The seven communities selected for the initiative come from across the country, from small cities to rural communities, but they all have a focus on serving young people and a shared goal of economic mobility. Learn more about their work and vision for youth, in their own words:
Bright Futures Education Partnership
Monterey County, Calif.
“Bright Futures advances education outcomes and closes equity gaps by uniting people around shared goals and equipping changemakers to deliver measurable results. Through this initiative, we will strengthen navigation, expand the use of data for continuous improvement, mentoring, and enhance out-of-school support for youth furthest from opportunity in our community.”
*Lead Partner is Hartnell College Foundation.
Chattanooga 2.0
Chattanooga, Tenn.
“With Wallace Foundation’s investment, Chattanooga 2.0 will reimagine what’s possible for adolescents in our community. Together with families and partners, we’ll expand inspiring opportunities, build trusted navigation supports, and harness data to guide progress, ensuring that every young person, especially those furthest from opportunity, is seen, supported, and empowered to shape a thriving future.”
*Lead Partner is Chattanooga 2.0
Promise Partnership Utah
South Salt Lake City & Millbank, Utah
“Promise Partnership Utah has a bold goal: 100% graduation and 100% of basic needs met for every young person in South Salt Lake and Millcreek. We will advance this vision by strengthening and aligning youth development programs based on community needs, and by improving navigation so young people can easily access the full range of supports available to them. We will also expand the use of shared data to drive continuous improvement and launch a clear, unified communication strategy to help partners tell a consistent and compelling story about this work.”
*Lead Partner is Promise Partnership Utah.
Poughkeepsie Children’s Cabinet
Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
“The Poughkeepsie Children’s Cabinet is guided by our North Star: 5,000 youth and their families on the path to socioeconomic mobility. With Wallace Foundation’s support, we are building a youth-serving ecosystem that aligns funds for sustainability, builds lasting data infrastructure and scales quality programs so every adolescent is connected to a caring adult and a place to belong.”
*Lead Partner is Poughkeepsie Children’s Cabinet and the Community Foundation Supporter is Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley.
Rocky Mountain Partnership Cradle to Career
Adams County and Broomfield County, Colo.
“Towards our regional 2030 target of 71k more youth meeting C2C outcomes, this project will redesign Cradle to Career's regional navigation and out-of-school-time ecosystem at key transitions so youth get high-quality education and career guidance wherever they show up. We’ll map assets/barriers, launch relationship-based navigation, shared training and data tools, pilot in priority neighborhoods, and scale what works.”
*For the Adams County Youth Initiative DBA Rocky Mountain Partnership Cradle to Career, the Lead Partner is Rocky Mountain Partnership Cradle to Career and the Community Foundation Supporter is the Rose Community Foundation.
Wayne County Partnership
Wayne County, N.Y.
Wayne County Community Schools is a shared initiative between government, organizations and school districts in Wayne County. We aim to strengthen formal partnerships for a more robust service platform and increasingly activate youth voice to address voids in workforce opportunities and absence of youth voice.
*Lead Partner is Sodus School District and the Fiscal/Legal Agent is Finger Lakes Community Action.
Youth Success Summit
Akron, Ohio
With a strong foundation and deep partnerships, the Youth Success Summit is aligning youth development across sectors to move 30,000 more young people toward lifelong well-being, resilience, and economic mobility. United by our youth’s vision, we champion equitable opportunity—regardless of race, place, or circumstance.
*Lead Partner is Youth Success Summit and the Fiscal/Legal Agent is YMCA of Akron.
Organizations supporting the initiative as researchers, thought partners, and technical assistance providers include American Institutes for Research; Children’s Funding Project; Community Wealth Partners; Every Hour Counts; FrameWorks Institute;The Institute for Success Planning at The EdRedesign Lab at Harvard Graduate School of Education; and The Marlo Companies.
