Giving Compass' Take:

• FeedbackLabs describes the efforts of Global Fund for Children, a public foundation that promotes the voices of young leaders.

• Why is it vital to develop young leaders for a safe and strong future? What can you do to support the efforts of foundations like Global Fund for Children to build a strong core of youth leadership?

• Learn about the impact of young women leaders in East Africa.

Global Fund for Children envisions a future where all children and youth are safe, strong, and valued.  Global Fund for Children is committed to raising youth voices and ensuring that young people inform their work. In order to support this vision, they developed a Youth Leadership Council to serve as advisers to Global Fund for Children. By creating space for young people to participate in their work, Global Fund for Children hopes to model power shifting practices for their partners, inspiring them to create space for young people to lead, contribute feedback and take on meaningful roles in their organizations.

As the Youth Leadership Council takes shape, Global Fund for Children is navigating questions of how to engage the Youth Leadership Council in a meaningful, non-tokenistic way, how to include youth voices beyond the council, and how to support their grantee partners to shift power to young leaders.

Focus on accessibility. In order to find new members for the Youth Leadership Council, the Youth Leadership Council develops a Call for Membership. The Call for Membership is shared publicly, but may miss certain groups, such as youth who lack internet access, or youth who are not connected to Global Fund for Children’s networks.

Integrate the Council with the organization’s leadership. In order to integrate youth voice in all aspects of their work, LabStorm attendees encouraged Global Fund for Children to build connections between the board, the staff, and the Youth Leadership Council members.

Identify why shifting power is challenging and lead by example. By asking partner organizations what challenges stand in their way of shifting power to youth, Global Fund for Children can get a better idea of how to lead them towards shifting power.

Read the full article about developing young leaders by Corey Oser, Kulsoom Khan, and Katie Fuhs at FeedbackLabs.