring students feel safe, heard, and empowered to bring their full selves to school as they develop civic knowledge and leadership.”
Jesse Hahnel, Program Director at Crankstart Foundation, one of the initial partners in the Purpose of Education Fund, noted, “Schools play a critical role preparing young people to be active members of our democracy: teaching how to participate and organize, instilling a belief in the importance of civic engagement, and fostering a love of democratic principles. Crankstart is excited to support the Purpose of Education Fund because nothing is more important than young people participating in and improving our democracy.
Youth Thriving Through Learning Fund
The Youth Thriving Through Learning Fund will foster innovation and reimagine adolescent learning experiences that create increased opportunities for California’s diverse majority of young people to thrive academically, socially, and economically. The fund will leverage unprecedented state investments in adolescents — community schools, dual enrollment, and career pathways — and support equitable access to higher education and the workforce through innovative and equity-oriented high school redesign, college admission, and “earn and learn” practices.
“We are committed to rethinking what high school can look like to enable every student to reach their goals in postsecondary education and in life,” said Dr. Peter Ross, Managing Director of the Youth Thriving Through Learning Fund. “By focusing on engaged learning, critical thinking, and purposeful transitions into postsecondary education, work, and civic lives, we can ensure that all California students are prepared to pursue their goals and contribute meaningfully to their communities.”
Elizabeth González, Chief Program and Strategy Officer at College Futures Foundation, one of the initial partners in the Youth Thriving Through Learning Fund, noted, “We are excited for the launch of the Youth Thriving Through Learning Fund, particularly as it builds on work we have championed to expand access to postsecondary opportunities through strategies like dual enrollment. This partnership represents our shared values and commitment to creating lasting, equitable change and highlights the importance of trust and collaboration in philanthropy.”
Additional Partners Are Welcome
The Stuart Foundation, California Community Foundation, and their partners invite additional philanthropic organizations and donors to join this collective effort to support adolescent thriving. By investing in the growth, leadership, and well-being of young people, the Initiative is helping to build a foundation for a more just and vibrant future for California and supporting its next generation of leaders and their ability to contribute to the state and the country.
Additional Partner Quotes
Gerun Riley, President, The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation:
“The Broad Foundation has always believed that, in order for children and families to thrive, we must invest in public education. The Youth Thriving Through Learning Fund is designed to ensure young people are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and experiences needed to navigate and succeed in a rapidly evolving economy. As students look toward the future, they face institutional, environmental, and circumstantial challenges that make opportunity and mobility more elusive than ever. By working with other funders and leveraging state investments in public education, we can collaboratively integrate decades of connected work in California to better prepare young people for college, career, and civic life.”
Jennifer Manise, Executive Director, The Longview Foundation:
“As we consider the global challenges facing our world today, the role of young people cannot be understated as we consider solutions. It is with great pleasure that the Longview Foundation partners with the Stuart Foundation in the inaugural debut of the Purpose of Education Fund. Together, we can equip youth to thrive and lead in the decades to come.”
Priscilla Enriquez, Chief Executive Officer, James B. McClatchy Foundation:
“The Central Valley is the youngest region in the state, with higher proportions of youth and young adults than other parts of California. At the James B. McClatchy Foundation, we believe in inclusive leadership for the next generation of diverse stakeholders as civic leaders and decision-makers in their community, visibly fueling local democracy, local news coverage, and forging the future of the region. The current power structures will see a transition in leadership over the next generation as we collectively invest in our thriving multiracial democracy. This brighter future can only be secured by a number of factors, one of which is young people having space and seeing themselves reflected in the democratic process.”
Mark Stuart, President and CEO, San Diego Foundation:
“This collaborative effort with our philanthropic partners will reimagine how young people learn in California and how we measure their knowledge. This will better prepare them for success in work and life, while supporting educational equity in San Diego County and throughout the state.”
Dr. John H. Jackson, President and CEO, Schott Foundation for Public Education:
“Protecting our multiracial democracy is, at its core, about ensuring that all citizens have the ability to dream of the society they want, question how that society is structured, build upon those dreams, and bask in the freedoms afforded by that society. Public education is perhaps the most essential ingredient in ensuring that a citizenry has unfettered access to those critically important opportunities. That is why Schott is proud to support the POE fund.”
Na’ilah Nasir, President, Spencer Foundation:
“We are happy to support the Stuart Foundation in their new initiative designed to reimagine education systems in the service of our democratic ideals. We are at a time when figuring out how we work together with educators, families, and communities to reimagine the purpose and experience of education, and to do so such that all young people and communities learn and thrive, is of the utmost importance to the future of our nation.”
For more information about the Youth Thriving Through Learning Fund, the Purpose of Education Fund, and the California Thriving Youth Initiative, please contact Roberta Furger at 510-703-6357, rfurger@stuartfoundation.org.
