CONTEXT

We are entering the beginning of the end of FCYO’s current experimental efforts to re-evaluate and improve the efficacy of youth organizing, and by extension, social movements here in the U.S. This endeavor was carried out through high levels of experimentation conducted by FCYO and partners since 2017 (Pipelines to Power, Youth Power Labs, GenPower Labs, YO-CARE and The Power To Win Framework), with each capacity-building cohort providing more clarity than the previous concerning the need for a fundamental change in approach to political work within youth organizing and the desire for a shared standard of practice and analysis. 

It is now time to showcase the social practice of hundreds of people tied to organizations in FCYO’s orbit who have uncovered general truths about organizing, the limits of individual organization efforts, and the necessity of sectoral consolidation around a scientific-practical standard to build the power we need to reshape society. 

The Praxis Summit will verify the viability and critical necessity of consolidating organizers and their projects around a shared standard of analysis and practice, given the painful lessons learned by organizing practitioners over the past decade about the impotence consistently experienced when we forefront advocacy over powerbuilding, or the risks to our organizations and communities when we continue operating with an unscientific approach to organizing as the opponents of a just and equitable world grow stronger day by day. 

Organizing practitioners who engage in daily efforts to build collective power are typically best suited to move their colleagues – regardless of sector. This means practitioners affiliated with FCYO cohorts will need to play a critical leadership role in the planning and execution of the event. We also envision philanthropic partners who have played key roles in shaping what is politically possible regarding social justice philanthropy taking leadership amongst their peers at the Praxis Summit. They will do this by sharing their experiences applying key lessons learned through organizational practice shifts implemented within their institutions and modeling how to show up as co-conspirators, not just quiet, “neutral” observers, within the space.

Finally, FCYO will put forward new programmatic offerings that build on the previous sectoral consolidation efforts, as well as new projects it will incubate in support of more space for higher-level strategizing and practical work that currently exceeds the bounds of what FCYO and similar institutions have done in the recent past.

ABOUT FCYO & OUR ROLE

The Funders’ Collaborative on Youth Organizing, a managed project of Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice, is a philanthropic intermediary that brings funders and youth organizers together to ensure that young people have the resources, capacities, and infrastructure they need to fight for a more just and democratic society. FCYO believes that to move toward justice, BlPOC youth, working-class young people, young women, and queer and trans youth have a critical role to play in transforming economic and social conditions. Our work is grounded in our close relationships with the youth organizing field and a commitment to meaningful partnerships between funders and youth organizers. FCYO is committed to building a more powerful, strategic, and aligned youth organizing field with the capacity to address the challenges of this moment. 

To achieve this vision, we know we need more infrastructure in the field of youth organizing. The field needs more spaces to unite nationally across issues and grapple with how to ground their work in a coherent long-term strategy for building power and develop common frameworks and methodologies tailored to fit specific conditions based on location and constituency. To support this, FCYO provides youth organizing groups with general operating resources alongside a container for support, assessment, strategic education, organizing tools, peer learning, and accountability. For the past 25 years, we have brought field partners and funders to the table to cultivate a community based on joy, rigor, vulnerability, experimentation, and learning. 

FCYO’s approach to our peer-learning grantmaking cohorts is rooted in a commitment to support both individual organizational development and to strengthen the youth organizing field as a whole. Across our cohorts, we want to be clear that there is a commitment on both FCYO and participating organizations’ behalf to building a successful experience. This means that throughout each of our programs we utilize a blend of coaching, collaboration, relationship building, and principled struggle to ensure collective clarity on purpose and to move towards that purpose. In addition, as part of our commitment to broader field-building, FCYO supports cohorts to share lessons learned with the organizing field-at-large via write-ups, webinars, and funder learning spaces. We acknowledge this is different from many other funder-grantee spaces - it is reflective of our position as an intermediary with both a philanthropic role and a commitment to power building.

THE POWER TO WIN FRAMEWORK

Built off lessons from our previous initiatives, The Power to Win Framework is the strategic orientation guiding all of FCYO’s grant-based programming. The foundation of the framework makes clear that movements must achieve the power to transform economic and social conditions for our communities and society as a whole. Specifically, the Framework puts forward that to build this kind of power, youth organizing must build bases at a significant scale, develop broad strategic alliances, and elevate public narratives that promote our vision of social justice and true democracy. All of FCYO’s programming aims to support organizations in using the framework to assess their work, build new capacities, and create organizational shifts to build power. The Power to Win Framework is constituted by four pillars:

1. Long-Term Strategic Orientation: organizations must develop a long-term strategy rooted in an analysis of the economic and political structure of society.

2. Transformative Leadership Development: organizations must have clear leadership pathways with programmatic work that supports young leaders to develop the skills and capacities to lead long-term movement building.

3. Organizing for Power: organizations must develop and test a plan to build the power needed to achieve their long-term vision, rooted in their understanding of their terrain.

4. Assessment and Experimentation: organizations must engage in honest, ongoing organizational and movement assessments to reflect what methods and infrastructure work best for building power with young people

ORGANIZATIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION

Organizations invited to the Praxis Summit are required to complete the following tasks and activities:

• Virtual Pre-Praxis Summit Webinar Series
  • Before attending the Praxis Summit, all invitees are required to attend two (2) webinar sessions between September and October, where they will learn more about the contours and expectations of the event, while also meeting other attendees from across the country.
• Registration Fee
  • To show your commitment to attending the Praxis Summit, FCYO is asking each organization to pay a $100 registration fee to reserve their two spots. Outside of the $100 registration, FCYO will cover air travel, lodging, and in-session meals (breakfast and lunch) during each day of the Praxis Summit for invited youth and intergenerational organizing projects.

SELECTION CRITERIA & CONSIDERATIONS

Groups that are selected to attend the Praxis Summit will have exhibited the following characteristics and qualities:

• Groups that have in recent history displayed solid basebuilding and conducted campaigns
  • When we say “basebuilding,” we are describing an organization-centered method of increasing the number of members and/or non-member supporters through mass engagement activities (doorknocking, in-school recruitment, community meetings, etc.).

  • For “campaigns,” we are describing organization-led, short-term collective strategic and tactical action aimed at shifting or rolling back policy or power imbalances negatively impacting our communities. This requires cultivating organizational members who can mobilize supporters tied to the communities and constituencies you work for.

• Youth-led organizing projects
• Multi-generational organizations with youth (ages 13-24) in leadership (as staff, decision-makers, board, or program leadership) 
• Organizations that are place-based or community-based
• Groups engaged in local, state-wide, and/or national organizing efforts
• Organizations operating with general alignment with FCYO’s Power To Win Framework
• [Priority] Groups that exhibit ideological clarity and encourage the political study of staff and members
• [Priority] Organizations with a strong grasp of the interconnected nature of racial, gender, and economic justice

• [Priority] Groups that share local or regional working connections with current FCYO cohort organization

Preference may be given to: 

• Organizations in the same geographic area as the current FCYO cohort organizations.

• Organizations that are willing to grapple with questions about effective power-building strategies, and are honest and vulnerable about the strengths and limitations of their current and historical approach to organizing and organizational model.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Organizations will be invited to apply to attend the Praxis Summit via our SurveyMonkey portal. All organizations will be notified around July 16, 2025, regarding their application status. Application reviewers will include FCYO staff and field partners on the Praxis Summit planning committee. 

The deadline to apply is Friday, May 23, 2025, at 11:59 pm PDT. The application will require you to provide basic information on the organization, answer some demographic questions, and respond to short narrative questions. Submission of a proposal does not guarantee an invitation to attend the Praxis Summit.

Should you have questions about the Praxis Summit, please reach out via email at praxissummit@fcyo.org.

Follow these steps to begin the application process;

1. Go to 

2. Click “Register” to create an account or click “Log in” to access your account

3. Click on Praxis Summit to begin the application process

4. Be sure to save your work if you choose to return to it at a later time

5. Remember, the portal will close on May 23, 2025, 11:59 PM (PDT)

Should you experience technical difficulties navigating Survey Monkey,  please refer to the SurveyMonkey FAQ and/or this helpful video. If you continue to experience technical difficulties, please contact us via email at praxissummit@fcyo.org.

APPLICATION QUESTIONS

ORGANIZATIONAL INFORMATION 

1. Basic Information

   • Organization Name

   • Name of Fiscal Sponsor if Applicable

   • Address

   • City

   • State

   • Contact Person Name (Executive or Development Director)

   • Contact Person Phone

   • Contact Person Email

2. Year organization was founded

3. Which of the following best describes your organization? Please select all that apply. (multiple answers)

   • 501(c)(3)

   • 501(c)(4)

   • High school club

   • College group, organization, or club

   • Local/regional chapter of national organization

   • Network or alliance of multiple organizations or groups

   • Limited Liability Company (LLC)

   • Fiscally sponsored project

   • Other (please specify):

4. Organizational Budget (total organization, not just program/project budget)

5. How many full-time staff does your organization employ? 

6. How many part-time staff does your organization employ? 

7. How many paid (or stipended) positions at your organization are held by youth (13-26)?

8. Which of the following best describes the geographic focus of your organization’s work? (single answer)

   • Local (in the same neighborhood/city/county; e.g., Portland, ME)

   • Regional (across multiple cities/counties within one state; e.g., southern Maine)

   • Statewide (across one state; e.g., Maine)

   • Multi-state (across multiple states within a geographic region; e.g., Northeast)

   • National (across the United States)

   • International (across multiple countries)

9. Which state(s) does your organization operate in? Please select all that apply.

10. Racial and Ethnic Composition of Membership (choose any group applicable)

    • Black or African American

    • East Asian (Chinese, Korean, Japanese, etc.)

    • Hispanic, Latinx, or Chicanx

    • Indigenous or Native

    • Southeast Asian (Cambodian, Lao, Vietnamese, etc.)

    • Pacific Islander (Filipino, Tongan, Samoan, etc.)

    • South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, etc.)

    • West Asian/Middle Eastern

    • White (European descent)

    • Mixed race

    • Other (please specify): (text entry)

11. Which leadership model best describes your organization (please select one):

    • Youth-led

    • Intergenerational

    • Youth-led within an Adult organization

    • Other leadership model (please specify): (text entry)

12. Which of the following issue areas does your organization lead campaigns on and support campaigns on (for example, through partnerships or by boosting the work of other organizations)? (Note: We understand that the issues listed are inherently intersectional; please do your best to identify the primary emphasis of the campaigns. By” lead”, we mean that your organization takes on responsibility for the success or failure of the campaign, and is perceived as leading the effort by those you are in partnership with.)

    • Anti-militarism and/or foreign policy

    • Criminal justice

    • Disability justice

    • Economic justice (including tax reform, welfare/social safety net, corporate responsibility, budgeting, etc.)

    • Education justice

    • Environment/Climate justice

    • Food justice

    • Gender justice (including women, girls, and trans people)

    • Health (including access to health care, health insurance, mental health services, substance use/harm reduction, etc.)

    • Housing justice

    • Immigration justice

    • Labor/worker’s rights

    • LGBTQ+ justice

    • Media justice

    • Native/indigenous justice/sovereignty

    • Refugee issues

    • Reproductive justice

    • Transportation justice

    • Violence prevention and/or gun reform

    • Voting justice (voter outreach, voting rights, lowering the voting age, immigrant voting, etc.)

13. Other (please specify): (text entry)

14. Which of the following campaign activities does your organization engage in? Please select all that apply.

    • Attending town hall meetings, forums, and public hearings

    • Boycotts

    • Community Outreach (community meetings, tabling, etc.)

    • Community-Based Research (including participatory action research)

    • Digital Organizing (hosting virtual events, online petitions, etc.)

    • Direct Constituent Mobilization (door knocking, phone/text banking, 1:1s)

    • Hosting town hall meetings, forums, and public hearings

    • Integrated Voter Engagement (voter registration, education, outreach, mobilization, etc.)

    • Mass Mobilizations (protests, marches, etc.)

    • Meetings with legislators or decision-makers

    • News Media (op-eds, press conferences, etc.)

    • Performance-Based Direct Action (lie-ins, flash mobs, vigils, etc.)

    • Storytelling (documentaries, social media, podcasts, arts and culture)

    • Supporting / Running Candidates for Office

    • Writing letters / calling legislators or decision-makers

    • Other (please specify): (text entry)

    • None of the above (My organization does not engage in any campaign activities.)

15. Which of the following age groups are involved in your organization as members? Please select all that apply. (multiple answers)

    • 10-13 year olds (middle school-aged youth)

    • 14-17 year olds (high school-aged youth)

    • 18-25 year olds (college-aged youth)

    • 26+ year olds

16. Do you consent to being included in the Youth Organizing Landscape Map?

    1. Yes

    2. No

FCYO ENGAGEMENT

1. Is your organization a participant or alumnus of any of FCYO’s 2020- 2024 cohort programs? (multiple answers)

   • Pipelines to Power

   • Youth Power Lab

   • Organizing to Win Lab (OWL)

   • Level-Up Lab (LUL)

   • Praxis for Power Lab (P4P)

   • Youth Organizing for Climate Action and Racial Equity (YO-CARE)

   • None of the above

2. Nominating Organization (if applicable): Were you nominated by an FCYO-affiliated organization? If so, please provide their name and a brief explanation of your relationship.

MOVEMENT ENGAGEMENT

1. Is your organization affiliated with any national or regional coalitions, networks, or formations? (Check all that apply)

   • Center for Popular Democracy

   • Climate Justice Alliance

   • Faith in Action

   • Industrial Areas Federation

   • People’s Action

   • Rising Majority 

   • US Climate and Energy Network

2. What statewide coalitions, networks, or formations are you a part of? 

3. Are there additional coalitions, networks, or formations you are part of that are not listed? (Optional)

4. What national organizing trainings has your organization utilized to shape its practice and/or train staff? (Check all that apply)

   • AORTA

   • BOLD

   • Emergent Strategy Ideation Institute

   • Generative Somatics

   • Midwest Academy

   • Momentum 

   • Movement Matters

   • Rockwood Leadership Institute

   • SOUL

   • The Action Lab

   • The Embodiment Institute

   • The Management Center

   • The Organizing Center

5. Are there additional trainings your organization has utilized that are not listed? (Optional)

6. Who are 2-3 organizations that your organization takes inspiration from? 

NARRATIVE

The following questions provide space for you to move beyond standard grant-writing pleasantries and offer an authentic and grounded assessment of your organization’s work. We at FCYO want to know the real successes and struggles of your organization to determine the best possible program composition. With that in mind, keep it real and leave no stone unturned. We sincerely appreciate your vulnerability and commitment to building stronger movements.

1. Organizational mission and purpose: Share your organization’s formal mission and organizational purpose. (250 words max)

2. Embracing Shared Standards of Practice: What do you think would become more possible for our society if organizations that consider themselves youth organizing projects decided to adopt shared standards of organizing methodology?  (500 words max)

   • Adoption of shared standards can be understood as a majority of youth and intergenerational organizing groups committed to (1) engaging in shared baseline organizing practices, (2) operating with a shared analysis of the root causes of problems we face, and (3) maintaining alignment around the solutions we’re fighting for.

3. Applying the Power To Win Framework to your work: Select one of the pillars of FCYO’s Power To Win Framework that you believe your organization needs to strengthen in terms of practice in your organization. Share how you would go about implementing changes to strengthen your organization according to the pillar you selected. (500 words max)

   • Pillar One: Long-Term Strategic Orientation

   • Pillar Two: Transformative Leadership Development

   • Pillar Three: Organizing for Power

   • Pillar Four:  Assessment & Experimentation

4. Why Attend The Praxis Summit: Please tell us why your organization has a strong desire to participate in the Praxis Summit and what you hope to glean from the experience if accepted. If there are real-time examples of dilemmas or questions you are grappling with that inform your interest in joining this event, please share them. (250 words max)
   
   

PARTICIPATING REPRESENTATIVES

FCYO requires two (2) representatives from organizations taking part in the Praxis Summit. Each organization will identify one person in formal leadership and one programmatic staff member with relative decision-making power. For example, the Executive Director and the Director of Organizing are an acceptable representative combination. If you are opting for a second person who is not director-level staff, we strongly encourage you to select staff directly tied to programming work imbued with decision-making power (i.e., no development or secretarial staff).

• Name of Director-Level Staff Person

• Share why this person is an ideal candidate for participating in the event.

• Name of Program Staff Person with Decision-Making Power

• Share why this person is an ideal candidate for participating in this event.

SCHOLARSHIP

Outside of the $100 registration, FCYO will cover air travel, lodging, and in-session meals (breakfast and lunch) during each day of the Praxis Summit for invited youth and intergenerational organizing projects. For small, grassroots organizations that require additional support outside of what is listed above (e.g. transportation to/from airport, uncovered meals, etc.), FCYO may provide a small scholarship at its discretion.

1. Does your organization need additional financial support to attend this event?