Wendy Lazarus & Harley Frankel

We are parents, new grandparents, and decades-long professional advocates for children and youth. We have focused our life’s work on young people because we believe to our core that every child should be guaranteed the opportunity to reach their full potential as they grow up. To us, this is a matter of basic fairness. But our country is far from making this simple-sounding value a reality, especially for kids of color and those who grow up in low-income families. To achieve that goal, young people need youth-friendly public policies that support their healthy development. But they also need individuals and foundations to make children and youth a priority in their giving. We are excited about the Giving for Kids Pledge and will urge our friends and colleagues to take it. If enough of us do, we can help create a culture where more people think about the impacts on young people of every decision they make. Our giving for children focuses on: child advocacy organizations like The Children’s Partnership; groups like Center on Budget and Policy Priorities that help make sure that initiatives for young people get their fair share of funds when taxpayer dollars are allocated; organizations that help bright, low-income students attend and graduate from the nation’s top colleges, like College Match; and groups like Andrew Goodman Foundation that help groom young people to represent their own interests and to exercise their right to vote.