Focus Areas

The challenges facing young people in the United States are constantly evolving. To make the most difference in a changing landscape, we focus our grantmaking where we believe it is needed most. Currently, we support research in two distinct focus areas: Improving the Use of Research Evidence and Reducing Inequality.

Focus Area

Reducing inequality in youth outcomes

Inequality by race, economic standing, and immigrant origin status is pervasive in the United States, and is evident across a range of domains, including education, child welfare, mental health, and justice. We believe that the research community can play a critical role in reversing these trends. Within this focus area, we support descriptive studies meant to clarify the mechanisms for reducing inequality. We also seek intervention studies that improve the measurement of inequality in ways that will enhance the works of researchers, practitioners, or policy makers.

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Focus Area

Improving the use of research evidence in decisions affecting young people

In this focus area, we seek to build theory and empirical evidence on ways to strengthen the connections between research evidence, decision making, and youth outcomes. Our focus on improving the use of research evidence aims to identify, create, and test strategies to ensure that research reaches the hands of decision makers, answers their most pressing questions, and is used in ways that benefit youth.

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In addition to awarding research, career-development, and mentoring grants in our two primary focus areas, we seek to strengthen mentoring for early-career researchers of color, improve the production of methods and measures in the field, and forge connections between research, policy, and practice through limited communications and capacity-building activities.

Special Topics

Our Work • Special Topic

Connecting Research, Policy, and Practice

We seek to strengthen connections between research, policy, and practice through limited communications and capacity-building activities, and through the Institutional Challenge Grant program.

Our Work • Special Topic

Improving Youth Service in New York City

As New York City-based organization, the Foundation focuses a part of our grantmaking on supporting nonprofits that provide services to young people ages 5-25 in the five boroughs of New York City. These awards are designed to improve the quality of direct services and build the capacity of youth-serving organizations.

Our Work • Special Topic

Mentoring and Career-Development

We are interested in strengthening the mentoring received by junior researchers of color and to position them for professional success. We also want to support our grantees in developing a stronger understanding of the career development issues facing their junior colleagues of color and to strengthen their mentoring relationships with them. Toward these ends, the Foundation provides a limited number of current grantees with grant support, advice, consultation, and a community focused on mentoring and career development.

Our Work • Special Topic

Research Methods

A key approach in our efforts to support impactful research is to invest in the development of tools that enhance the work of many researchers engaged in a common enterprise.