For over 20 years, IYF has nurtured young leaders as they tackle urgent social challenges in their communities. Today we are thrilled to announce the Strategic Alliance Initiative, through which IYF will partner with a consortium of social ventures from our network to drive impact and innovation on issues affecting people and the planet. This collaboration will increase visibility for youth-led global development solutions, while also working to test market viability for deepening and expanding innovative models in new contexts and populations.
The Alliance is seeking external investment and support to advance this work, specifically through cluster funding for thematic areas. Working in a broad array of issue areas, from health to environmental sustainability and social inclusion to education, the 37 Strategic Alliance Initiative ventures selected for the first phase represent 20 countries across every global region and epitomize development that is led by and with the people it serves.
Prior to joining the Alliance, the ventures deepened their work as members of IYF’s YouthActionNet® global network of more than 2,000 youth-led initiatives. They received leadership and capacity-building training, access to networks, and connections to a like-minded community of peers—all key ingredients for growing their early-stage social change ventures into impactful, sustainable forces for good.
“The Strategic Alliance Initiative is founded on our belief that meaningful solutions to the world’s toughest challenges must come from the ground up, involve collaboration and partnership, and be innovative—maybe even audacious,” says IYF President and CEO Susan Reichle.
Often working in resource-constrained environments, Alliance ventures prioritize innovative models, creative partnerships, and community engagement to make their work successful. Here are just 3 examples of selected ventures:
- Portafolio Verde, Colombia: Portafolio Verde designs strategies to maximize the impact of governments, organizations, and individuals in contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals. The consulting company is certified as a “B Corporation,” an international label awarded to companies meeting rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.
- Make a Difference, India: By recruiting university students to serve as volunteers in children’s shelter homes across India, Make a Difference works to break the cycle of poverty and abandonment, providing at-risk youth with opportunities to learn, connect, and design their own futures. Currently active in 60 shelters across 23 cities, the organization annually engages more than 3,000 student volunteers to reach more than 3,400 young people.
- World Faith, United States: World Faith mobilizes religiously diverse young adults to participate in service-learning projects, engage in interfaith dialogue, and utilize the media to counter religious extremism. The organization has mobilized 5,000 volunteers across 15 countries, directly impacting the lives of 500,000 people.
Partnering with ventures from our network is a vital opportunity for IYF to ‘walk our talk’ when it comes to our belief in development led by young people. Together with these high-achieving organizations and models, we will write the next story in the global movement for justice, peace, and opportunity—led by and for all, especially young people.
To learn more, consult the full list of 37 Strategic Alliance Initiative ventures.
To invest in the Strategic Alliance Initiative and advancing solutions to global challenges, contact Ashok Regmi, Director of Social Innovation & Citizenship, and Laura Rosen, Director of Corporate & Foundation Partnerships.
Full article is available here.
This publication has been prepared within INDIGISE project. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the project coordinator and may not always reflect the views of the European Commission or the National Agency.
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