Up to $100,000 Unwritten Challenge Grant

Young Futures, a US funder working to make the digital world an easier place to grow up, is giving one-year grants of $50,000 to $100,000 to at least 10 US nonprofits and schools, with a minimum of $1 million in total. The Unwritten Challenge backs work that helps young people aged 10 to 19 learn deeply, think critically and make their own decisions in a world shaped by AI. Solutions do not need to use AI, but they must be co-designed or co-led by young people.

What you get:

• A one-year grant of $50,000 to $100,000, running April 1, 2027 to March 31, 2028, for a specific project or for general operations
• A place for your leader in the five-month YF Academy, April to August 2027: masterclasses, peer circles, one-on-one mentorship, storytelling and fundraising support
• An all-expense-paid in-person Academy retreat in April 2027 and a virtual showcase to funders and partners at the end

What you'll do:

• Apply under one of three tracks: learning and critical thinking in an AI-generated world; support for educators, caregivers and trusted adults; or changing the public narrative about young people and AI
• Involve young people in designing, running and evaluating the work
• Have your executive director or equivalent commit about 10 hours a month to the YF Academy
• Submit a mid-year and an end-of-year report on progress

• Based in the United States
• 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status as a nonprofit, a school or district, or through fiscal sponsorship; public schools and universities are eligible
• Solution co-led or co-designed by young people, with minor protection policies in place (or working only with adults)
• Solution must be early-stage but tested: already run with real young people, with something concrete to show for it
• Application and all correspondence in English; no grant funds used for lobbying
• A designated leader (executive director, CEO or equivalent), aged 18 or over, who can commit about 10 hours a month to the five-month YF Academy
• One proposal per organisation