Who Loves Da Yoots

This week was a big one for da yoots. (can you tell My Cousin Vinny is on?) Skyline Public Works released a statement and launch of their new youth funding program the Go Grants The Program commits to giving $250,000 contributions to an organization in each state over the next ten years that specifically targets youth participation and engagement in sustaining organizations that continue work for elections and after.

It prompted me to take a deeper look into funding for youth programs, who gives, what they give, how they give, and what the partisan break down of funding to these groups is.

What I found with a simple OpenSecrets is a significant divide between Young Democrats and Young Republicans in funding. If you look under the 527 section you see that the YD’s received about $1.6million for the 2006 election cycle and made about $1.5million in expenditures.

What do you suppose the Young Republicans did? Just guess. Half? Twice… Try three times as much raised and TEN TIMES as much spent. That’s right – the College Republicans raised $3.7million dollars and spent over $10million.

Holy rusted metal, Batman.

That said, look at what other organizations are out there that recruit partisan youth – MoveOn.org has a student action fund, the DFA world energized a whole new world of young progressives, Young People For, Campus Progress a division of the Center for American Progress and there are dozens more.

Looking at the PIRGs and ACORN who you know I have my own issues with – they claim progressiveness..

But on the Republican side we have just as many – the branches of Young Conservatives in states are numerous but further organizations like the Young America’s Foundation, The Freedom Alliance, the NRA’s youth program, and the slew of faith based orgs likeTeen Pact - ew.

There are other orgs – shady 527’s on both sides that have youth components to their programs. On the progressive side its Campaign Corps or the New Leader’s Council. But you can’t track money to these folks.

Few people dedicate themselves to funding youth programs – and those that do tend to also be contributors to those damn PIRGs or ACORN people as well.

Mike the fearless leader of FM reported a few weeks back that the ever popular bundling service of richie rich progressives The Democracy Alliance may be cutting off funding to youth oriented outreach (please excuse me while I bang my head against my desk…)

So that cuts the number of Democratic yoot funders by a considerable amount and god knows we can’t afford to fork over our minimum to hardly livable political wages to fund these guys, so I’m grateful that the Go Grants program is alive and well but methinks the funding pool is considerably limited by people who keep saying “I love that you’re doing this, but I just can’t help support you.” As someone who gets to work in fundraising I can tell you that I’ve been hearing this lately with many of the youth oriented groups who are trying to raise money.

Surely we could network with the tech community – the YouTube millionaires, or the Google Guys, or Steve-0 who are all the ones that are made popular by the Millennial Generation’s dedication to the technology they are peddling.

I don’t know if it helps to rant about these topics – who knows how many rich people read blogs but maybe some of them will get a clue and understand that the total tonnage of state based youth organizations that we all talk about here on FM need funding – they need support in people who want to see them succeed and who can stand beside them as long-term investors from within their states and abroad.

Investing in the future of the progressive movement in America goes beyond engagement and activism – for some we actually need to invest and have ownership of our progress for these groups. Whether its through a long-term membership to groups like the Young Democrats, or New Era Colorado or Forward Montana or better volunteering for their committees or programs – which would mean helping young people learn how to build fundraising programs and develop memberships, build networks of outreach and field programs, and successful legislative agendas that reduced the age to run for office to 21 and many more things.

Where are more investors? How can recruit them to join or support programs like the Go Grants? WTF is with the Democracy Alliance anyway?