Alliance For Youth Action (AFYA) is a left-of-center advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., that tries to register and motivate young people to vote. It is a network of organizations across the country that promote left-wing causes and candidates. The organization was originally named the Bus Foundation; Bus Foundation took left-leaning young people across the country, mostly in the Pacific Northwest, to knock on doors and promote left-of-center causes and candidates. The group later expanded nationally. It has a 501(c)(3) sister organization, left-of-center group Alliance For Youth Organizing (AFYO). ¹

Left-of-center donors including Open Society Policy Center, Movement Voter Project, Tides Advocacy Fund, and Democracy Fund Voice have funded the left-of-center leadership and causes of Alliance for Youth Action.²

History

Alliance For Youth Action (AFYA), originally named the Bus Federation Action Fund, and its sister organization, Bus Federation Civic Fund were founded in 2010 by Mathew Singer. It was originally headquartered in Portland, Oregon. ³

In 2016, the group changed its name to the Alliance for Youth Action (AFYA) and moved to Washington, D.C. It received independent tax status in 2018. It then began building on the network established by the Bus Federation Action Fund towards the goal of assembling a national network of local affiliates and partners to advance relaxation of voter qualification requirements and bolstering the numbers of left-progressive young people participating in the voting process. ⁴

Organization

Alliance for Youth Action scales the work of local organizations to national activity. AFYA provides materials, staff support, grants and leadership training to support local affiliates in engaging young voters for left-progressive candidates.⁵

AFYA claims to have affiliates in eleven states that work towards common goals with each one allowed to add to the agenda when they deem it appropriate. Affiliates, which include Chicago Votes, Engage Miami, Forward Montana, Georgia Shift, Leaders Igniting Transformation, Minnesota Youth Collective, MOVE Texas, Next Up, New Era Colorado, Ohio Student Association, and Washington Bus, are the governing body of AFYA and elect the board and guide the organization’s work.⁶

AFYA co-founded the National Voter Registration Day (NVRD) in 2012. In 2018, it co-founded Campus Takeover with the left-of-center Students Learn Students Vote Coalition, of which AFYA is a partner.⁷

AFYA has created an activist toolkit providing specific guidance to affiliates on how to advance automatic voter registration as one of its tools available to affiliates. Additionally, each affiliate is asked to register voters, train and mobilize the young, expand the number of polling places, fight for left-progressive legislation, and oppose conservative and free-market legislation in their respective states.⁸ Originally founded as an organization to build youth participation in elections, it has now expanded its agenda to include a long list of left-of-center initiatives including, the environment, health care, the economy, and the criminal justice system. ⁹

Campaign Issues

The organization works on various left-wing issues. Among the items is promotes is weakening voter integrity laws and making it easier to register and vote. ¹⁰ It also promotes socialist “community ownership” of the economy and increasing the minimum wage. ¹¹ It also advocates for government-funded college and capping student loan payments as a percentage of income. ¹²

Youth “climate strikes” were led and co-led by AFYA and Alliance for Youth Organizing in 2019. Partnering with the NAACP youth and college division, Tom Steyer’s NextGen America, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Student Power Network, and left-of center immigration advocacy organization United We Dream, AFYA sponsored the first Youth Action Summit. ¹³

Facebook and Twitter posts to the 3,146 people who like their Facebook page and the 6,334 followers on Twitter, show support for illegal immigration, government-run health care (“Medicare for all”), voting by mail, same-day voter registration, providing education aid to illegal immigrant students, canceling student debt, and joining NextGen America to back pro-Green New Deal candidates. It also opposed returning to work amid the COVID-19 shutdowns.^{14 15}

Ties to Other Organizations

The group has developed strong ties with other left-wing groups. It has served as a partner to Generation Progress in the past, the youth arm of the Center for American Progress. ¹⁶ It currently serves as a partner to Hillary Clinton’s Onward Together organization. ¹⁷

The organization’s major piece of campaign literature, the American Voter Guide, is co-produced with Planned Parenthood and NextGen Climate. ¹⁸

Leadership

Staff

Dakota Hall is the executive director of the organization, serving in the position since November 2021. Prior to AFYA, Hall worked as the executive director of youth-led political organization Leaders Igniting Transformation from 2018 through 2021. In addition, he served in several positions with the Milwaukee Innercity Congregations Allied for Hope Inc. (MICAH) from 2015 through 2017 including the Organizer and later Project Director for its 53026 initiative. ¹⁹

Board of Directors

Jonathan Paik is the chair of the board for AFYA. Paik also serves as the executive director of the Orange County Civic Engagement Table as well as the OC Action advocacy group. Paik previously served in several positions with the Korean Resources Center from 2015 through 2019, including its executive director (2018-2019). ²⁰

Kim Rodgers serves as the vice-chair of the AFYA board, previously serving as a member of its board. In addition, she works as the organizational specialist for campaigns and elections at the National Education Association (NEA) teachers union. ²¹

Finances

Income of $1,431,259 was reported in 2018, offset by $1,270,381 of expenses consisting of $271,215 of grants and $636,000 for contracts and program service expenses.^{22 23} Net assets were $346,857. ²⁴

According to its 2022 990 form, the organization reported a revenue of $3,116,406, expenses of $3,665,483, and total assets of $1,484,101. ²⁵

1. “Donate.” Alliance for Youth Action, Accessed November 10, 2022. https://allianceforyouthaction.org/donate/
2. “Alliance For Youth Action”. 2019 Annual Report. Page42. http://alliance4youth.wpengine.com/action/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2020/04/AYA_AnnualReport2019.pdf
3. alliance4youth. Accessed May 19, 2020. Page 2 http://alliance4youth.wpengine.com/action/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2019/11/BusFederation_ActionFundReport_2016.pdf.
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5. “Mo’ Money Mo’ Progress.” Alliance for Youth Action, May 14, 2020. Pg29 https://allianceforyouthaction.org/.
6. “Our Network.” Alliance for Youth Action. Accessed May 19, 2020. https://allianceforyouthaction.org/our-network/.
7. wp-engine. Alliance For Youth Alliance. Accessed May 19, 2020. http://alliance4youth.wpengine.com/action/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2019/11/AYA_AnnualReport2018_finaldigital.pdf.
8. “AVR Activitst Toolkit.” Google Docs. Google. Accessed May 19, 2020. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1a_L4uM1ILAvPmQAs9BsDJVa1ubUPJdOEzufvkvDyREU/edit.
9. “Our 2020 Values.” Alliance for Youth Action. Accessed May 19, 2020. https://allianceforyouthaction.org/our-2020-values/.
10. “Democracy Done Right”. 2019. Alliance For Youth Action. Accessed March 25, 2019. https://www.allianceforyouthaction.org/campaign/democracy-done-right/.
11. “Broke AF”. 2019. Alliance For Youth Action. Accessed March 25, 2019. https://www.allianceforyouthaction.org/campaign/broke-af/.
12. “Broke AF”. 2019. Alliance For Youth Action. Accessed March 25, 2019. https://www.allianceforyouthaction.org/campaign/broke-af/.
13. wpengine. alliance4yout. Accessed May 19, 2020. http://alliance4youth.wpengine.com/action/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2020/04/AYA_AnnualReport2019.pdf.
14. Zahoori, Syed Rafay. “Alliance for Youth Action.” Facebook. Accessed May 19, 2020. https://www.facebook.com/pg/AllianceforYouthAction/posts/?ref=page_internal.
15. Action, Alliance for Youth. “Alliance for Youth Action (@alliance4youth).” Twitter. Twitter, May 1, 2020. https://twitter.com/alliance4youth.
16. “Matt Singer”. 2015. Generation Progress. https://genprogress.org/matt-singer/.
17. “Alliance For Youth Action”. 2019. Onward Together. Accessed March 25, 2019. https://www.onwardtogether.org/organization/alliance-for-youth-action/.
18. “Planned Parenthood Votes, Nextgen America, Alliance For Youth Action To Reach Millions Of Young Voters With Youth Voter Guides”. 2018. Planned Parenthood Action. https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/pressroom/planned-parenthood-votes-nextgen-america-alliance-for-youth-action-to-reach-millions-of-young-voters-with-youth-voter-guides.
19. “Dakota Hall.” LinkedIn, Accessed April 3, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/dakotahall
20. “Jonathan Paik.” LinkedIn, Accessed April 3, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-paik-7a043b36
21. “Staff.” Alliance For Youth Action, Accessed April 3, 2024. https://allianceforyouthaction.org/about/staff-board/
22. “Alliance for Youth Action.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). 2018. Part 1, Lines 12, 18, 13.
23. “Alliance for Youth Action.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). 2018. Part IX, Line 11g.
24. “Alliance for Youth Action.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). 2018. Part I, Line 22.
25. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Alliance For Youth Action. 2022. Part I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/462914731/202342199349300919/full