Description

I am pleased to recommend a grant of $50,000 From the Public Policy Program to the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) to support the project, “A New Deal for Youth.”
As you know, this project was brought to our attention by the Ford Foundation, which is supporting it, along with the Lumina Foundation. (A proposal has also been submitted to the Annie E. Casey Foundation.) Ford had contacted CLASP for help formulating policy ideas related to youth, poverty, and workforce participation. CLASP proposed that youth and young adults be engaged directly in this work, helping to shape policy ideas and not simply be affected by them.
CLASP is an anti-poverty policy and advocacy institute that was founded in 1969. It is led by Dr. Olivia Golden, a former Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services and director of the Washington, DC, Children and Family Services Agency. This project will be guided by Kisha Bird, director of youth policy for CLASP.
Ms. Bird and her colleagues will spend the next year and a half developing a network of individuals and organizations, seeking input from them, and developing policy options to be shared publicly and with policy makers. They will organize a series of virtual convenings and possibly an in-person gathering, depending on public health advice and the availability of funding. 
This project will not only generate important policy proposals but it will also nurture diverse youth leaders who, we hope, will continue to grow as leaders and to shape policy. These goals are entirely consistent with the Foundation’s mission and also advance the priorities of the Public Policy Program. The project also enable the Foundation to develop partnerships with other philanthropies. Such partnerships help us to leverage our own investments and to build relationships that we may rely upon in the future.
The Foundation’s grant will primarily support the salaries of CLASP staff working on the project, honoraria for participants, and consultants’ fees. The total budget is $500,000-$700,000.
This will be the Foundation’s first grant to CLASP.