Harnessing the Power of 6.7 Million American Youth- Collective Impact for Opportunity Youth

Nov. 30, 2012 /3BL Media/ - There are 6.7 million youth in the United States who are neither enrolled in school nor working.  Known as 'Opportunity Youth’, this population totals 17% of all youth nationwide between the ages of 16-24. FSG’s new report, “Collective Impact for Opportunity Youth” calls on communities to use collective impact, the practice of organizations from different sectors working together to solve a specific social problem, to improve the outcomes for this population. In doing so, businesses and communities have the potential to increase savings for society, improve the quality of talent available to employers, and interrupt a multigenerational cycle of poverty for youth and their families.

Authored by FSG, Open Society, and Jobs for the Future, “Collective Impact for Opportunity Youth” illustrates how collective impact poses a significant opportunity for communities to work together to enable Opportunity Youth to develop confidence, skills, self-efficacy, obtain a postsecondary credential, and meaningfully connect to sustainable careers.

Click here to access the full report.

For more on collective impact and opportunity youth, read FSG’s blog post on Opportunity Youth and learn more about FSG’s collective impact approach.