A New Era for Youth Funding: Global Coalition Poised to Overhaul Financing for Young Leaders Worldwide

Together with the United Nations Foundation, the Unlock the Future Coalition today announced the Funders Collective — a new initiative designed to transform how we support children and young people in tackling the world’s biggest challenges.

The Funders Collective is more than a typical funding initiative. It’s designed to reshape the financing landscape by breaking down systemic barriers through financing, research, data, and influence. With a bold focus on flexible, multi-year funding, it’s tailored to the real needs of young people and youth-led organizations, especially those in the Global South, ensuring they don’t just survive but thrive with the resources to create lasting impact.

What sets the Funders Collective apart is its commitment to shifting power. Young people aren’t just recipients — they’re decision-makers and co-creators, shaping how funds are allocated. Intergenerational collaboration puts young voices at the heart of decision-making, driving movements forward. The Funders Collective is also data-driven, making funding decisions backed by evidence and real-time insights for maximum impact.​

For Ene Omoha and Ayesha Khan, two young changemakers at the forefront of shaping the Funders Collective, the initiative represents a critical step towards addressing global challenges discussed during the Summit of the Future. “Young people have spent years advocating for change, fighting for our futures, and pushing for a voice in decision-making spaces. But we’ve reached a point where young people have gone beyond just asking for a seat at the table,” says Ene Omoha, Mercy Corps Young Leader. “We must ensure that the ideas of young people are heard and implemented. The Funders Collective is our way of creating something that reflects the needs and realities of young people who have often been sidelined, especially those leading grassroots movements on the ground,” she continues.

Ayesha Khan, Global Partnership for Education Young Leader, echoes this sentiment, pointing to the principles that make the Funders Collective especially exciting for young people. “Historically, funders have failed to match our bravery. Despite youth taking risks and securing wins for human rights and justice, many young activists have had to scale back their efforts because funders lack trust in us. Can you imagine how much more we could achieve if our work was valued through tangible funding commitments?”

Closing the Gap: Why the Funders Collective Matters

Today, only 6% of global development aid goes to support programs for young people, despite nearly half the world’s population being under 30. This underinvestment is felt most acutely in young countries across Asia and Africa, where most people are young.

Elizabeth Cousens, President and CEO of the United Nations Foundation, explains: “We’re trying to change a system that wasn’t designed to serve young people. The Funders Collective flips the narrative. We’re shifting from a transactional model of funding to a more flexible, long-term commitment that recognizes the unique needs of young people from around the world.”

A Collaborative Effort to Drive Change

The Funders Collective brings together the world’s largest child- and youth-focused organizations under the Unlock the Future coalition — AIESEC, The Big Six Youth Organizations, CIVICUS, Girl Up, Kofi Annan Foundation, Mercy Corps, Plan International, and Search for Common Ground – who share a common goal: to create a more supportive and effective funding ecosystem for young people. By pooling resources, networks, and knowledge, these organizations will support young leaders in breaking down the barriers that have long limited their access to funding.

Carlos Sanvee, Secretary General of World YMCA and current Chair of the Global Youth Mobilization, an initiative of the Big Six, highlights the significance of this collaboration: “The Funders Collective will harness the youth-led solutions funding model of the Global Youth Mobilization (GYM) by the Big Six Youth Organizations to offer youth-friendly funding, advocacy and capacity development for projects that advance sustainable development. GYM’s capabilities will be strengthened by integrating tools from other Unlock coalition partners, such as Plan International’s Equality Accelerator and others where meaningful. By leveraging the GYM as the operating model, and incorporating other Unlock established mechanisms, the Funders Collective aims to amplify its impact, reach and influence without duplicating efforts.”

A Unique Moment of Global Cooperation

In an era when multilateralism is under strain, the Funders Collective demonstrates what is possible when the world’s most influential child and youth-focused organizations unite for a common goal.

Kathleen Sherwin, Chief Strategy and Engagement Officer for Plan International, emphasizes the power in uniting the strengths of different Unlock partners: “With only 17% of the SDGs on track and 131 years to achieve gender equality, children and young people can’t wait. We need meaningful participation of girls and young people in decision-making, and the Funders Collective will help remove the funding barriers that often hold them back. We’re thrilled to integrate our expertise into the Funders Collective, offering the Equality Accelerator alongside GYM as a dynamic platform for transformative, participatory, feminist funding. Through collaboration we can turbocharge the impact of this initiative, building an innovative, barrier-breaking, and collaborative funding mechanism to drive real change.”

Ayesha further underscores the importance of solidarity: “True solidarity means having the courage to resist external influences and protect the well-being of vulnerable youth, particularly those in the Global South. It also means allowing youth to lead, not in silos, but in direct collaboration with senior partners.”

The Road Ahead: Building a Better Future

Looking ahead, the Funders Collective’s core mission is clear: ensure that young people – particularly those from underserved communities – have the resources, influence, and opportunities to drive the change they envision. “The future belongs to us, but we can’t get there alone,” Ene reflects. “This is about more than investment. It’s about trust – trust in the next generation to lead the way forward.”

Following this announcement, the Funders Collective will enter an incubation period to solidify collaboration mechanisms, pilot initiatives, and integrate learnings, preparing for full operationalization before the final SDG Summit in 2027.

As the next phase begins, the Funders Collective invites courageous young leaders, funders, and organizational allies to learn more at ourfutureagenda.org/funderscollective.

About the Unlock the Future Coalition
The Unlock the Future coalition is a global alliance dedicated to harnessing the potential and leadership of children and young people to drive sustainable development and long-term transformation. It unites 25 of the world’s largest organizations led by or focused on children and youth, collectively reaching almost one billion people worldwide: AIESEC, BRAC, CIVICUS, The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award, Girl Up, Global Indigenous Youth Caucus, Global Partnership for Education, Global Shapers Community, Global Student Forum, Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Kofi Annan Foundation, Mercy Corps, Plan International, Restless Development, Save the Children, Search for Common Ground, Southern Voice, Teach For All, United Nations Association of the United States of America, United Nations Foundation, The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, The World Alliance of Young Men’s Christian Associations, The World Organization of the Scout Movement, and The World Young Women’s Christian Association.

About the Big Six Youth Organizations
The Big Six is an alliance of leading international youth-serving organizations. It is comprised of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM), the World Alliance of Young Men’s Christian Associations (World YMCA), the World Young Women’s Christian Association (World YWCA), the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), and The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award (The Award).

About Plan International
Plan International works with children and girls in over 80 countries to help create a world where everyone is equal. They aim not only to improve the daily lives of girls but also to advance their position and value in society, whilst actively working with boys and young men to champion gender equality. Plan International houses the Equality Accelerator, a platform built by and for girls, to support girl-led organizations in accessing crucial funding and resources. The platform supports the entire grant-making cycle with a youth-centered approach—from co-creation and the application process to simplified reporting. Most notably, it enables participatory and transparent, youth-led grant-making on a global scale. It also offers access to flexible, non-traditional funding sources and promotes collaboration through a resource hub, providing tools for capacity-building, networking, and tracking funding trends.

About the UN Foundation
For over 25 years, the UN Foundation has built novel innovations and partnerships to support the United Nations and help solve global problems at scale. As an independent charitable organization, the Foundation was created to work closely with the United Nations to address humanity’s greatest challenges and drive global progress. Learn more at www.unfoundation.org.