The Youth Transition Funders Group (YTFG) is a national network of funders that work together to support the well-being and economic success of vulnerable young people age 14 to 25. We seek to ensure that all young people have lifelong family, personal, and community connections and the opportunities and tools to succeed throughout adulthood.
YTFG provides a vibrant and active community for approximately 100 national, regional, and community funders to learn from each other and other experts in the field, stay abreast of new research and key policy developments, inform and influence policy and practice, and foster collaborative approaches to grantmaking. We support peer networking and sharing, create key partnerships with leaders in the field, and provide strategic opportunities to leverage and extend the efforts of individual members.
YTFG members meet biannually and communicate regularly regarding how they can leverage investments that help to build the capacity of communities to effectively support young people transitioning to adulthood; strengthen federal and state policies for older youth and young adults; and raise public awareness of the needs of transitioning youth.
OUR WORK
Our network provides a unique space for diverse funders to come together to explore cross-cutting issues affecting all vulnerable youth. Our members’ interests and expertise spans a wide range of content areas including education, workforce development, child welfare, youth justice, housing, health and mental health. We seek to expand beyond narrow and often siloed dialogue to build a collective understanding of how a multi-systems approach can produce improved youth outcomes. YTFG works to highlight critical overlaps and intersections of youth-serving systems and identify creative approaches to design cross-system strategies and solutions.
In addition to our cross-systems efforts, YTFG operates three dedicated workgroups for members desiring to connect with colleagues to address the unique needs of particularly vulnerable youth populations: those disconnected from work or school and those currently experiencing the child welfare or youth justice systems.