YPA Education Fund
We are the 501c3 affiliate of the Young People’s Alliance. We research the challenges facing young people and organize our generation to educate civil society and the public about solving these problems
Introducing YPA
The Young People’s Alliance Education Fund (YPAEF) is the 501(c)(3) affiliate of the Young People’s Alliance. We are a youth-led nonprofit engaging over 4,000 students across 90 campuses in 16 states to build a better future. YPAEF develops nonpartisan youth policy research, organizes our grassroots base, and educates the public on the issues facing our generation. We aim to make democracy responsive to young people’s priorities and restore their faith in it as a real means to change.
America’s Youth Crisis
Many of the most influential voices in US politics are advocacy groups that represent a broad member base, such as the NRA for gun owners, the NAACP for Black Americans, or the AARP for retirees. However, no equivalent institution exists for America’s young people. As a result, while many things have improved in America over the last 50 years, young people’s lives have gotten worse. While the U.S. is the 10th-happiest country in the world for people over 60, it is the 62nd-happiest for people under 30, driven by an affordability crisis, shrinking economic mobility opportunities, and the erosion of their communities.
The lack of structural youth power should be treated as one of the primary risks facing our democracy. When young people are not adequately represented, they become disillusioned with democracy as an effective means of improving their lives. In a 2023 poll, 43% of young people did not agree that democracy is preferable to other forms of government (compared to 29% of older people). As AI acceleration, economic disruption, and declining trust in institutions reshape America’s future, young people’s perspectives are essential to ensure policies reflect their lived experiences.
Our Approach
Problem Identification
Through listening sessions, focus groups, and informal conversations with members, we identify the most pressing challenges facing young people (including those that aren’t recognized as political). We prioritize issues that are widely and deeply felt, where our involvement can have an impact (especially where other proposed solutions do not adequately consider young people’s interest), and where solutions can unite young people (especially across party lines and among young people who aren’t politically engaged).
We conducted listening sessions with 210 students on their sentiments around AI’s role in their future, identifying their preferred policy responses to mass automation and the changing role of education in the new economy. We also conducted focus groups on AI companions and AI in education that informed our Human-like AI Coalition and were shown at conferences at the Aspen Institute, Stanford, and Cambridge.
Creating Solutions
YPA youth leadership works with leading national experts to co-design policy solutions to the challenges, with continued input from members to ensure solutions stay reflective of young people’s experiences.
As early as 2023, YPA members recognized that AI companions posed a major threat to community health in a similar way to social media. Next, we convened national AI policy and child safety organizations to develop a shared regulatory framework. We conducted focus groups to set the direction of the coalition. Ultimately, the framework was signed by a bipartisan coalition including Public Citizen, American Compass, Common Sense Media, and Jon Haidt.
Policy Education
We educate and train young people across 90 campuses to make their voices heard. They work with administrators and civic leaders in their community to create pro-youth solutions to the challenges facing young people. They also educate the public through writing op-eds, speaking to the press, and digital organizing.
We hosted 325 campus activities this year, including 75+ speaker events with elected officials and policy experts, workshops (for example, an op-ed writing workshops with the SF Chronicle), and experiential programming like a housing affordability gingerbread competition. Our internal survey showed that the average chapter leader enters YPA disagreeing with "I am confident in my ability to change a policymaker's mind," and now agrees with that statement.
Through the work, members see that democracy can work for our generation.
YPA by the Numbers
4,000
members
90
campuses
325
campus activities this year
Young People's Alliance Education Fund
Young People's Alliance is the 501(c)(4) affiliate of the Young People's Alliance Education Fund. All donations to Young People's Alliance Education Fund 501(c)(3) are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by the law.
Join YPA
Whether there is already a chapter on your campus or you want to start one, there is a place for you in this movement.