Non-profit

Youth Organizing Institute

Website:

www.yoiny.org/

Location:

New York, NY

Tax ID:

13-3364209

Budget (2020):

Revenue: $4,920,645
Expenses: $5,519,442
Assets: $5,196,346

Type:

Left-of-center get out the vote (GOTV) and activist organization

Status:

Sub-project of the Public Policy and Education Fund

Founded:

2021

Director:

Melody Lopez (Director of New York Civic Engagement Table)

Contact InfluenceWatch with suggested edits or tips for additional profiles.

The Youth Organizing Institute is a left-of-center activist training program located in new York City that works to train activists to assist its parent organization New York Civic Engagement Table and its partner organizations. 1

Founding and History

The Youth Organizing Institute was founded in 2021 as a project of the New York Civic Engagement Table, which is itself a project of the Public Policy and Education Fund. 2 The main product of the institute is its fellows program which trains activists who then work with the New York Civic Engagement Table’s partner organizations to promote left-of-center policies and get-out-the vote efforts. As of the end of 2022, nine fellows had completed trainings. 3 4 5

Finances

The Youth Organizing Institute is not an independent nonprofit and therefore does not have public tax filings. However, its parent organization, the New York Civic Engagement Table, states in its 2021 annual report that the organization spent $200,000 on the program that year. 6

The New York Civic Engagement Table is itself a project of the Public Policy and Education Fund, which is funded by a variety of left-of-center donors, including Tides; the MacArthur Foundation; the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, which has provided $135,00 in grants since 2016; and Open Philanthropy, which provided 15,000 in 2020 to support criminal justice activism. 7 8 9 10

Fellowship Program

The Youth Organizing Institute administers a fellowship program that seeks to train youth in the New York City area to engage in left-of-center activism and get-out-the-vote efforts. The 10-week program provides a biweekly stipend to fellows and is divided into three phases. The first phase covers a left-of-center worldview that emphasizes social justice, as well as data and current technological methods for effective activism. The second stage involves professional development exercises and workshops. This then leads to the third phase, in which fellows are placed in a partner organization that is a member of the New York Civic Engagement Table and work there for roughly a month. 11 12 13

As of the end of 2022, nine fellows had completed the program. On the relevant webpages, all fellows are listed with pronouns in their biography. 14 15

Leadership

Melody Lopez is the director of the New York Civic Engagement Table, the parent organization of the Youth Organizing Institute. She began this role in 2015. Prior to joining Youth Organizing Institute, Lopez had worked for the New York City Department of Education and the Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California. From 2006 to 2010 she worked as an organizer for the left-of-center Working Families Party, which is generally supports the left wing of the Democratic Party, and was also a staffer in the New York State Senate. 16 17

References

  1. “About YOI.” Youth Organizing Institute. Accessed January 5, 2023. https://www.yoiny.org/about.
  2. “About Us | Public Policy and Education Fund of New York.” Ppefny.org. Accessed January 5, 2023. https://ppefny.org/about-us.
  3. “About YOI.” Youth Organizing Institute. Accessed January 5, 2023. https://www.yoiny.org/about.
  4. “Meet Our 2021 Fellows.” Youth Organizing Institute. Accessed January 5, 2023. https://www.yoiny.org/2021-fellows.
  5. “Meet Our 2022 Fellows.” Youth Organizing Institute. Accessed January 5, 2023. https://www.yoiny.org/2022-fellows.
  6. NYCET. “Reports.” Accessed January 4, 2023. https://www.nycet.org/reports.
  7. “Public Policy and Education Fund.” Tides. Accessed January 5, 2023. https://www.tides.org/project/grantee/public-policy-and-education-fund/.
  8. “Public Policy and Education Fund of New York – MacArthur Foundation.” Macfund.org. Accessed January 5, 2023. https://www.macfound.org/grantee/public-policy-and-education-fund-of-new-york-11209/.
  9. “Public Policy and Education Fund of New York, Inc. Rockefeller Brothers Fund.” Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Accessed January 5, 2023. https://www.rbf.org/grantees/public-policy-and-education-fund-new-york-inc.
  10. “Public Policy and Education Fund of New York — Criminal Justice Reform – Open Philanthropy.” Open Philanthropy, August 11, 2020. https://www.openphilanthropy.org/grants/public-policy-and-education-fund-of-new-york-criminal-justice-reform/.
  11. “FAQs.” Youth Organizing Institute. Accessed January 5, 2023. https://www.yoiny.org/faqs.
  12. “About YOI.” Youth Organizing Institute. Accessed January 5, 2023. https://www.yoiny.org/about.
  13. “Youth Organizing Institute.” Youth Organizing Institute. Accessed January 5, 2023. https://www.yoiny.org.
  14. “Meet Our 2021 Fellows.” Youth Organizing Institute. Accessed January 5, 2023. https://www.yoiny.org/2021-fellows.
  15. “Meet Our 2022 Fellows.” Youth Organizing Institute. Accessed January 5, 2023. https://www.yoiny.org/2022-fellows.
  16. [1] “Melody Lopez Bio.” Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation. Accessed January 5, 2023. https://funderscommittee.org.
  17. “Melody Lopez | LinkedIn.” LinkedIn.com. Accessed January 5, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/melody-lopez-aa97bb6/details/experience/.
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: January 1, 1987

  • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2020 Dec Form 990 $4,920,645 $5,519,442 $5,196,346 $577,440 N $4,708,131 $90,490 $27,098 $155,273
    2019 Dec Form 990 $4,560,495 $4,838,136 $5,500,081 $282,378 N $4,383,128 $103,236 $39,131 $132,300 PDF
    2018 Dec Form 990 $6,315,073 $3,924,714 $5,779,056 $283,712 N $6,180,498 $73,860 $18,549 $168,011 PDF
    2017 Dec Form 990 $4,743,314 $3,860,087 $3,247,393 $142,408 N $4,580,340 $110,567 $6,908 $76,146 PDF
    2016 Dec Form 990 $3,494,192 $3,320,409 $2,384,339 $162,581 N $3,306,276 $139,725 $6,083 $75,016 PDF
    2015 Dec Form 990 $3,542,661 $3,185,951 $2,170,905 $122,930 N $3,296,043 $189,858 $3,467 $69,189 PDF
    2014 Dec Form 990 $2,877,595 $3,308,254 $1,789,104 $97,839 N $2,677,713 $156,076 $3,806 $66,400 PDF
    2013 Dec Form 990 $3,837,589 $2,871,534 $2,284,632 $162,708 N $3,626,785 $161,090 $4,214 $0 PDF
    2012 Dec Form 990 $2,749,664 $2,230,147 $1,478,714 $322,845 N $2,592,287 $121,595 $1,282 $0 PDF
    2011 Dec Form 990 $1,802,975 $2,050,662 $889,556 $253,204 N $1,671,756 $97,405 $2,203 $0 PDF
    2010 Dec Form 990 $2,060,372 $1,946,469 $1,142,364 $908,444 N $2,015,525 $11,358 $1,489 $0 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Youth Organizing Institute

    40 Worth St, Ste 802
    New York, NY 10013