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Group of YLO partners at the NextGen office in Lilongwe, Malawi  Photo Credit: Onyinye Ijeh
 

Flexible Funding Powering Youth Leadership

Written by Cat-Dan Lai-Smith, Knowledge Management and Communications (Localization), Save the Children

When you were younger, did you ever experience frustration at not being heard or taken seriously by others in your life? If so, you may be able to sympathize with youth-led organizations that face multiple barriers preventing them from gaining access to funding or having their voices recognized.

Concerned Youth Organization (CYO) is a youth-led organization (YLO) in Malawi with the goal of addressing issues affecting young people and children.  Despite the efforts that CYO has been making to positively impact lives of youth and children, its leaders have self-identified many gaps in organizational capacity areas, from information technology to trustee governance issues: “This had a negative bearing on the organization in terms of organizational branding, thereby affecting [our] trustworthiness as an organization among some quarters.”

As a longtime ally to young people, SC is championing youth-led organizations such as CYO by piloting an innovative flexible funding pilot in a way that recognizes their capacity, expertise and leadership. The Youth-Led Organization (YLO) Investment Fund Pilot was developed by Save the Children US (SCUS) to extend flexible grants to YLO partners to invest in self-determined priorities that advance their missions and mandates. $500,000 USD was made available for the pilot through Save the Children’s President’s Fund, an internal unrestricted fund allocated at the Chief Executive Officer’s discretion to advance strategic priorities. Through the YLO pilot, SC has been able to support 13 YLO pilot partners across Malawi and Niger. 

Understanding Flexible and ‘Quality’ Funding

In line with our efforts to shift power and embrace localized approaches, SC invited local and national actors (L/NA) to define ‘quality’ funding. The most commonly reported definition described this as funding where local partners are “provided the right channels to participate in decision-making related to the design of the project, and their own budget” as well as “resources that allow the local partner to grow and develop according to their own needs.” In contrast with traditional funding models, SCUS used these findings to design this pilot so that participating YLOs held the power to use the funds for the duration of pilot (approximately two years) based on their own identified priorities.

Similarly, we designed the pilot so the investment fund could also support informal organizations that may not have passed traditional donor vetting standards such as having legal registration or independent bank accounts. Significantly, SC staff engaged in the process reported experiencing a mindset change from initially being focused on programming deliverables to ensuring biased assumptions of YLO capacities didn’t influence our approach to partnership or decision-making.

The Power of Youth-Led Development

Since the pilot began in 2023, several YLOs have voluntarily shared their progress on how they have been using the unrestricted funds to strengthen their organizations’ capacity needs and to expand their programming and/or advocacy activities in their communities. Circling back to Concerned Youth Organization (CYO), this partner is one of several that has seen significant improvement in their operations and programs and are attracting positive attention.

“We have seen significant improvements in our daily operations, including better segregation of duties, more effective policy implementation, and overall enhanced organizational functioning. These changes have increased our reputation and trust with donors and partners, positioning us for further growth.”

Other YLOs have shared how this pilot opportunity has had a great impact on their own staff after receiving requested capacity strengthening funding. Several have seen a noticeable increase in their ability and credibility to impact youth, women and other community members they are supporting through their own engagements and training. We have been so encouraged to learn that many of our YLO partners are experiencing more pride in themselves due to increased confidence in their own capabilities.

According to CYO, “This partnership with Save the Children is more than just a collaboration—it is a transformative experience that strengthens our capacity to fulfil our mission.”

Many of the YLO partners were able to share encouraging updates and learnings when they met together for a project review workshop in Lilongwe during November 2024. David Barth, Vice-President of International Programs at Save the Children US, who also attended the workshop stated:

"This is a leading example of putting young people in the driver's seat, giving them what they say they need, and getting out of the way.  When they need a hand, we are there, but this allows them to do what they do best.  Be the bright, shining stars that they are."

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