RWJF Welcome Letter
Dear Changemakers Community,
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is partnering with Changemakers to sponsor the competition "Young Men at Risk: Transforming the Power of a Generation." RWJF's mission is to improve the health and health care of all Americans. Our grant making covers a range of pressing issues, a large portion of which is devoted to increasing diversity in the health care profession, reducing disparities, and improving the health of disadvantaged populations. We are pleased to partner with Changemakers for this competition that represents a problem confronting countries worldwide. Local solutions need to be shared globally to achieve greatest impact.
The well-being of families, communities, and our nation are inextricably linked with the future well-being of young men at risk. Young men of color constitute more than 40 percent of American males under the age of 25, and at least half of them live in poverty. This is a large portion of the U.S. population we simply cannot let fall to the wayside. Yet, for nearly every measure of life outcomes-income, education, incarceration, health-young men of color are less likely to reach their full potential and contribute to society. They suffer disproportionately from the societal ills of gangs, addiction, crime, violence, accidental deaths, and increasingly, mental health problems. While they are held accountable as individuals for making poor choices, the institutions intended to improve their outcomes-the public education system, the private sector job market, the juvenile justice system, and myriad of public and private health and human service programs-are not. It is not surprising that many may feel that society has not only isolated them but also actively disinvested in them as a generation. As a result, these youth behave seemingly devoid of accountability, but may simply be mirroring how society and its institutions treat them. Further, this phenomenon is not unique to the United States, but is prevalent in many societies across the globe.
With this competition, RWJF is seeking to identify solutions and approaches that go beyond targeting the at-risk individual. Following the competition, selected entries will be invited to submit proposals to RWJF's Vulnerable Populations Portfolio for future funding consideration. A total of up to $1 million in grants is available to support promising innovations. Organizations must operate in the U.S. or its territories in order to be eligible for RWJF funding.
John Govea
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Changemakers Welcome Letter
Dear Changemakers Community,
Ashoka's Changemakers is delighted to be partnering with Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to launch a collaborative competition on "Young Men at Risk: Transforming the Power of a Generation". This competition is aimed at identifying the most innovative approaches to helping a generation of young people around the world fulfill their potential and become healthy, successful adults. While addressing the entire pattern of changes required for a shift, a major focus of this competition is reducing health disparities, and improving the health of disadvantaged populations.
We know that to be young and poor in today's society is to be at risk: at risk of missing out on a quality education; at risk of not having access to quality health care; and at risk of becoming involved in the criminal justice system. Young men in particular face challenges that few of our existing public and private institutions have successfully addressed. In order to help a generation of young men navigate their way to a successful and healthy adulthood, we believe that it will take the collaborative efforts of leaders working on innovations in areas ranging from music to mental health. Through this competition, we seek to identify those innovators who have proven strategies for transforming the future for a generation of young men by identifying the main social levers that will enable this transformation.
We invite you to participate in this unique competition by sharing your innovative approach to working with young men at risk between the ages of 15 and 25. Some examples have been mapped in Ashoka's Changemakers Mosaic of Solutions - an overall framework of innovation for the field - that your insights will enrich. The competition offers you the opportunity to showcase your work to major investors, decision-makers, media and peers worldwide, and it provides RWJF and other funders and thought leaders with a uniquely valuable and rich opportunity to learn about promising innovation taking place around the world.
By visiting the online review option that accompanies each entry, you may share your thoughts, insights, expertise and reactions throughout the competition, and ask the innovator community any questions that you need answered - to grow your own change.
Thank you for joining us in this effort and we look forward to participating with you in an active, dynamic exchange of ideas.
Ashoka's Changemakers Team
