First Place for Youth

Background

Each year, over 4,000 foster youth "age out"" of California's foster care system on or around their 18th birthday; 1,300 of these youth come from the 11 Bay Area counties. Few 18-year-olds are prepared to be independent. This is especially true of foster youth who have had their homes, education and family lives disrupted.

This is a critical time in the lives of these youth. Nearly 25 percent will experience homelessness after leaving the foster care system [1], 50 percent will be unemployed [2], and about 20 percent will be incarcerated within two years [3].

While foster care is an undeniably vital social service, participating youths need assistance to develop from foster youth into self-supporting adults.

Organization Mission

First Place for Youth (formerly First Place Fund for Youth) is transforming the foster care system and the lives of emancipated foster youth. It provides much-needed support services to youth who are making the difficult transition from foster care to independent living. Its programs help participants develop self-sufficiency skills before and after emancipation, and help them find secure, permanent and affordable housing.

Full Circle Fund Role

Full Circle Fund provided a two-year grant to First Place for Youth.

First Place was in the process of transforming itself from a local, grassroots effort into a sustainable nonprofit organization with state, regional, and national influence. To be successful, First Place needed to increase visibility and raise more money for program expansion and for advocacy on behalf foster youth.

In the first grant year, Full Circle Fund's team helped First Place create a more effective media and public relations strategy. The second year built First Place's public relations capacity and corporate partnership outreach in order to increase awareness and financial support for the organization and foster youth advocacy.

Impact

The Full Circle Fund team has successfully:

• Conducted a series of public relations workshops to improve First Place's stakeholders' knowledge and understanding of basic marketing principles. The Full Circle grant enabled First Place to hire a Development Director to implement its PR program. About $160,000 in revenue for 2005 is attributed to First Place PR efforts.
• Arranged for SNP Communications to provide a one-day, pro-bono public speaking and media skills seminar. The Full Circle team has also developed a communications module that can be taught by First Place staff to youth on a quarterly basis. First Place now has a troop of youth and staff who are trained to speak effectively in fundraising and media interviews.
• Contributed to First Place's annual fundraiser, called There's No Place Like Home in both 2005 and 2006. For the 2005 event, Full Circle Fund developed a public relations and marketing strategy to promote the event; a front-page article in the Oakland Piedmonter about the event generated $3,400 in donations. For 2006, Full Circle Fund members tapped their networks to attract high-potential donors to the event, raising nearly $13,000, about a quarter of the event's total revenue.

Sources:

¹ Child Welfare League of America
² Ibid.
³ University of Chicago and the University of Wisconsin, 1998.

NAME: First Place for Youth
LOCATION: Oakland
WEB: firstplaceforyouth.org
GRANT TERM: 2005-2007
TEAM LEADS: Katy Dinner (née McMurry) and Michelle Wilson (née Parish)

"Working with First Place gave me the opportunity to use my business skills to help foster youth, an area that I am truly passionate about."

Michelle Wilson

Senior Associate, The Staubach Company
and Member, Full Circle Fund