Cambridge, MA – July 27, 2009 – The Young People’s Project (YPP), a national nonprofit organization that utilizes math literacy as a tool to increase learning opportunities, develop young leaders and foster community building, was awarded a $1.2 million, two-year grant to develop a five-year strategic plan to increase its capacity and impact. With a goal of ensuring that all children have access to a high quality education, YPP’s program is designed to simultaneously improve students’ math capabilities and build their community engagement and social consciousness, thereby developing the next generation of leaders who will collectively improve their lives and local communities. With the grant from The Atlantic Philanthropies, an international foundation committed to children and youth, YPP will develop a plan for sustainability, increase its national staff, improve its governance structure, and refine its organizational model to increase effectiveness and expand impact. YPP seeks to build its capacity to serve twice as many students across the United States, and increase the number of young leaders and advocates influencing education policy at the local, state and national levels.
YPP’s innovative model involves training high school and college students in math literacy, and then hiring those students to provide high-quality learning opportunities for over 5,000 elementary and middle school students, their families and community members each year, in school and community-based learning settings across the country. As a result, YPP cultivates a national network of young learners, teachers, leaders and organizers who are accelerating themselves, improving educational outcomes for young people across the country, and building demand for high quality education for all children in the country.
“To change the world, young people need to be able to read, write and do math – and also have creativity, flexibility, imagination, and leadership experience so that they can put their knowledge to use and improve their communities,” says National Director Omo Moses. “We are helping students across the country learn to not only be employable, but to be prepared to be among the changemakers and innovators who are helping to shape our future.”
YPP’s long-term goals are:
• To prepare young people to access the U.S. education and economic arrangements and be among the producers, innovators and changemakers who are shaping a more just and open society
• To be a catalyst for a nationwide network of young people who are engaged in improving their communities
• To contribute to a broader campaign around quality education as a constitutional right
• To create a clear pathway between YPP’s programmatic activities, community building and the development of local political power, creating a platform for YPP’s youth leaders and their allies.
With generous support from leading philanthropic institutions, including the Ford Foundation, the Open Society Institute, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and now The Atlantic Philanthropies, YPP is positioned to carry forward a legacy of community organizing and self-determination.
“We believe it is essential that youth and families have a voice in the policy debates that affect them and their communities,” says Nicole Gallant, Programme Executive for Children & Youth at The Atlantic Philanthropies. “YPP’s unique approach to youth leadership development engages students in advocacy to improve their communities and prepares students to be teachers and organizers among their peers. We are pleased to support the development of YPP’s core operations to increase its ability to build students’ social consciousness and to lead advocacy efforts at the community and national levels.”
For more information on The Young People’s Projects national programming visit: http://typp.org/
About the Young People’s Project
Founded in 1996, The Young People’s Project is a national nonprofit organization that utilizes math literacy as a tool to raise social consciousness among high school and college aged youth in urban and rural communities in the Northeast, Deep South and Midwest. Each year YPP trains and hires over 400 young Math Literacy Workers (MLW’s) who teach 5,000 elementary and middle school students in school and community based learning settings in Chicago, Cambridge, Boston, Jackson, MS, Los Angeles (CA), Miami (FL), Atlanta (GA), Mansfield (OH) and New Orleans (LA) and other major cities each year. YPP has inherited this work from civil rights legend, Bob Moses, and much of the organization’s work is rooted in his vision and over 40 years of leadership. YPP grew out of the Algebra Project and builds on its efforts to raise the floor so that all children have access to a high quality education. In addition, YPP has blazed its own unique path of success and carved a powerful vision for its work, created and implemented by the youth themselves.
About the Atlantic Philanthropies
The Atlantic Philanthropies are dedicated to bringing about lasting changes in the lives of disadvantaged and vulnerable people. Atlantic focuses on four critical social problems: Aging, Disadvantaged Children & Youth, Population Health, and Reconciliation & Human Rights. Programs funded by Atlantic operate in Australia, Bermuda, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa, the United States and Viet Nam. To learn more, please visit: www.atlanticphilanthropies.org.
