Download The YP Foundation’s Organizational Profile – 2010-2011
The YP Foundation (TYPF) is a youth run and led organization that supports and enables young people to create programmes and influence policies in the areas of gender, sexuality, health, education, the arts & governance. The organization promotes, protects and advances young people’s human rights by building leadership, and strengthening youth led initiatives and movements. Founded in 2002, we have worked directly with 5,000 young people over the last 8 years to set up more than 200 projects in India, reaching out to 300,000 adolescents and young people between the ages of 3-28 years.
Strategic Focus
We believe in empowering young people’s access to information, services and rights such that they can build collective platforms to challenge and develop their leadership potential, politics and identity. Our work engages an intersection of youth movements that address our programmatic priorities. We empower young people by supporting their work through 3 key focus areas, which are:
* Awareness and Advocacy: We develop young people’s work with Gender, Sexuality, Health & Rights, Peer Pressure and Mental Health, Life Skills and Education, Healthcare and Governance and Accountability (The Right to Information Act).
* Community Based Partnerships: TYPF works mainly in the National Capital Region, and also with youth led groups in 5 states across India along with partnerships at national, regional and international levels. We currently work with young activists from 10 states across India and support 130 slum and street children in two locations in North and South Delhi respectively.
* Communication & Skills Development: We train young people to develop their communication as well as technical skills, working with film, literature and platforms for independent music in India.
Through our 3 focus areas, TYPF engages young people to develop projects through 6 programmatic divisions that work with:
1. Blending Spectrum – Empowering Street Children (With Health & Hygiene Awareness, Life Skills & Education)
2. VOICES – The School Project – Addressing Mental Health Issues with, and Developing Life Skills in Adolescents
3. Project 19: Know Your Body, Know Your Rights – Understanding HIV & AIDS, Gender, Sexuality, Health and Rights
4. The RTI Programme – The Right to Information Act, Governance & Citizenship
5. Silhouette – Promoting, Protecting and Sustaining Independent Music
6. The Butterfly Project – Encouraging Human Rights through Film
Developing Youth Led Governance, Management & Accountability
The YP Foundation is run by a team of 15 staff members between 16 and 26 years of age, who work both full time and part time. Our staff in management and programme teams work with volunteers on developing institutional capacities to fundraise, evaluating and assessing institutional goals, coordinating media and press relationships, monitoring finances and administration and overseeing project management.
Our programmes focus on building accountability and leadership amongst young people and creating partnerships between young people and youth led/focused groups. Our programmes engage and train over 300 volunteers as peer educators from across India each year. TYPF has been developed by young people from an idea to an institution and our work has been made possible by the solidarity, support and encouragement of people, communities and organizations who have believed in our vision.
Monitoring & Evaluation at The YP Foundation
Our core management team, also known, as the Organizational Development Committee (ODC) is responsible
for developing, monitoring and building all internal capacity and the organization’s annual calendar. The ODC got its name because in addition to driving management, they also run the ODC Evaluation at TYPF, a 4 Phase cycle that works with all of our volunteers and our programme divisions in:
• Phase 1: Developing the Mission and Goals of each Programme Division and its projects for the year.
• Phase 2: Conducting an early stage assessment and objectives alignment with staff and volunteers
within all projects.
• Phase 3: Conducting a late stage critical review of each project and highlighting key focus areas.
• Phase 4: Evaluating the effectiveness of all projects conducted in the year with volunteers and staff. Highlighting the way forward for the organization in its next year.
Our evaluation mechanism is a 4-phase system that runs in a project cycle throughout the year from April to March. Each Phase are a series of brainstorming meetings that brings together all volunteers, staff members and board members from across the organization together.
TYPF has been recognized at multiple national, regional and international forums. We are the recipient of The SMILE Fellowship by the NGO Pravah (2006), The Student Citizen Karamveer Puruskaar – the National Award for Social Justice and Action (2007), The Seen and Heard International Award – British Telecom and the UK Youth Parliament (2008), Pepsi MTV Youth Icon of India Nominee 2008 and The Change Looms Award for Social Entreprenuership (2008) from The Ashoka Foundation. Our founder is also the first Indian to receive the Young Achievers Award (2009) from the President of Nepal.
TYPF believes in the synergies of working together and our work has received support and recognition from young people, youth organizations, donors, governments, companies, organizations and community stakeholders alike. We are currently supported by the Global Fund for Children, Washington DC, the International Women’s Health Coalition, New York and the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. Our programme partners have included The MacArthur Foundation, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNDP, UNAIDS, UNODC, The Ford Foundation, The Government of Nagaland, The American Center, British Council, The Ashoka Foundation, IPPF, The Packard Foundation, Pravah, CHRI, TARSHI, The NAZ Foundation, Lawyers Collective, CREA, Students for the Promotion of International Law and the Indian Youth Climate Network amongst others.
