The Northern New Mexico Youth Fund was created by the Northern New Mexico Pathways to Opportunity Strategy Table to strengthen initiatives that support young people ages 13 to 29 in Northern New Mexico to thrive at school, work, and home. We want all youth and young adults, especially underserved youth and young adults who face the steepest barriers to success, to have the connections, opportunities, and confidence they need to reach their potential.

 

To do this, the Youth Fund will pool philanthropic, state, tribal and federal funding to provide grants to a cohort of eligible entities to implement either a Career Technical Education (CTE) project or a Work-Based Learning (WBL) project focused on youth of color, opportunity youth, young parents and other underserved youth ages 13 through 29. Efforts funded by these grants must integrate Youth Leadership Development and Transition Supports. Additionally, the Youth Fund will provide one grant to an organization to serve as a regional resource hub to build regional and local capacity by supporting this cohort with program implementation, collaboration and shared learning and leveraging public funding.  

 

Ultimately, the Youth Fund aims to build local and regional infrastructure to support the development of accessible and relevant Career Pathways across our region. Career Pathways are multi-year programs of study that inspire lifelong learning by integrating core academics with CTE, WBL, and other hands-on learning opportunities in specific careers or industries. Pathways can start as early as middle school and should involve a flexible schedule with a multi-year sequence of courses and other organized learning opportunities, potentially culminating in earning a certificate, degree, or pathway to postsecondary education or the workforce. Career Pathways should be intentionally designed to foster equitable participation and remove systemic barriers faced by underserved youth and young adults.