We're grateful for the support of the Seventh Solutions team - Naadu Awuradwoa Addico, Kwasi Adu Manu, and Caesar Kaba Kogoziga - in this work! This pilot year wouldn't have been possible without their expert guidance and insights. To learn more about their work, visit seventhsolutions.org.

The five YIP fellows are co-leading ECFG's Child and Youth Participation Working Group and collaborating with ECFG members and the Secretariat on various programs and projects aligned with their interests. Click on their photos above to learn more about their specific focus areas. ECFG members interested in collaborating with the fellows can reach out to the Secretariat or indicate their areas of interest by filling out this form.

A core purpose of ECFG is to elevate child and youth issues within philanthropy. We believe our work is most effective and impactful when it centers on the perspectives of those we aim to serve. To elevate child and youth issues within philanthropy, we must also elevate the voices of young people themselves. However, historically, we have elevated these issues without significantly elevating the voice of young people themselves within our network. By creating the Youth for Impactful Philanthropy Fellowship program, we seek to create a meaningful and consistent space for youth voices within ECFG and raise the perspectives of young people in both our members’ work and in the broader philanthropic community - all toward the goal of increasing the effectiveness of support for children and youth around the world.

We recognize that many funders lack formal channels for engaging children and youth in decision-making, or feel they do not have the expertise, capacity, or mandate to amplify young voices in their work. As a result, those shaping funding strategies—even within the children's philanthropic sector—often lack direct access to the perspectives of beneficiaries. Our hope is that this program will begin to bridge that gap, creating pathways for increased youth representation in philanthropy. We aspire to foster intergenerational collaboration and build capacity for both funders and youth interested in philanthropy.

The YIP fellows were selected from an impressive pool of more than 300 applications from leaders and activists worldwide. Since joining in May, these fellows have been co-designing the program and contributing their insights and expertise to the ECFG Secretariat. Over the next six months, they will focus on integrating into the network to share their knowledge and insights with out members. While we may open applications for a second cohort in the future, our current focus is on this inaugural group.