Young, Gifted and Underfunded: Strengthening the Relationship Between Philanthropy and Youth-led Movements

Organizing and activism are hallmarks of social change efforts in Baltimore. Like many other major cities throughout the country, youth in Baltimore have been deeply engaged in our nation’s most important social movements, helping to both initiate and lead change efforts since the early 1900s.1,2 Baltimore’s rich legacy of youth organizing and activism continues today, with youth serving on the frontlines of the April 2015 Uprising after the death of Freddie Gray and founding and/or fueling movements focused on police violence, education reform, immigration reform, and economic justice.

Historically, social change efforts led by youth, especially youth of color, have largely been disconnected from the billions of dollars that flow through the national philanthropic sector each year. To better understand the current relationship between youth leaders in Baltimore and foundations that fund locally as well as how philanthropy and youth-led movements in and beyond Baltimore can work together more effectively to bring about social change, the Open Society Institute-Baltimore (“OSI-Baltimore”) commissioned the Supporting Youth Leadership Project (SYL Project).