Grantee Level
Shared Understanding:
Grantees have developed a shared language and understanding of narrative change and YOCCF's core concepts.
Skill Development:
Organizations with experience in arts and organizing are effectively cross-pollinating YOCCF's learnings into their work. Others are recognizing the connections but need guidance and support to fully implement these seeded ideas.
"This framework here, along with what we learned in the workshops...gives us some really simple but powerful narrative strategies that we can amplify to our team members, staff, and, most importantly, to our young people." — Austin Greene, Director of DreamYard Arts Center
Youth Empowerment:
About two-thirds of grantees have started sowing the seeds for empowerment in their organizations and across departments by imparting knowledge, skills and tools to youth. The remaining grantees are building towards this goal.
"What the fund has created is that opportunity...for organizations to bring their folks, whether they are young people, artists, organizers, to actually talk to each other." — Asenhat Gomez, El Puente Deputy Director
Cohort Level
Knowledge Sharing:
While focused on skill transfer from facilitators, there have been limited opportunities for grantees to learn about and from each other's goals and work.
"A lot of times when we try to build alliances, it's kind of like a one-off thing. Maybe you're joining a planning session that meets like once or twice, and then you kind of fade away. YOCCF isn’t like that." —Carry Pak, CAAAV
Community Building:
YOCCF provides a safe space for collaboration and community building. Grantees are building trust and exploring collaborative strategies to bloom together.
Collaboration Strategies:
Grantees have ideas for joint campaigns and are looking forward to more structured environment to organize these collaborations effectively.
"Now that we are going into action for year two, we can amplify each other's work and each other's campaign. Although we might work and live in different communities, many of our challenges are shared." —Asenhat Gomez, El Puente Deputy Director
Grantee Feedback
- Trainings are broadening understanding and providing new definitions (e.g., narratives).
- Grantees are reconsidering intentions (audience, partnership, communication) and want to learn from others' approaches.
Suggested Improvements
- More in-person opportunities, including intentional networking.
"We are building community... a lot over digital space, which is what this new era of community looks like. I feel we have built community as best we can, and I hope there is more opportunity to meet in person if possible."
- Increased youth leadership (trainings, symposiums, workshops).
- Additional tools, kits, and materials to help grantees translate learnings into action.
"The workshop structure is giving us tools to codify the work we leave behind."
- Facilitated collaboration on specific actions and campaigns.