At its core, the work of Youthprise is about reimagining a Minnesota where every youth thrives, catalyzing collective systems leadership, powering broad cross-sector collaborations and creating the conditions to accelerate innovation. Since our inception nearly five years ago, Youthprise has emerged as an intermediary that acts as a catalyst that strives to redefine philanthropy.
We catalyze change by: increasing the capacity of our partners and grantees, investing in the ideas of youth and building systems that enable us to touch the lives of young people across the state of Minnesota. We catalyze philanthropy by challenging ourselves to redefine it – rooting our practices in youth/adult partnerships, power sharing and using leveraging to trigger larger streams of funding, to expand resources for the field and catalyze action.
As we look back to the stories of partners, grantees and peers from 2014, a narrative is clear: our work advances four growth strategies that are central to our future:
In our grantmaking, we take a leveraged philanthropy approach that allows us to use all our resources – money, know-how and influence – to catalyze larger streams of funding that expand the resources for the field in a way that is commensurate with the challenges we face.
Advancing racial equity is foundational to the Youthprise mission. We are working to increase the internal capacity of our board and staff as well as influence and strengthen the practices of our grantees to better address the effects of racism and disparities on underserved youth.
Working with intermediary partners in Minneapolis, St. Paul and Brooklyn Park/Brooklyn Center, we are aligning systems regionally in the Twin Cities to advance youth outcome measurement, data collection and analysis, and program quality.
Most importantly, building on the lessons learned from initial pilots, we are growing the youth role throughout our programs and governance, including expanding youth-led initiatives in research and philanthropy. Youth are—and will always be—central to the way we do business.
2014 was a banner year for dreaming about the interplay between catalyst and philanthropy, and laying a strong foundation for prioritizing racial equity and growing the role of youth as core components of Youthprise’s strategic direction. We welcome you to read the following stories from the past year and join us as we look forward to growing the field, redefining philanthropy and catalyzing change in our communities.
2014 Profiles
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Youthprise Board Director • Development Committee Chair • Financial Advisor • Father • Husband
Through our leveraging strategy, Youthprise forms strategic partnerships to inspire action and increase investment in innovative youth programs and initiatives. In 2014, Youthprise invested $800,000 through leveraging to encourage investments from public and private funders and individuals. Our 1:1 matching challenge grants incentivized more than $800,000 in new resources for Minnesota youth.
One example of success in our leveraging strategy is BrookLynk, a new youth employment initiative of the Brooklyn Bridge Alliance for Youth that is the first of its kind in the Twin Cities suburbs. Youthprise provided seed funding of $100,000 that brought in more than $150,000 from more than 20 funding partners and inspired a commitment from the cities of Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center to find ways to sustain the initiative in 2017 and beyond.
says Development Committee Chair Pete Gabler.Leveraging our existing resources allows Youthprise to maximize our impact,
We've been entrepreneurial in seeking strategic partners that want to join us in accelerating our work to improve the lives of Minnesota's youth.
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Photographer • Activist • Millenialarchiver • Artist • Foodie • Hmong • Queer • Woman • Social Justice Advocate
Xay was in the original cohort of Youthprise Change Fellows. Change Fellows are young people between the ages of 16-25 who are stirring up change in their communities. In 2014 Youthprise launched the initiative and invested directly in young people themselves.
Xay is currently in their implementation stage of their fellowship. Their project, Hmong Queerchives, is a digital archive that tells the stories of queer Hmong people. Xay is currently in the MSW program at the University of Minnesota.
It can be reaffirming to know that people like you do exist. Sometimes, for me at least, when I talked about my identity with my family and my parents and I was told that there were no gay Hmong people - it’s just not validating. So you start to internalize those messages and ask yourself: why am I so weird? But when you talk to other young people that are like you, you can say, hey, I’m not by myself!
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Better Together • Supporting Young People • Changing Systems • Healthy Youth Development • Smart Sex Ed • Reproductive Health • Caring Adults
Better Together Hennepin (BTH) and Youthprise are partnering to advance system changes that support holistic youth development in Hennepin County. The partnership combines the strengths of each organization. BTH has expertise in healthy youth development and a track record of
supporting youth to delay parenting. In addition to flexible funding that is being used to leverage new investments from the county and other funders, Youthprise brings our expertise in youth leadership and our experience in community-based grantmaking to the partnership.
says Katherine Meerse, BTH director.Through our fiscal mapping project, we identified the fragmented funding streams in Hennepin County around healthy youth development,
Partnering with Youthprise is helping us reduce that fragmentation. We’re pleased to be pioneering this work with an organization that shares our commitment to youth development. We’re poised to show other organizations how they can follow our lead.
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Father • Entrepreneur • Educator • Community Leader • Advocate
Salah is the Nutrition Manager at Youthprise. He manages the Nutrition Program, which was spearheaded in 2014. The Nutrition Program is one of our newest multi-sector efforts, designed to expand community access to nutritional resources and deepen the impact of high quality afterschool & summer learning programs.
The Nutrition Program was created to:
- Help families
- Build community
- Decrease child hunger
- Ensure that youth thrive
says Salah, Youthprise Nutrition Manager.Without food there is nothing; it is a cornerstone of life. Health impacts academic achievement, life direction and access to opportunities. Our nutrition program is beyond basic needs. We not only want to make sure nutrition needs are met, but we want to ensure that young people have access to better opportunities to ensure that all Minnesota youth can thrive.
4 million American kids go hungry every night & there are federal funds to support them that go unused.
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Share Knowledge • Build Capacity • Accelerate Impact • Address Disparities
Migizi Communications • Ka Joog • Tamales y Bicicletas • The Sanneh FoundationWith the current and projected growth of a more ethnically diverse population, programs serving youth must have the knowledge, tools and resources to help youth thrive. The Accelerator Initiative is Youthprise’s signature effort to build the capacity of youth-serving organizations to achieve greater impact in this changing reality. Employing a cohort model with four Accelerators, Youthprise is working to strengthen the infrastructure of organizations that are committed to addressing the needs of racially and ethnically diverse populations in a mutually beneficial, collaborative relationship.
The Accelerators intentionally include established and emerging organizations to share lessons learned from experience and spark creativity by offering fresh perspectives. Ultimately, the Initiative is designed to advance innovation in program development and attract new funding for youth-serving nonprofits by leveraging Youthprise’s investment. We are creating a replicable evidence-based model that can support future Accelerators in the years to come.
says Jose Luis Villasenor, founder of Tamales y Bicicletas.The Youthprise Accelerator program has impacted our work in connecting and learning from other youth-of-color serving organizations,
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Student • Youthprise Board Director • Snowboarder • Daughter • Sister
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Some words of advice if you are getting youth on your board: provide the resources for youth to be engaged. Youth might not have been on boards before so you might have to be more intentional about explaining what the work is about and what the organization is doing. Give them tools so they can be engaged at the board meetings. Talk to youth before the board meeting, have a conversation about questions
youth might have and if we don’t understand the materials. Be intentional about reaching out to youth board members. Change your lingo: it might not be understandable to youth that haven’t been on boards before. Don’t use jargon. Give space and time for questions. Be patient. Don’t allow youth to be just a token – always review how engaged youth are on the board.
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What are ways young people want to contribute? Build relationships: build connections between people you are working with.
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1st US Sites • Youth-led Grantmaking • Shared Leadership • Participatory Philanthropy
Vernon Ringland, YouthBank InternationalMinnesota is the ideal place to generate new thinking around the YouthBank concept in the United States. It is a state that is outward and forward-looking, making it an ideal place to work on the development of its young people's sense of citizenship and responsibility towards their communities. Aligned action in Minnesota will feed young community activists’ reflection on the YouthBank model and encourage them to take steps to act upon their convictions with the tools they need to drive change in their communities.
As a hub for the US-based YouthBank sites, Youthprise:
Aligns local youth philanthropy initiatives with a proven international model used in 218 countries
Creates a learning community with YouthBank sites and links them to an international network
Provides training, financial incentives, resources, and tools to expand promising practices
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Eyenga Bokamba, Executive Director of SprocketsYouthprise is not only a funder; they dream big with us to see what's possible. My OST systems colleagues in cities across the country are envious!
In 2014, Youthprise deepened its work with systems partners to advance our mutual goals. Youthprise invested $634,000 in 2014 to build the infrastructure of citywide systems around coordination, data collection and quality improvement. To supplement that work, we provided
technical assistance and made grants totaling $815,000 to 48 community-based organizations to improve their organizational effectiveness, build their capacity to participate in citywide expanded learning systems, and stimulate innovation in youth engagement.
Along with University of Minnesota professor, Dr. Dale Blyth, and citywide system partners in Minneapolis, Saint Paul and Brooklyn Park/Brooklyn Center, we are collaborating on regional efforts to:
Define and measure indicators of social-emotional learning (SEL);
Fund and support data systems that include program and outcome data from community-based organizations and school districts; and
Pilot new tools, like the Holistic Student Assessment, to advance SEL in afterschool and school-based settings.
Key Outcomes
71% of Youthprise grantees are using the Youth Program Quality Assessment (YPQA) to support continuous quality improvement;
35 Youthprise grantees are using the Charities Review Council Accountability Wizard© to receive their seal of approval and advance organizational effectiveness; and
50 organizations – including 12 “bicoastal” organizations serving youth in Saint Paul and Minneapolis – are participating in shared data systems.
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To advance innovation in youth engagement, Youthprise supports youth leadership in designing programs, policies, systems, philanthropy and research and evaluation. In 2014, we made strategic investments of $620,000 to advance innovation in the expanded learning field and we modeled how to authentically engage youthby fully integrating young people under the age of 25 on the Youthprise staff and board of directors. By providing young people with authentic opportunities to lead and to innovate, Youthprise is cultivating fresh thinking, forging new relationships and modeling best practices in youth/adult partnerships.
Key initiatives include:
Change Fellows – Youthprise invests in youth aged 16-25 who are advancing change in their communities. Change Fellows receive professional development, community building, and potential seed funding to implement their big ideas.
YouthBank – Youthprise is bringing an international youth philanthropy model to the U.S. YouthBanks are youth-led grantmaking programs that channel money into projects that improve the quality of life of local communities. Supported by adults within a host site, youth are the decision-makers on the grant criteria and investments.
Action Research – The Youthprise Action Research Team uses the frameworks of research justice – research that is used to support community transformation – and Participatory Action Research (PAR) – research that positions the people most impacted as the researchers – to engage young people in producing data and helping organizations center their work around the youth they serve.
Convenings Elevating the conversation to ensure all Minnesota youth thrive
January 18th
Data Summit
Hosted at UROC in Minneapolis
Release of Baseline Study data in partnership with Rainbow Research
Used Design Thinking to explore possibilities
40 partner organizations participate
February 28th
Black History Month
With Minneapolis Public Schools & Saint Paul Public Schools, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts & several partners
Keynote from Naomi Tutu on Honoring the Common Heritage of Minnesota’s Pan-African Population
Hundreds of youth & adults participate
June 19th- 22nd
Allied Media Conference
Detroit, Michigan
Coordinated workshop track on Youth, Media & Movements with Detroit Future Schools
40 Minnesota youth & adults participate
August 18th
Every Hour Counts National Institute
Baltimore, Maryland
With Sprockets, Minneapolis YCB,
Generation Next & 12 National partners
October 10th
Youthprise Annual Summit
At Orchestra Hall
250 adults & youth
The focus for 2014 was Media
The 2015 Youthprise Summit will be on October 15th.
2014 Featured Guests
Talented people Local and Global alike.
Financials Summarized Financial Information
- Assets
2014 2013 Cash:: $1,447,145 $1,384,075 Accounts Receivable:: $6,930 $325 Pledges Receivable, Current:: $219,242 $5,085,856 Prepaid Expenses:: $13,728 $37,107 Fixed Assets, Net:: $157,224 $205,521 Pledges Receivable, Long-Term:: $90,000 $0 Total Assets:: $1,934,269 $6,712,884 - Liabilities and Net Assets
2014 2013 Accounts Payable:: $73,405 $46,875 Accrued Expenses:: $0 $3,627 Grants Payable:: $412,983 $928,598 Accrued Liabilities:: $72,658 $72,991 Unearned Revenue:: $40,000 $0 Funds Held for Others:: $16,887 $13,100 Total Liabilities:: $615,933 $1,065,191 Unrestricted:: $311,964 $309,208 Temporarily Restricted:: $1,006,372 $5,338,485 Total Net Assets:: $1,318,336 $5,647,693 Total Liabilities & Net Assets:: $1,934,269 $6,712,884 - Support and Revenues
For the year ended December 31, 2014 and the six month period ended December 31, 2013
Unrestricted Temporarily Restricted 2014 Total 2013 Total Grants & Contributions:: $322,895 $1,328,643 $1,651,528 $5,270,712 Interest Income:: $5,774 $0 $5,774 $4,906 Gain on Donation Securities:: $13,141 $0 $13,141 $0 Earned Revenues:: $169,432 $0 $169,432 $12,320 Net Assets released from restrictions:: $5,660,756 ($5,660,756) $0 $0 Total Support & Revenues:: $6,171,998 $4,332,113 $1,839,885 $5,287,938 - Expenses
For the year ended December 31, 2014 and the six month period ended December 31, 2013
Unrestricted Temporarily Restricted 2014 Total 2013 Total Grants & Program Services:: $5,595,662 $0 $5,595,662 $3,652,621 Administrative:: $429,345 $0 $429,345 $254,628 Fundraising:: $144,235 $0 $144,235 $28,381 Total Expenses:: $6,169,242 $0 $6,169,242 $3,935,630 Change in Net Assets:: $2,756 ($4,332,113) ($4,329,357) $1,352,308 Net Assets, Beginning of Year:: $309,208 $5,338,485 $5,647,693 $4,295,385 Net Assets, End of Year:: $311,964 $1,006,372 $1,318,336 $5,647,693
Statements of Financial Position
Statements of Activities
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Board of Directors
- Joe Stackhouse, Land O’Lakes, Inc., Chair
- Thompson Aderinkomi, Retrace Health, Vice-Chair
- Lisa Desotelle, CPA, WIPFLI CPAs and Consultants, Treasurer
- Antonio Cardona, MPA, Pillsbury United Communities, Secretary
- Maher Abduselam*, CPA, AGM Financial
- Eric Baudry*, Minnesota Women’s Consortium
- Hon. Tanya Bransford, Hennepin County District Court
- Rev. Kelly Chatman, Redeemer Lutheran Church/Redeemer Center for Life
- Shamari Chism*, Hopkins High School
- Cara Claflin*, University of St. Thomas
- Brynne Crockett*, Minneapolis Beacons Network
- Peter Gabler, UBS Financial Services
- Kit Hadley, Saint Paul Public Library
- Quincy Lewis, University of Minnesota Athletics
- Renelle Mensah*, Breck School
- Juventino Meza, Minneapolis Public Schools
- Jolene Rotich*, Bethel University
- Lue Vang, Children’s Foundation MN
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Foundations, Corporations & Government
- Amherst H. Wilder Foundation
- Best Buy Inc.
- Bremer Bank
- Bush Foundation
- Cargill Foundation
- F.R. Bigelow Foundation
- Heartland Financial USA INC
- Hennepin County
- Jay & Rose Phillips Family Foundation
- Mardag Foundation
- Minneapolis Public Schools
- Minnesota Department of Education
- Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development
- Minnesota Department of Public Safety
- National Conference of State Legislatures
- Neighborhood Hub
- Northwest Area Foundation
- Open Cities Health Center
- Origins Program-Education for Equity
- Otto Bremer Foundation
- Pillsbury United Communities Via Kresge Foundation
- Ramsey County Community Corrections
- Ramsey County Department of Health
- Restorative Justice Community Action
- Robertson Law Office, LLC
- Saint Paul Public Schools
- Saint Paul Public Schools Foundation
- Second Harvest Heartland
- Sundance Family Foundation
- The After-School Corporation
- The McKnight Foundation
- The Minneapolis Foundation
- The Saint Paul Foundation
- UBS Financial Services
- United States Conference of Mayors
- United Way Greater Twin Cities
- Western Bank
- WIPFLI CPAs and Consultants
- YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities
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Leveraging Campaigns
- Brooklyn Campaign for Youth
- Mark G. Allen
- Catherine J. Ballot
- Cornelius L. Boganey
- Paula Helgerson
- Myrna L. Kauth
- Michelle Margo
- Joan E. Schonning
- Douglas Schultz
- Mary J. Yungers
- Brooklyn Center Business Association
- Brooklyn Center Lions Club
- Brooklyn Center Rotary Foundation
- Brooklyn Park Rotary Foundation
- City of Brooklyn Center
- City of Brooklyn Park
- City of Brooklyn Park Rotary
- Community Engagement Initiative
- Seven Dreams Foundation
- Change Fellows
- Leah Avaloz
- Paul Bauer
- Christine Durand
- Linda Her
- Ryan Kroening
- Sheila Lais
- Melody Martagon-Geiger
- Gretchen Musicant
- Alyssa Roach
- Kristine Sorensen
- Kevin Spight
- Lisa Vecoli
- Every Body’s In
- Amherst H. Wilder Foundation
- Bush Foundation
- City of Saint Paul
- Education Minnesota
- MKB & Associates
- St. Paul Federation of Teachers
- United Way Greater Twin Cities
- Ignite Afterschool
- Anne DeGroot
- Lynn Haglin
- Janine Hanson
- Monica Herrera
- Mary Zastrow
- Sheltering Arms Foundation
- State of Minnesota – Department of Education
- United Way Greater Twin Cities
- The Other Ebola Crisis
- Angela Bonfiglio
- Perry Moriearty
- Marcus Pope
- Catherine Sheehan
- Sundance Family Foundation
- James Toole
- Wokie Weah
- Redeemer Center for Life
- John Albanese
- Mary E. Anderson
- Lamar and Elise Bailey
- Laurie Beckman Yetzer
- Angela Bonfiglio
- Dan Brandt
- Babette Chatman
- Kelly Chatman
- Curtis Coats
- Helen Collins
- Theodore Fokken
- Kent Goodroad
- Maren Hulden
- Mary Ann Jurgens
- Charles and Linda Kelly
- Kristi Murray
- Dolores Nord
- Aneesa Parks
- Kelly Schumacher Fuller
- Rebekah Stadie
- Sarah Stadie
- Jacob Terrance
- Karis Thompson
- Shawn Witte
- Evangelical Lutheran Church
- St. Philip the Deacon Lutheran Church
- Zion Lutheran Church
- Saint Paul Youth Intervention Initiative
- 3M
- Ecolab
- Saint Paul Foundation
- Securian Foundation
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Youthprise Grantees/Partners
- 180 Degrees
- Access Philanthropy
- ACES - Athletes Committed to Educating Students
- Allied Media Projects
- Arts-Us
- Asian Media Access
- Augsburg College-Center for Democracy and Citizenship
- Banyan Community
- Brooklyn Bridge Alliance For Youth
- Brotherhood Inc.
- Burnsville Youth Collaborative
- Center School
- Centro, Inc.
- Charities Review Council of Minnesota
- Community Mediation & Restorative Services
- Connections to Independence
- Cookie Cart
- Cycles for Change
- Detroit Future Schools
- El Colegio High School
- Emerge Community Development
- Every Body’s In
- Every Hour Counts
- Family Tree Clinic
- Friends of the Saint Paul Library
- Generation Next
- Good Life Organization
- Hmong American Partnership
- IFP Minnesota
- Ignite Afterschool
- In Progress
- Indigenous Peoples Task Force
- Intermedia Arts
- Irreducible Grace Foundation
- Isaiah
- Itasca Area Coalition for Youth
- Jabbok Family Services
- Jefferson Awards for Public Service
- Juxtaposition Arts
- Ka Joog
- Kaleidoscope Place
- Kwanzaa Community Church
- La Oportunidad
- Lao Assistance Center of Minnesota
- Legacy Keepers
- Little Earth Residents Association
- Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota
- Meeting of the Mindz
- Mentoring Young Adults
- MIGIZI Communications
- Minds Matter
- Minneapolis Beacons Network
- Minneapolis Public Schools
- Minneapolis Youth Coordinating Board
- Minnesota African Women’s Association
- Minnesota Alliance With Youth
- Minnesota Council on Foundations
- Minnesota Orchestra
- Native Youth Alliance of Minnesota
- Network for the Development of Children of African Descent
- New American Academy
- Nexus Global Partners
- Northfield Healthy Community Initiative
- Northside Achievement Zone
- One2One Mentoring
- Oromo Community of Minnesota
- OutFront Minnesota
- Oyate Nipi Kte
- Peta Wakan Tipi
- Phyllis Wheatley Community Center
- Pillsbury United Communities
- Plymouth Christian Youth Center
- Power of People Leadership Institute/Girls in Action
- Project for Pride in Living
- Rainbow Research
- Redeemer Center for Life
- Saint Paul Almanac
- Saint Paul Neighborhood Network
- Saint Paul Parks and Recreation
- Saint Paul Promise Neighborhood
- Saint Paul Public Schools
- Saint Paul Public Schools Foundation
- Saint Paul Youth Commission
- Science Museum of Minnesota
- Somali American Parent Association
- Sprockets
- Students Today Leaders Forever
- Sundance Family Foundation
- Tamales y Bicicletas
- TeenWise Minnesota
- Tennis & Education
- The BrandLab
- The Bridge for Youth
- The Cultural Wellness Center
- The Family Partnership
- The Origins Program
- The Sanneh Foundation
- Trans Youth Support Network
- Twin Cities Metro Select
- University of Minnesota, Extension Center for Youth Development
- University of Minnesota, Humphrey School of Public Affairs
- University of Minnesota, School of Social Work
- Urban Arts Academy
- Urban Boatbuilders
- Urban Roots
- Venture Youth Alliance
- Vora S.E.R.V.I.C.E.
- Voyager Outward Bound School
- Walker West Music Academy
- WE WIN Institute
- WellShare International
- West 7th Community Center
- Women’s Foundation of Minnesota
- Women’s Initiative for Self Empowerment
- YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities
- Youth Farm
- Youth Intervention Programs Association
- Youth Performance Company
- YouthCARE
- youthrive
- YWCA of Minneapolis
- YWCA of Saint Paul
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Individuals
- Anonymous
- Thompson Aderinkomi
- Salah Ali
- Emanuel Barclay
- Tawanna Black
- Tanya Bransford
- Elizabeth Brekke
- Ellis Bullock
- Robert Colbert
- Lisa Desotelle
- Charles DeVries
- Claire Dunlap
- Peter Gabler
- Sheila Gothmann
- Rudy Guglielmo
- Kit Hadley
- Jean Hammink
- Paul Hogrefe
- Wayne Jennings
- Michael & Donna Kaplan
- David Kim
- Karen Kingsley
- Quincy L. Lewis
- Dick McFarland
- Rose McGee
- Juventino Meza Rodriguez
- Deborah Nelson
- Neese Parker
- Luis Perez
- Peggy Pond
- Marcus Pope
- Libby Rau
- Jorge Rivas
- Alyssa Roach
- Elizabeth Shramko
- Derrick Strom
- Lucy Svoboda
- James Toole
- Michelle Vankeulen
- Wokie Weah
- Nancy Williams
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Volunteers
- John Bennett
- Dale Blyth
- Mary K. Boyd
- Ellis Bullock
- Robert Colbert
- Kelly Elkin
- Tami Eshult
- Irene Fernando
- William Hardy
- Joi Lewis
- Jan Mandell
- Kelley Nelson
- Deb Nelson
- Kevin Nguyen
- Kori Redepenning
- Ross VeLure Roholt
- Jim Sauder
- Kelsey Schuster
- Maddy Wegner
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Change Fellows '13/'14
- De’Andre Avaloz
- Taty Benson
- Bianca Dawkins
- Edwin Gonzalez
- Rachel Huss
- Charlen Nyangaresi
- Julia Sewell
- Malaika Smith
- Xue Yang
- Xay Yang
Staff Members 2014
- Salah Ali, Nutrition Manager
- Liz Brekke, Administrative Coordinator
- Claire Dunlap, Executive Assistant to the President
- Sheila Gothmann, Finance & Operations Director
- Sommer Green, Youth Philanthropy Manager
- Rudy Guglielmo Jr., Program Officer
- David Kim, Research Manager
- Karen Kingsley, Director of Public Policy & Communications
- Tracey Mittelstadt, Senior Accounting Manager
- Neese Parker, Philanthropy (re)Designer
- Marcus Pope, Director of Partnerships & External Relations
- Libby Rau, Director of Youth Engagement
- Jorge Rivas, Research Associate
- Lizzy Shramko, Storyteller & Online Community Builder
- Wokie Weah, President
