activities · 8
what they do
direct service · 5
- Documentary Production Support Student Film & Writing CompetitionsSupported the production and release of "Speak.", a documentary about five high schoolers in a national speaking competition, which premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.
- Homelessness Prevention and Diversion Fund (HPDF)Founded the Homelessness Prevention and Diversion Fund (HPDF) in 2020 to provide low-barrier access to flexible financial resources for young people at risk of homelessness.
- Targeted Housing Assistance Program Permanent and Transitional Housing SupportSupports the Targeted Housing Assistance Program in Atlanta, which provides a one-time cash payment and targeted support services to young people facing an imminent housing crisis.
- Veteran Transition Navigation Services Veteran Employment Placement ServicesProvides transition navigation services to junior enlisted service members during and after military service through a partnership with USO and employment-focused Veteran Service Organizations.
- Youth Mental Health Corps Youth Mental Health Education & Peer SupportConceived and developed the Youth Mental Health Corps, which launched in four states in 2024 with over 300 young people serving at 165 community sites and plans to expand to seven additional states in 2025, with a goal of placing over 1,000 members nationwide within its first two years.
research · 1
- School-to-Work Transition ResearchCommissioned "The Broken Marketplace™: America’s School-to-Work Crisis," a national research project conducted by HarrisX, to study the challenges young adults face when transitioning from education to employment.
capacity building · 2
- Veteran Transition Data Management SystemOperates a data management system that aggregates information across organizations to assess the effectiveness of veteran transition services and identify opportunities for improvement.
- Youth Career Data Capacity Building STEM Showcase & Expo EventsConvened seventy participants from over twenty organizations for a two-day Datathon to translate the "Where You Work Matters" dataset into actionable tools to support youth career decision-making.
strategies · 13
how they think
Theories of action extracted from this org's own source material. Click any to see the full field of orgs running the same approach.
- Advocacy and Knowledge Sharing for Impact advocacy_and_knowledge_sharingThe foundation shares learned insights and advocates for effective solutions to attract attention, energy, and investment from all sectors, thereby scaling successful initiatives.
- Community-Based Peer Support for Mental Health community-based_peer_supportThe foundation deploys Youth Mental Health Corps members to communities with limited mental health resources to support staff in schools, community organizations, and clinics by providing peer guidance, caregiver training, and community outreach.
- Cost-Effective Nonprofit Delivery of Veteran Services cost-effective_nonprofit_deliveryThe foundation utilizes high-quality nonprofit providers to deliver veteran employment services, believing this approach is significantly more cost-effective and impactful than government-run programs.
- Data-Driven Career Navigation and Tool Development data-driven_career_navigationThe foundation aims to bridge the gap between complex datasets and young people's career decisions by engaging career navigation organizations in prototyping and developing data-driven tools to assist young people, counselors, teachers, and adults in making informed career choices.
- Data-Driven Learning and Impact Acceleration data-driven_learningThe foundation gathers research and data from partners and lived experiences to identify problems, trends, and opportunities, utilizing learning loops to accelerate impact and inform solutions.
- Holistic Systems Change Approach systems_changeThe foundation addresses complex challenges like economic uncertainty and mental health as intertwined crises, focusing on understanding systemic barriers and opportunities to develop and scale new solutions that create pathways to opportunity.
- Human-Centered Storytelling for Social Change human-centered storytellingThe foundation uses human-centered storytelling to uncover hidden narratives, foster shared humanity, and amplify youth voices, aiming to counteract societal pessimism and distrust and expand opportunities.
- Marketplace Redesign for Youth Transition to Work marketplace_redesignThe foundation aims to design a "better marketplace" for young people transitioning from school to work, focusing on informed choices, accessible resources, lifelong learning, flexible pathways, and equitable opportunity.
- National Service as a Pathway to Opportunity and Careers national_service_as_opportunity_pathwayThe foundation invests in national service programs as a dual pathway: helping young people build skills for meaningful employment and serving communities, particularly in addressing the youth mental health crisis by providing career opportunities in behavioral health.
- Partnership-Based Investment for Opportunity partnership-based_investmentThe foundation invests in unleashing potential and unlocking opportunity by forming partnerships with a diverse range of stakeholders including employers, entrepreneurs, non-profits, and governments.
- Prototyping and Iterative Solution Development prototypingThe foundation seeds, co-designs, and prototypes effective solutions with potential for national scale, developing proofs of concept through funding innovative ideas, and then iteratively refining them to mitigate risk and demonstrate scalability.
- Targeted Support for Military Transition targeted_transition_supportThe foundation targets support specifically to junior enlisted service members during the early stages of their transition from military to civilian life, recognizing this as a critical period for successful integration.
- Youth-Centered Design and Ecosystem Convening youth-centered_designThe foundation centers youth voice and lived experience in its work to ensure systems expand opportunity, and convenes an ecosystem of philanthropy, product builders, and youth-serving organizations to unlock public-good datasets and collaboratively build tools that impact young people's lives.
named programs · 7
what they call their work
American Opportunity Index
Data-driven tool that ranks large U.S. employers on upward mobility metrics to help young job seekers make informed career choices.
Basta
Program connecting first-generation college students with mentors, coaches, and peers to launch meaningful careers through purpose-driven reflection and job search strategies.
Braven
Career accelerator course for first-generation and underrepresented college students, developing skills and connections through near-peer coaching.
SkillUp
Nonprofit initiative offering free career navigation, short-term training, and job matching for workers without college degrees, using social media to reach young adults.
The Broken Marketplace™
National research initiative revealing misaligned expectations between young adults, parents, educators, and employers, and advocating for redesigned school-to-work pathways.
Transformative Storytelling
Initiative supporting human-centered films and media like the documentary "Speak." to amplify youth voices and inspire social change.
Youth Mental Health Corps
National service program placing 18–24-year-olds as near-peer mental health navigators in schools and community organizations across 11 states, providing career training and certifications.
relationships · 29
who they work with
- AmeriCorps Partner — Places AmeriCorps members in the Youth Mental Health Corps.
- American Opportunity Index Partner — Ranks large employers based on their ability to create upward mobility for workers, providing a tool for young job seekers to identify companies that invest in talent.
- Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC) Partner — Partner that provides opportunities for formerly incarcerated individuals, such as internships and full-time roles.
- Basta Partner — Participated in the Datathon, prototyping tools grounded in mobility data.
- Basta Partner — Partner that creates a bridge of opportunity between employers and first-generation college students of color to increase knowledge workforce diversity and assists graduates with their job search.
- Basta Partner — Supports first-generation college students in career launch by connecting them with mentors, coaches, and peers through a structured program.
- Braven Partner — Empowers first-generation college students to transition to strong first jobs through a for-credit career accelerator course and near-peer leadership coaches.
- Britebound Partner — Participated in the Datathon, prototyping tools grounded in mobility data.
- Campus Evolve Partner — Participated in the Datathon, prototyping tools grounded in mobility data.
- CareerVillage Partner — Participated in the Datathon, prototyping tools grounded in mobility data.
- CodePath Partner — Partner that provides comprehensive, no-cost technical training and mentorship to computer science students, creating direct pathways to opportunities at leading tech companies.
- Gates Foundation Partner — Matt Gee, director of U.S. Program Data, reflected during the Datathon.
- Girls Inc. Partner — Partner that inspires girls to be strong, smart, and bold through direct service and advocacy, focusing on the development of the whole girl.
- Guy Mossman Partner — Director of the documentary "Speak.," supported by the Foundation.
- HarrisX Partner — Conducted the national research project "The Broken Marketplace™: America’s School-to-Work Crisis" commissioned by the foundation.
- Jennifer Tiexiera Partner — Director of the documentary "Speak.," supported by the Foundation.
- Johns Hopkins University Partner — Created the Targeted Housing Assistance Program to help homeless youth in Atlanta.
- Josh Gad Partner — Executive producer of the documentary "Speak.," supported by the Foundation.
- Michael Smith Partner — Schultz Family Foundation's co-founder and chair Sheri Shultz took the stage with AmeriCorps' Michael Smith to discuss youth mental health.
- Pinterest Partner — Conceived the Youth Mental Health Corps with the Schultz Family Foundation.
- Point Source Youth Partner — Created the Targeted Housing Assistance Program to help homeless youth in Atlanta.
- SkillUp Partner — Helps workers without college degrees access career paths through free navigation tools, short-term training, and job matching, leveraging social media for outreach.
- SkillUp Partner — Participated in the Datathon, prototyping tools grounded in mobility data.
- U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy Partner — Schultz Family Foundation's co-founder and chair Sheri Shultz took the stage with U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy to discuss youth mental health.
- USO Partner — Provides navigation services to military personnel while still on active duty as part of the Veteran Transition Partnership.
- Wanji Walcott Partner — Schultz Family Foundation's co-founder and chair Sheri Shultz took the stage with Pinterest's Wanji Walcott to discuss youth mental health.
- Youth Empowerment Success Services Partner — Created the Targeted Housing Assistance Program to help homeless youth in Atlanta.
- Youth Mental Health Corps Partner — Supports young adults in shaping their identity and direction by recruiting 18-24-year-olds to serve as near-peer navigators in mental health support roles across 11 states.
- exalt Partner — Partner that works with court-involved youth in New York City to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline through skill development, individualized support, paid internships, and an alumni network.