Celebrating IYF’s History
For more than 35 years, IYF has delivered programs, research and tools that help young people transform their lives. We are constantly deepening our research and creating new partnerships to innovate and provide scalable, sustainable solutions for the most challenging problems young people face.
The Kellogg Foundation invites Rick Little to Battle Creek, Michigan.
He researches and sees a critical gap in current efforts: a well resourced, cohesive approach is needed to support young people after early childhood but before they reach their mid-20s.
IYF is born thanks to an initial $67 million grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation.
Fundación Esquel in Ecuador becomes the first member of IYF’s global partner network.
The World Economic Forum designates IYF as Charity of the Year.
The World Economic Forum designates IYF as Charity of the Year.
IYF establishes partnerships in Germany, Philippines, and Thailand.
The Financial Times publishes the first Youth Survey in partnership with IYF.
IYF provides seed funding and technical assistance to launch the Children of Slovakia Foundation. By 2015, the organization will celebrate its 20 anniversary serving the country’s children.
IYF moves offices from Battle Creek to Baltimore.
A board meeting in Italy promotes dramatic expansion of the IYF global partner network.
The first annual IYF global partner meeting brings together chairpersons and executive directors from around the world. They exchange ideas and experience to strengthen how the global partner network addresses youth needs.
IYF launches the Global Alliance for Workers and Communities with Nike. In cooperation with local labor unions, community-based organizations, and government, the alliance improves the work and life opportunities for young adult factory workers. Gap joins the alliance the following year.
The Make a Connection global initiative starts. It would go on to support youth education, employability, and civic engagement across five continents.
IYF celebrates its 10th anniversary.
IYF and Nokia launch YouthActionNet®. This network fosters social innovation and cultivates young leaders and will grow to include more than 1,200 fellows in over 80 countries.
With the Multilateral Investment Fund, the award-winning entra21 employability program begins in Latin America and the Caribbean.
What Works offers community-based organizations practical information to strengthen how they serve youth.
The global partner network continues to grow, now including organizations from Hungary and Turkey.
IYF partners with the GE Foundation to develop Passport to Success®. The life skills training curriculum begins bridging the talent gap by preparing young jobseekers to obtain the jobs employers are looking to fill.
Building on five years of experience, the Lucent-IYF partnership continues to strengthen and scale programs for quality youth education. The Global Fund for Youth Development includes a $13 million commitment from the technology company.
Bill Reese is appointed
President and CEO of IYF.
IYF begins implementing the Education and Employment Alliance (EEA) with USAID and key corporate partners. EEA improves and expands education and employment opportunities for disadvantaged and unemployed youth in six countries in Asia and the Middle East.
Sir David Bell completes eight years as board chair, and Doug Becker assumes this role.
IYF and Sylvan/Laureate Foundation open the first YouthActionNet® national institute, in Mexico. At Universidad del Valle de México, this institute serves as the model for future growth.
Starbucks™ creates the Innovation Fund to support YouthActionNet® alumni projects. By 2013, Starbucks™ Shared Planet™ Youth Action grants will have gone to 90 young social innovators whose work benefits 96,600 lives.
With IYF as secretariat, the Global Partnership for Youth Employment (GPYE) launches. With an emphasis on original research, the partners’ gather and share information about youth employment in Africa and the Middle East.
Samsung Real Dreams gets underway in Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria , and South Africa. After participating in entrepreneurship and job training, more than 75% of participants reported earning more income.
Youth:Work Jordan, a major new initiative investing in the country’s underserved youth, launches. Later known as Youth for the Future, the initiative is supported by the Royal Patronage of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah II.
Young men and women around the world begin learning market-relevant technical and life skills through EquipYouth. IYF launches this global initiative in partnership with the Caterpillar Foundation.
IYF releases Opportunity for Action with partner Microsoft. The report outline barriers to opportunities for youth in order to promote understanding of how to overcome them.
At the Summit of the Americas, IYF announces a major new initiative, New Employment Opportunities (NEO).
In Uganda, partnerships built with dozens of local companies create internship opportunities for YouthMap participants. Interns at banks such as DFCU and Barclays found employment after the six-month internships.
Young people across the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa are learning to succeed in self-empoyment through Build Your Business.
With support from The MasterCard Foundation, IYF’s Egypt@Work program succeeds in connecting 11,300 young people to job skills training. Nearly three-quarters of participating youth trained either gained jobs or started a business.
Young entrepreneur and Zimbabwe:Works graduate Takunda Chingonzo interviews US President Barack Obama.
IYF releases the inaugural Global Youth Wellbeing Index with CSIS and Hilton. The index offers global leaders and decision-makers a new, rich way to understanding of how to make effective and strategic investments in young people.
IYF joins the World Bank Group as a founding partner in Skills for Youth Employment (S4YE).
In partnership with Chevron, the Zangar initiative launches in Kazakhstan. It combines STEM education, life skills training, and service learning opportunities.
IYF launches Via: Pathways to Work in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation. Via focuses on building institutional capacity in vocational education systems and embedding life skills learning alongside technical skills.
IYF moves to a new office at 1 East Pratt Street, in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.
BADIR grows to include 65 youth-led social ventures. Collectively, they impacted more than 100,000 lives in Jordan.
IYF and partner Hilton publish the 2017 Global Youth Wellbeing Index. The Index is a diagnostic tool to measure youth wellbeing, listening device to record and elevate youth perspectives, guide to facilitate targeted investment, and benchmark for the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Youth Opportunity initiative launches in Chicago with support from the McDonald’s Corporation.
Órale is recognized for its best practices in transforming education in Mexico. The initiative is funded by the TK Foundation.
Susan Reichle becomes President & CEO of IYF. Susan joined IYF in 2017 as President & COO after a 25-year career at USAID.
IYF celebrates 30 years of transforming lives, together.
Joseph M. Matalon steps into the Board Chair role.
IYF partners with Burberry to launch Burberry Inspire and bring creative youth development to 500,000 young people.
Christina Sass joins IYF as President and CEO. Christina is a lifelong champion of youth and a fierce advocate for women and diverse leaders across the globe.
IYF celebrates 35 years of creating pathways to economic opportunity that transform youth’s lives.
The Burberry Foundation and IYF celebrate International Youth Day by ringing the closing bell at Nasdaq.
The Caterpillar Foundation and IYF celebrate International Youth Day by ringing the closing bell at Nasdaq.