Young people are leading New York forward.
At YOCCF, we back citywide youth movements that are changing our communities. Young people are not waiting for permission. They are setting the agenda, building the power, and winning.
This is New York’s story, this is our story.
Young people here have always pushed this city to change. They walked out, organized, sat in, and spoke up. They made things possible that adults said could not be done. Today’s youth organizers carry that history forward, and they are doing it with strategy, skill, and clear demands and they are winning! Youth organizers have won a rent freeze, the passage of the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, and much more. Young people are seizing the right to vote and becoming more civically engaged than ever before. We must support this momentum and the youth organizers at the helm of driving long-term sustainable community power.
What we fund
Campaign-driven work. Youth-led campaigns with clear goals and real stakes. We fund organizers who are taking on the issues that shape their lives, from the ground up.
Resources and ecosystem support. Winning campaigns takes more than money. It takes infrastructure, shared learning, and strong relationships across groups. We invest in the ecosystem so movements can last and grow.
Over the past 4 years YOCCF has invested over $4.5M in grant resources and capacity-building support to more than 25 organizations and emergent formations in the NYC area. We need your support to continue to plant the seeds of change that lead to wins.
Hear it from young people.
Want to see this work up close? Watch the video from our Organizing Lab, hosted at The Brotherhood Sister Sol, where over 90+ youth and allies from across 19 organizations throughout the city gathered to learn, strategize, and connect. In this video you will hear from youth organizers sharing what they are fighting for, what they are building, and what it takes to win. It is the best way to understand what we mean when we say young people are leading.