Ashoka: Youth Empowerment & Development

In 1996, Youth Venture was launched with the vision that everyone in society could take initiative and address social needs, rather than looking to the elite few who lead today. With so many more people taking initiative, imagine how many more problems we could solve! Young people are critical to this vision, because we believe that you have to start taking initiative when you're young. If you wait till you're an adult it might be too late, because by then you'll already be set in your path of who you'll be when you grow up. On the other hand, if you do have an experience of taking initiative at a young age, it is likely that this will prepare you to lead and create positive change throughout your life.

It is clear that any young person who has an idea for improving his or her community, leads a team, launches a venture and contributes something lasting will emerge transformed from such an experience. Young "Venturers" will know that they are capable of leading and creating change, and it is likely that they will take initiative again and again over a lifetime.

Youth Venture inspires and invests in teams of young people to design and launch their own lasting social ventures, enabling them to have this transformative experience of leading positive social change. Started in the US, Youth Venture is now expanding internationally. As we invest in Venturers around the world, we are beginning to connect them into a powerful global network.

Our Venturers start businesses, civil society organizations and informal programs that address all kinds of social issues, including poverty, health, the elderly, the environment, education, diversity issues, and the arts. Youth Venture helps our Venturers through this process of designing and launching their ventures, providing guidance, how-to's, and a process for designing and pitching a venture idea.

When the Venture team is ready to launch, Youth Venture offers:

* Seed funding of up to $1,000
* Guidance, tools and support
* Allies who provide advice, mentoring and expertise
* A supportive network of fellow Youth Venturers
* Identity as part of movement toward youth-led social change

After the team has launched, Youth Venture works to stay continually involved with the team. Youth Venture also connects Venturers into a fellowship of like-minded young people, helping them see that they are part of something bigger, catalyzing a movement of youth-led social change. This website will help us with our mission of building a global community of Venturers.