Opportunity Now: Beating the odds isn’t enough,
we must change them.
Increasing equity means opening doors of opportunity to every young person. It’s not enough to help one individual beat the odds – we must work to change the odds to usher in a future where everyone can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential.
We know that any real and sustainable progress toward equity starts with naming the things that cause inequality. We know that the circumstances of a young person’s life are shaped by current and historical policies, structures, biases, and narratives. Absence of opportunity shows up in many forms and brings lifelong repercussions.
We also know that equity is more nuanced than equality, and must acknowledge that we all begin at different starting lines. That’s why we don’t shy away from engaging with issues of race, gender, sexual orientation and identity, disability, socioeconomics, and faith. Real dialogue about the role these issues play in opportunity distribution is crucial to doing this work authentically and expanding access to opportunities.
Opportunity Access by the numbers.
4.5 million
U.S. 16-24 year-olds are not in school or the workforce (Opportunity Youth)
360k+
Young people reached by our Reconnecting Youth Campaign
$195 million
in additional federal funding secured to support programs reconnecting youth.
Our commitments to expanding youth access to opportunity.
To help build a more equitable future for rising generations, we commit to expanding youth access to opportunity in three specific ways:
01
Create an authentic learning community around issues.
We commit to genuinely supporting and connecting movements and efforts to create a learning community that authentically engages with the issues affecting opportunity – ensuring all efforts embody genuine principles of youth participation and leadership.
02
Provide capacity-building infrastructure to support the network of partners working to increase opportunity.
We commit to maintaining a platform to share knowledge and evidence, produce and adapt tools to support digital components of on-the-ground campaigns, and cross-pollinate the learnings of all partners to continuously nourish the entire network.
03
Facilitate long-term narrative change.
We commit to leveraging our storytelling power and access to communications research, strategy experts, and new tools to move conversations around opportunity forward. We also commit to uplifting and connecting the stories and impact of diverse leaders working on equity and opportunity, in neighborhoods and at the national level.
Real efforts, real impact
We partner with organizations and campaigns working to increase opportunity for young people.
Making money move on the Hill
The Reconnecting Youth Campaign is a national campaign working to increase appropriations for the evidence-based federally funded programs that provide pathways to education, training, national service, and careers for young people. We are a proud co-facilitator.
Young leaders to the front
Opportunity Youth United is a national, youth-led collaborative working to eliminate poverty and increase opportunity for all. We are honored to provide capacity-building communications, storytelling, and social media supports to increase their impact.
A data-driven approach
Opportunity Nation is a coalition of more than 350 cross-sector organizations working together to expand economic mobility and close the opportunity gap in America. Their annual Opportunity Index measures economic, educational, and civic factors that foster economic mobility at both the county and state levels. We help amplify these findings, and support young leaders to use them to drive change at the state and national level.
Collaborating towards a shared goal
The Opportunity Youth Network has brought together the country’s leading philanthropists, corporations, federal government officials, nonprofits and formerly disconnected youth to work together to reconnect one million opportunity youth in five years. At the network’s in-person convening, including the annual summit, we support storytelling to document and share best practices and case studies that can support others interested in the work.
