Hi John,

You've supported WYA through a year of wins. Now I want to share exactly what we're building in 2026 — not the talking points, but the actual plan.

Lowering the Voting Age to 16
Imagine a 16-year-old in Bellingham walking into her polling place and voting for her school board. A high schooler in Pullman having a say in who represents him on city council.

In 2026, we're launching Vote16 ballot initiatives in two pilot cities. This isn't just about voting. It's about recognizing that young people who work, pay taxes, drive to school, and are profoundly affected by local policy deserve a voice in choosing their leaders. If we win, we'll build a statewide coalition for municipal Vote16 by 2027 — and push toward a statewide ballot measure by 2028.

Paying Young People to Organize
Youth organizing requires young people as decision-makers, not just participants. That's why we're launching the Youth Coordinator Program — employing 8 high school students as paid campaign coordinators for nine months across our issue areas: gun violence prevention, youth mental health, vote16, and digital organizing.

Growing to 15 Chapters and 500+ Members
In 2026, we're also expanding to 15 chapters — prioritizing rural communities and areas that have never had youth organizing infrastructure.

Our target: Grow each chapter to a minimum of 10-15 active youth members with leadership teams. Recruit 200 new members in Phase 1 (January-March) and 500+ members total by end of 2026. That's approximately 11-14 new young people joining our movement every single week.

How? Through a mix of 1:1 relational meetings, school presentations, peer-to-peer text banking, and 'house meetings' where members invite friends, classmates, and teammates to learn about WYA. We're also launching a Senior Advisor program—alumni who mentor and train our active members.

Our Biggest Youth Lobby Day Yet
In 2025, we brought 100+ young people to Olympia. In 2026, we're aiming for 250+ registered attendees, with a focus on geographic diversity—youth from all 10 (soon 15) chapters, including rural communities that rarely have a voice in Olympia.

Before Lobby Day, every participant gets at least 2 hours of foundational organizing training. They'll learn storytelling, policy advocacy, and organizing tactics that they can take to other areas of their lives.

Defending What We Won—And Winning More
The 2026 legislative session runs 60 days, starting in mid-January. Our priorities:

• Defend youth mental health funding against potential federal Medicaid cuts — and protect the $40M we helped win

• Promoting safe storage across our state

• Push for statewide civic engagement for high schoolers

• Coordinate youth testifiers for every major bill affecting young people, with our Organizing Coordinator matching youth to hearing opportunities

This is what building sustainable youth power looks like. Not one campaign, not one election — a movement that grows stronger every year.

We need to raise $5,000 by December 31 to start 2026 ready to execute. Here's what your gift provides:

• $25 covers materials for one youth training session

• $50 provides transportation for a rural youth to attend Lobby Day

• $100 supports one month of a chapter leader's stipend

• $250 funds 500 signatures being gathered for Vote16 in our target cities

• $500 funds one month of a Lead Coordinator position: a high schooler running gun violence prevention or mental health campaigns across Washington

Every gift is tax-deductible for 2025 and goes directly to building youth power across Washington.

Let's build this together,

Jack Farrell (he/him)
Board President, Washington Youth Alliance

P.S. This is the most detailed fundraising email I've ever sent — because I want you to know exactly where your money goes. Real programs. Real young people. Real change. Will you help us make it happen?