USAID

• The USAID through its “Youth Excel” initiative is funding local youth-led organizations and youth servicing organizations so that they can implement their initiatives in education, health, employment and governance.
• USAID was included in this list because of its reputation as a recognized international development agency.

GEAR UP

• The Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) by the US Department of Education is aimed at increasing the number of low-income students succeeding in postsecondary education. The program offers grants to partnerships and states to provide services at high schools in poverty-stricken areas.
• GEAR UP hosts an annual Youth Leadership Summit, which is characterized by student-led presentations. The event helps students identify and take advantage of their leadership skills.
• GEAR UP was selected in the list because its reputation as an initiative of the US Department of Education and its current activities. The organization aims to serve up to 70,000 students.  

YouthBuild

• YouthBuild gives at-risk youth between 16 and 24 years the opportunity to better their lives by earning their high school diploma and preparing them for college and post-secondary training programs.
• With youth leaders at the forefront, the organization advocates for higher federal appropriations for the youth.
• YouthBuild was included in the list because of its current activity in supporting low-income youth without education access and sharing occupational skills in in-demand industries.  

Employment and Training Administration

• The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) supports the enrollment of youth apprentices between 16 and 24 years old into existing Registered Apprenticeship Programs.
• ETA was selected in this list because it of the amount of investment in the space. In 2020, the agency set aside $42.5 million to support between 15 and 20 Youth Apprenticeship Readiness grants that range from $1 million to $5 million.  

The ECPACT USA

•  ECPAT USA is a social services organization focused on “empowering youth to take the lead in anti-human trafficking efforts with our Youth Against Child Trafficking (Y-ACT) program. We are involving our primary stakeholders, America’s children, in advocating against sexual exploitation and trafficking.”
• The organization “trains students to be the foremost advocates in their communities, educating them on the facts, misconceptions, and risks of trafficking”.
• The organization has been selected because of its reputation as one of the most active organizations in support of youth-led advocacy around education and against trafficking and exploitation.

The American Youth Policy Forum

• The AYPF is committed to informing youth policy and improving youth outcomes by providing learning opportunities to the youth and others researched on matters of education and other policy issues.
• One of the entity’s focus areas is ‘youth leadership and voice’ “which refers to knowledge, opinions, and access to the platforms that are necessary for youth to exercise their right to speak out around issues and policies that directly or indirectly affect them, such as education”
• The organization has been included because it appears across multiple sources as one of the most active government entities focused on empowering youth to be their own advocates around major policy issues such as education.

The United States Child Poverty Action Group

• The US CPAP is focused on eliminating poverty among children in the US. One of the ways propagated by the organization to do so is to ensure every child is guaranteed access to education.
• The organization supports the voice of children and youth (on issues education and others) as a critical part of creating positive change. The US CPAP has partnered with the Save the Children Action Network which seeks to offer a political voice for kids’. The organization aims at investing in children and holding leaders accountable for matters affecting kids.
• The organization has been included among the top as it was formed nationally with the involvement of key national leaders. The initiative has since given birth to additional 20 national organizations focused on the rights of children and the youth.

Research Strategy

Children Defense Fund

• The Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) is a nonprofit child advocacy organization that has worked tirelessly for over 40 years to champion a level playing field for all children, including their access to quality education.

What They are Doing

• CDF’s mission is to foster environments that support and empower children and young adults to excel and believe in their ability to make a difference in themselves and in society, with hope, education, and action.
• CDF advocates for the "elimination of discriminatory education practices and policies, and the unequal distribution of resources that undermine equal educational opportunities for all students." CDF offers the CDF Freedom Schools program that provides after-school and summer enrichment to support K-12 scholars to access high quality academic and character-building resources.

Why They Were Included

• The organization was chosen for its reputation and the impact of its programs. According to Candid, more than 150,000 children and youths have taken part in Freedom Schools.

The ASPIRA Association

• The ASPIRA Association is a national Hispanic organization working since 1961 to exclusively develop Hispanic youth’s educational capacity.

What They are Doing

• The ASPIRA Association provides programs to encourage Hispanic students to stay in school and prepare them to succeed in the educational arena. ASPIRA statewide organizations offer various educational enrichment and advance youth’s educational achievement. ASPIRA currently has over 450,000 alumni.

• The ASPIRA Process “teaches young people to become aware of their own situation and that of their community, to analyze the root causes of barriers to their success, and to take action for positive changes in their personal lives and the life of their community.”

Why They Were Included

• The ASPIRA Association was chosen due to its reputation, recognition in the US, and impact. According to the organization, almost every Latino leader in business, politics, and education in the cities ASPIRA implements its program has been an Aspirantes.

• Recently, the Superintendent of Bridgeport praised ASPIRA, CT public schools of "cutting the Latino drop-out rate in the city by half."

• ASPIRA has also been recognized nationally by the US Department of Education for its mathematics and science academy. It has also been recognized by the President’s Initiative on Race, which selected ASPIRA as an “Exemplary Program.” Also, every Puerto Rican leader, both locally and nationally, has been an ASPIRA student (Aspirante).

• The Association serves more than 85,000 students each year through its ASPIRA Clubs in schools and after-school education. The ASPIRA Process has resulted in more than 95% of Aspirantes completing high school and over 90% going on to college.

Center for Education Reform

What They are Doing

• The Center for Education Reform aims to "give learners at all levels the opportunity to shape their education." The organization does this by generating publicity through media outreach and connecting innovators with investors and schools to quicken their impact.

• The organization's mission is to expand educational opportunities to improve the economic outcomes for Americans, especially the youth.

Why They Were Included

• In 2008, the organization's advocacy work improved schools in 15 states in just a year. In 2011, the organization reached five billion media impressions since inception.
• In 2013, the organization had touched 20 million school choice advocates in 20 years.

Education-Reimagined

What They are Doing

• Education-Reimagined advocates for a learner-centered future for education. The organization champions the transformation of the current inadequate and unequal to one that includes, serves, and values every child.

• Education-Reimagined operates the Learning Lab to mobilize practitioners to exemplify that learner-centered education is crucial in addressing the US's most pressing educational challenges today. The organization also operates the SparkHouse to "unite and ignite young learners to be powerful ambassadors for and leaders of the national learner-centered movement."

Why They Were Included

• Education-Reimagined were included due to their reach and impact of their programs. The organization's Movement Builder Network program "includes 153 diverse regional and national leaders in the learner-centered education movement."

Research Strategy

My Brother's Keepers Alliance

• "MBK Alliance focuses on building safe and supportive communities for boys and young men of color"--to close the education gap--"where they feel valued and have clear pathways to opportunity."
• Jared Brown, who "manages a network of youth leaders and local leaders" for MBK in 250 jurisdictions, featured in the Forbes "list of the 30 most influential people in education under the age of 30."

Student Voice

• Student Voice is "a nationwide student-led nonprofit organization that works to equip students to advocate for solutions to educational inequity."
•  Merrit Jones, Board President of the Student Voice, featured in the Forbes "list of the 30 most influential people in education under the age of 30."

Mikva Challenge

• Mikva Challenge runs youth-led advocacy programs that "help young people develop civic knowledge and leadership skills" and influence policy decisions (for example, The Chicago School Board).

• "Over 100,000 students have participated in" Mikva Challenge programs. Mikva Challenge has more followers on Facebook than Student Voice.

UrbEd

• "UrbEd is a non-profit based in Philadelphia that advocates for fully-funded, safe, and healthy public schools in order to provide students with an equitable and quality education they deserve. The organization seeks to "build a student movement that works together to reform urban education."
• UrbEd features in Planbook's "15 Inspiring Nonprofits and Student Advocacy Groups. Student Representatives on the UrbEd board serve over 200,000 students."

Research Strategy

Aurora Institute

• Aurora Institute is a For-profit advocacy organization that advocates for the nascent field of K-12 next-generation, competency-based education and personalized learning across the United States.

What They Are Doing

• The organization's effort explores the essentials for "transformational change in K-12 systems, promotes best practices, identifies policy barriers, and makes recommendations for change."
• They strive to accomplish a strong, future-focused idea of education through field-building and knowledge creation, state and federal policy advocacy, and connecting and meeting.
• The mission of the Aurora Institute is to encourage the change of education policies and advance the progress of breakthrough procedures to guarantee high-quality learning for youth.

Why They Were Included

• The organization has impacted about 14 million students nationwide by its work in educational policy and practice.

Evergreen Education Group

• Evergreen Education group is a For-profit advocacy organization that works as a leader in K–12 digital learning research and advisory services in the United States.

What They Are Doing

• The organization creates the "Digital Learning Annual Conference, which explores the real promise of online, blended, and digital learning."
• The company currently provides consulting and advisory services to schools, districts, state agencies, companies, and foundations.

Why They Were Included

• The organization has provided above 2 million successful online course completions to students across Florida, and other US states. The Clark County School District, "the fifth-largest in the United States—adopted Evergreen’s Planning for the Quality guide to bring blended learning to more than 100,000 students in schools across the district."

American Enterprise Institute

• The American Enterprise Institute is a public For-profit advocacy organization dedicated to connecting top college students across the country with the ideas, research, and network of AEI.

What They Are Doing

• AEI has a Weekend Honors Program that brings together 16–20 students from different schools, academic backgrounds, and perspectives for an immersive series of discussions about a present public policy issue.
• The AEI Executive Council Program allows current undergraduates to engage with AEI’s scholarship, and to grow the quality and variety of public policy dialogue on their faculties.
• AEI’s "education policy scholars are exploring ways to strengthen America’s educational system as a vehicle for upward mobility, examining issues affecting early childhood, K–12, and higher education. "

Why They Were Included

• The organization is included due to its reach and impact of its programs on the American youths.

Highlander Institute.

• Highlander Institute is a For-profit advocacy organization that partners with communities to envision and build more impartial, consistent, and efficient schools. The organization uses research to "convene, coach, and build capacity to improve outcomes and experiences for all students."

What They Are Doing

• Highlander Institute service is directed towards providing tailored, unique, embedded supports at the classroom, school, and district levels. "Highlander Institute specializes in blended and personalized learning models that are focused on creating equity through education."
• The Institute builds and implements tools that allow communities to diagnose obstacles and design solutions from a student-centered perspective. They also build strategies that strengthen local teachers to customize institute education and experience, "mobilizing home-grown teams of personalized learning specialists."
• They engage with schools and school divisions across the state and region to render high-quality learning consulting services. Their services vary from "strategic planning to network design and technical support to embedded professional development and coaching."

Why They Were Included

• The organization was chosen for its reputation and the impact of its programs. "Each year, they collaborate with educators across the country to showcase the best classroom, school, and district implementers at our conference in Providence, RI."

Research Strategy

Useful Findings

• Alcoa, Albertsons, Allstate, AT&T, Farmers Insurance, Dollar General, State Farm, Sprint, Target, U.S. Bancorp, Union Pacific, Wells Fargo, Salesforce, and KPMG are among for-profit organizations that fund K-12 education in the United States as part of their CSR efforts.
• Battelle for Kids, Digital Promise, and the Consortium of School Networking (CoSN) are among non-profit organizations that are advocating for edtech and personalized learning for the benefit of U.S. students.
• Aspen Institute, Christensen Institute, American Enterprise Institute, and The Center for Education Reform are among non-profit organizations that are advocating for national policy changes that will improve the education system in the U.S.
• Youth Funding Youth Ideas, Youth Empowerment Fund, Learning to Give, and Youth Service America are among organizations that directly work to promote youth-led programs in education and other social activities.
• In June 2019, Youth to the People, a skincare brand, donated $50,000 to support advocacy efforts to protect LGBTQ students in U.S. schools, among other initiatives. However, it was not clear whether the advocacy was youth-led.
• According to a 2015 Guardian list, IBM, ExxonMobil, Target, Microsoft, and Wells Fargo would be among U.S. corporations spending millions on education programs.

Research Strategy