It's Our Money
#itsourmoney Youth led direct democracy
Name of Your Organization:
Youth Power Coalition in partnership with IntegrateNYC
Overview of the Project - Please provide a brief description of the project.
Youth Power Coalition empowers young people in New York City.
The problem we are tackling: We, the Young People, currently don’t hold decision-making power in spaces where decisions about us are constantly being made. This just doesn’t make sense. Decisions about us should never be made without us.
With our partner, IntegrateNYC, we have discovered that youth are accountable for “citizen duties” like taxes and that federal law allows youth to vote at local and municipal elections. Yet, when we ask for a seat at the table, we are usually given a non-voting one. In our city’s Community Education Council, for example, only one out of the 12 seats is open to a young person. This council member must be a high school student and has no voting power. This is not how we deserve to be represented.
Our solution to this issue: With love, courage, and care, we build for young people, by young people. With your support, and in partnership with youth organizations citywide, we will co-create a youth power advocacy platform, which will include lowering the voting age and giving voting power to students on different education councils. We will also host a virtual candidate forum, where we will learn about how our city’s education councils work. Young people over eighteen will register to vote and young people under eighteen will make our voices heard because we deserve the right to vote. If a decision affects us, we must make it.
Which of the following issues does your project address?
- Issue 1 - Addressing Mental Health
- Issue 2 - Preparation for College and/or Career
- Issue 3 - Youth Advocacy Promotion
We address Issue 3 - Youth Advocacy Promotion.
Youth Engagement - Please explain how you will engage youth in the planning and implementation of the project.
We know what it feels like to be isolated and ignored and we are committed to building spaces that honor our ideas and bodies.
We will interview young people from across New York City to hear their experiences on the lack of youth power across different systems and how they would like to radically change the city through more inclusive policy.
Our forums will be hosted and led by youth, especially those who are not already a part of an organization. Together we will build a youth power platform that advocates for us to always have the power to decide.
In addition, we will speak at community events, lead teach-ins, and engage with our current elected officials to power youth-led impact citywide.
Our activities will be open to young people city-wide but our outreach efforts and leadership opportunities will center young people in the priority neighborhoods. We will start with the neighborhoods of Mott Haven, Hunts Point, Morrisania, Central Harlem, Elmhurst, Sunset Park, and St. George where our organizing team members currently go to school and/or have existing relationships.
At Youth Power Coalition, we work with people of all identities, backgrounds, and ages to co-create an intergenerational space that allows us to learn, unlearn, and build our platform while centering youth voices that have been most impacted.
Budget - Your total project budget must equal $20,000 to be placed on the ballot for a youth vote. Please provide a brief description of what the funds would be used for to successfully implement your project. You will also need to download, fill in, and attach a full budget.
We will use these funds to pay young people leading this work and adult staff members who will be our allies. We will also buy transcription and online meeting software so that everyone can participate, including people who are deaf and hard of hearing.
Timeline- Please describe the timeline for the implementation and completion of the project. All work for this project must be completed by June 30, 2021, which is the end of the city’s fiscal year and the deadline for the funds to be spent.
MARCH: Interview Young People
Interview young people to hear about their experiences and ideas for youth power. Focus on youth in priority neighborhoods as well as youth who are current Community Education Council members.
APRIL: Host Youth-Led Virtual Candidate Forums
Youth run their own virtual candidate forums for young people. This forum would have three goals:
1) Create a “WHAT IS A COMMUNITY EDUCATION COUNCIL CANDIDATE?” webinar to explain the power, structure, and access of school boards in NYC.
2) Register all 18-24-year-olds to vote.
3) Create a petition of all the students who would vote for the Community Education Council if they could.
MAY 1 - MAY 11: It’s Our Schools - Get Out to Vote Campaign!
1) Support all 18-24-year-olds to vote.
2) Share petition of all the students who would vote for the Community Education Council if they could.
MAY 14: Youth Power Dreaming Forum
Organize a dreaming forum with young people (9-17) to continue co-creating our Youth Power Advocacy Platform while the Community Education Council runoff elections continue (where young people under eighteen cannot vote).
JUNE: Report Our Results
Report the results of our campaign! We deserve to be heard.
Project Activity Alignment - How does your project align with at least one of the following topics:
- Leadership skills development: organizing & advocacy trainings
- Stewardship of public spaces: public parks, transportation, etc.
- Youth and student engagement
- Civic education and advocacy
- Community outreach involving residents that have been historically underrepresented in or underserved by city government and its processes
Leadership skills development and civic education and advocacy: We will train youth on how to vote for their delegates on Community Education Councils and how to petition officials to change laws.
Youth and student engagement: We will engage other young people who are both like us and not like us so we will have a variety of voices that all contribute to our Youth Power Advocacy Platform.
Community outreach involving residents that have been historically underrepresented in or underserved by city government and its processes: We ourselves are a team of young people and adult allies from historically underrepresented backgrounds. We will prioritize reaching out to young people from the priority neighborhoods.
What is your organization's area of focus?
- Children and youth related
- Advocacy and organizing
- Arts and culture
- Civic engagement
- Education and literacy
- Emergency management and disaster response
- Employment and workforce development
- Environment and sustainability
- Faith-based
- Food access
- Health and medicine
- Homelessness and/or affordable housing
- Human rights
- Human services
- Immigrants and/or refugees
- Justice related
- Legal services
- People with disabilities
- Senior services
- Women's issues
We are advocacy and organizing focused.
Affirmations - Type "YES" below each statement to affirm that you are eligible to appear on the ballot for this process.
I confirm that my organization will be registered in the NYC Payee Information Portal and in PassPort, NYC’s online procurement system, in order to receive funding from the City of New York.
YES
I confirm that my organization is able to front the costs of implementing this project. Organizations will be paid based on deliverables.
YES
Completion of Deliverables: I understand all deliverables must be completed by June 30th, 2021.
YES
I understand a condition of funding includes submission of a final report upon project completion, and participating in a debrief session with the CEC.
YES
This idea proceeds to voting because:
Thank you for your proposal submission! Based on our review, your proposal is eligible according to the project guidelines and will be placed on the ballot for the youth vote to take place in February. We may reach out if we need further information to prepare the ballot.
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