On June 23^rd, FTEH Board Member David Wertheimer spoke in Orlando, FL, at The Road Home Breakfast gathering of the Central Florida Commission on Homelessness.  Still reeling from the shock of the deadly attack against the LGBTQ community at the Pulse nightclub that took 49 young lives and wounded 53 others, the city’s officials nonetheless made the decision to move ahead with The Road Home event, which became yet one more step in the long and painful journey to a community’s recovery.

The launch of Away Home America also kicks off the 100-Day Challenge to end youth homelessness, community by community, and yours can be a part of the movement.

Funders Together CEO, Amanda Andere, attended the White House Policy Briefing on Youth Homelessness held on June 3rd and walked away with some key action items in order to leverage the momentum of those partnering to end youth homelessness.

Members of Foundations for Youth Success (FYS) gathered in Minneapolis April 7th and 8th to learn about the inspiring work happening in the state to end youth homelessness. In this second post in our series, Casey Trupin of the Raikes Foundation reflects on how the convening strengthened his understanding of philanthropy's role in preventing and ending youth homelessness.

Members of Foundations for Youth Success (FYS) gathered in Minneapolis April 7th and 8th to learn about the inspiring work happening in the state to end youth homelessness. Angela D'Orazio of Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland came away from the convening inspired and armed with key takeaways to apply to her foundation's work to prevent and end youth homelessness. 

Youth homelessness is a community-wide issue that demands a community-wide response. Read about what Katie Hong of the Raikes Foundation took away from the most recent Foundations for Youth Success convening in Toronto.

At Funders Together, we work to facilitate information sharing and scale best practices. One of the ways we do this is through issue- and community-based learning communities.

Current Communities

PSOs for Housing Justice 

PSOs for Housing Justice, led by Funders Together to End Homelessness and Funders for Housing and Opportunity, convenes cross-sector issue-based philanthropy serving- and mobilizing- organizations (often called PSOs) to strengthen our collective work towards racial justice and liberation through a housing justice focus.

Learn more about PSOs for Housing Justice

Health Funders for Housing Justice 

Health Funders for Housing Justice centers on the inextricable link between healthcare and homelessness systems and the belief that housing is healthcare. This network is open to health systems, healthcare conversion foundations, and staff at any other type of funder interested in housing and health. 

Learn more about Health Funders for Housing Justice

Bay Area Homelessness Funders Network

Bay Area Homelessness Funders Network aligns philanthropy to advance racial equity and regional coordination in preventing and ending homelessness in the San Francisco Bay Area. The network provides philanthropy a space for strategic thinking and intersectional opportunities for collective action.

Learn more about the Bay Area Homelessness Funders Network

California Homelessness & Housing Policy Funders Network

This network provides dedicated and candid space for California funders at various knowledge levels to gain insight around various issues related to housing and homelessness policy in the state, aims to lead funders to move towards policy engagement, and aids the understanding and knowledge of policies that directly impact housing affordability and stability across California.

Learn more about the California Homelessness & Housing Policy Funders Network

Funders Network for Youth Success 

Born from our youth-focused community of practice, Foundations for Youth Success, the Funders Network for Youth Success is a national network of funders supporting strategic, innovative, and effective solutions to prevent and end youth homelessness. Members of this network receive resources, opportunities convene with colleagues and partners working in the youth homelessness field, and much more. Participation in this network is open to full and basic members. 

Learn more about the Funders Network for Youth Success

Foundations for Racial Equity

Despite all the programs and structures designed to prevent and end homelessness and because of historical and contemporary structural racism, people of color disproportionately experience homelessness. To truly end homelessness, we must change the systems that perpetuate racial inequity. Doing so is not an easy or quick task, but together, we can take steps to educate ourselves and use our voices to push the field toward greater racial equity.    

To address this, Funders Together to End Homelessness is launching a two-year community of practice called Foundations for Racial Equity to help funders move the needle toward greater racial equity in homelessness and housing.  

From 2019-2020, we will convene philanthropic leaders working at national and local levels to build relationships with other funders, learn together about systemic racism in housing and homelessness, and lead the field in creating a more equitable world. 

Learn more about Foundations for Racial Equity.

United Ways Partnering to End Homelessness

United Ways are distinct and valued organizations within the Funders Together membership, providing both funding and direct services, along with advocacy and convening power within their communities. This network gathers United Way full members of Funders Together every other month for peer learning, problem-solving, accountability, and relationship-building. 

Sign up for the United Ways network by emailing Michael Durham, Director of Networks.

Past Communities

Foundations for Employment and Housing

Communities across the country are increasingly becoming aware of the need to connect the homelessness and employment systems to better serve vulnerable populations with both housing and jobs. This learning community is exploring the intersections of the homelessness and employment systems, and the role of funders in advancing the efforts of both. This community started in 2018 and concluded in 2020.

Learn more about Foundations for Employment and Housing.

Foundations for Youth Success (FYS)

From 2015-2016, Funders Together to End Homelessness hosted a Community of Practice focused on funders’ roles in ending youth and young adult homelessness. This community, Foundations for Youth Success (FYS), brought together philanthropic leaders -- large, national funders as well as those working at the local level -- to identify best practices in implementing effective solutions for our young people. Throughout this two-year initiative, members participated in regular virtual meetings and came together in person twice a year. 

Resources and learnings from this community can be found on the youth homelessness page. 

Join our new Funders Network for Youth Success for continued learning with FYS participants and other funders by emailing Michael Durham, Director of Networks and Programs, at [email protected]

Homelessness is more than a lack of a place to sleep tonight.  For a young person, it means instability, fear, and often an inability to properly learn and prepare for adulthood.  Increasingly, people who work with vulnerable youth are realizing that the lack of a safe and stable home makes it difficult for any other youth-focused program to be successful.

Funders Together to End Homelessness is planning several resources and events to help funders understand their role in ending and preventing youth and young adult homelessness.

By signing up below, you will receive email updates about our work.

This webinar provides an overview of our forthcoming community of practice, Foundations for Youth Success

Ending youth homelessness is possible if we work together and learn from each other.