Our Future Agenda

Transforming youth financing to unlock the potential of young leaders globally.

Young people are at the forefront of tackling global challenges – climate action, inequality, peacebuilding, and more. Yet, youth-led organizations, particularly in the Global South, face a severe financing crisis. Despite representing half the world’s population, children and young people receive less than 6% of official development assistance (ODA) globally. Nearly half of all youth-led organizations operate on annual budgets under $5,000, often relying solely on volunteers. Meanwhile, traditional funding systems impose strict compliance burdens that exclude many promising youth initiatives.

The Funders Collective exists to address this critical gap by transforming how youth initiatives are funded. As a field catalyst and collaborative platform, we mobilize funders, youth organizations, and allies to provide flexible, accessible resources that match the ambition of young changemakers.

Who We Are

 

The Funders Collective is an initiative created by the Unlock the Future coalition, strategically guided by subset of Unlock coalition members including AIESEC, CIVICUS, Girl Up, Plan International, Mercy Corps, and Search for Common Ground.

During its pilot phase, the initiative’s operations and coordination are hosted by the United Nations Foundation, serving as interim secretariat. Together, these organizations leverage their combined expertise, networks, and commitment to young people to catalyze transformative change in global youth financing.

By reimagining youth financing, the Funders Collective ensures that young leaders have resources matched to their needs and ambitions, transforming tokenism into true partnership. We enable youth-led solutions to thrive, making meaningful contributions to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and beyond.

Press Release
Action Statement

What We Do

The Funders Collective is not another traditional fund; we act as a field catalyst, meaning we strategically connect, align, and strengthen existing youth financing efforts rather than operating independently or in isolation.

Think of it as a collaborative platform where donors, youth organizations, and allies work together to make resources more accessible, flexible, and responsive to youth-led solutions. This collective leverages the strengths of its members to create a more effective and efficient funding ecosystem, ensuring that resources are allocated to initiatives that truly resonate with young people’s aspirations.

Our unique approach breaks down structural barriers, promotes shared learning, and ensures youth initiatives receive the ecosystem support they need to tackle pressing global issues. 

Collaborative Financing

We pool and align resources, streamlining processes to reduce complexity and compliance burdens for youth-led organizations. By aggregating efforts, we amplify their reach and sustainability, allowing youth initiatives rapid access to flexible support.

Advocacy and Learning

We generate and share evidence on effective youth funding practices, advocating globally for increased and more equitable investment in young leaders. By building and sharing knowledge, we shift narratives about youth capabilities and resource needs.

Shared Principles

We’ve co-created core principles to drive joint advocacy efforts to shift funding norms toward empowering young people. This means delivering youth-centered practices, youth-friendly grantmaking, and authentic intergenerational collaboration.  

Convening and Capacity Building

We facilitate convenes and learning exchanges to build a global community of practice. These gatherings foster trust, collective action, and continuous learning, enabling youth organizations to strengthen their capacities and scale effective solutions.

Our Core Principles

 

Our work is grounded in nine principles, co-created by youth and coalition members to guide our approach and ensure genuine impact:

Amplifiers

We elevate youth voices, ensuring young people actively shape funding decisions.

Authentic

Our collaborations are transparent and meaningful, avoiding tokenism.

United

We break down silos, aligning funders and youth organizations under a shared mission.

Allies

We partner with youth movements, building capacity and sharing power.

Courageous

We take calculated risks, investing boldly in innovative youth solutions.

Agile

Our processes remain flexible and responsive, quickly adapting to emerging needs.

Inclusive

We prioritize marginalized young people, ensuring resources reach the most underserved communities.

Curious

We approach funding with a learning mindset, continuously adapting based on evidence.

Enduring

We commit to lasting change, investing in sustainable youth leadership and organizational strength.

Spotlight Initiatives

Solidarity Fund

Solidarity Fund

A pilot project by Plan International providing direct, flexible core funding and mentorship to youth-led organizations in Latin America, enabling them to adapt to risks and operate independently.

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Youth Action Lab

Youth Action Lab

CIVICUS supports grassroots youth activists in the Global South by providing access to resources, building alliances, and developing strategies to strengthen their movements.

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Youth Impact Labs

Youth Impact Labs

Mercy Corps identifies and tests creative, technology-enabled solutions to tackle global youth unemployment, accelerating job creation in regions like Kenya and Uganda.

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Youth, Peace & Security Fund

Youth, Peace & Security Fund

Search for Common Ground empowers young individuals and youth-led groups globally, aged 15-29, working on peace and security issues, by providing funding and promoting collaborative actions for collective impact.

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Microgrants

Microgrants

Girl Up provides microgrants empowering youth-led organizations globally with direct funding to launch and scale innovative local social impact projects.

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Equality Accelerator

Equality Accelerator

An open, digital platform offering young activists, particularly girls and young women, strategic resources and practical guidance to access funding and amplify advocacy efforts.

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Crisis Respond CSO Fund

Crisis Respond CSO Fund

An emergency fund set up by CIVICUS providing rapid-response financial support to youth and civil society groups facing repression and security threats.

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AIESEC YouthSpeak Survey

AIESEC YouthSpeak Survey

A global survey gathering youth perspectives to shape policy recommendations and influence donor priorities through evidence-based advocacy.

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ROI Research

ROI Research

Pioneering research by Search for Common Ground quantifying the social and economic returns of youth-led peace initiatives, driving increased investment in youth peacebuilding.

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How We Measure Success

 

We track our impact rigorously and transparently, guided by clearly defined metrics and milestones:

Resource Mobilization: Increased amount of pooled, flexible funding directed specifically to youth-led and youth-focused organizations.

Capacity & Reach: Number and diversity of youth-led organizations accessing funding and benefiting from capacity-building programs.

Reduced Compliance Burden: Clear evidence that compliance processes are simpler, faster, and less burdensome for funded organizations, enabling more youth-led groups to participate.

Policy and Advocacy Wins: Tangible policy shifts and increased financial commitments from governments, philanthropic actors, and multilateral institutions towards youth-centered funding practices.

Narrative Change: Demonstrable shifts in how youth initiatives are viewed and portrayed, with young people increasingly recognized as capable leaders rather than beneficiaries alone.

Collaborative Engagement: Increased participation and retention rates among funders and partners actively collaborating under shared principles.

We regularly publish results and share success stories to maintain transparency and continually refine our approach.

Get Involved

We welcome philanthropic organizations, funders, youth-led initiatives, and allies to join our mission of transforming youth financing globally:

Funders and Allies: Contact our secretariat at the United Nations Foundation (our info email address) to join collaborative funding rounds and strategic convenings

Youth Organizations: Subscribe to our mailing list (unlock newsletter) to stay informed about funding opportunities, convenings, and capacity-building events.

Stay Connected: Subscribe to our updates for insights, opportunities, and event invitations.

Together, we can unlock the resources and partnerships young people need to drive change – creating lasting impact for current and future generations.