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A special welcome to those joining us for the first time after AV! This newsletter is your window into youth organizing: sharing stories from across our Network, highlighting the impact of young people, and keeping you connected to ways to take action. We’ll be in your inbox once a month — we’re so glad you’re here!
Spring is in full swing — and so is our Network. This month, we’re welcoming a new group into our Network, celebrating the power of intentional organizing, and lifting up the ways young people are fighting to make sure community voices shape the decisions that affect their day-to-day lives.
From Pennsylvania to Phoenix, our movement is growing, deepening its roots, and winning!
Read on to learn more.
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Welcome, Project 26 Pennsylvania!
We are thrilled to welcome Project 26 Pennsylvania [[link removed]] (P26) to the Alliance for Youth Action Network!
Named after the 26th Amendment that allows 18-year-olds to vote, P26 is on a mission to expand democracy by putting young people at its center — building the knowledge, access, and collective power needed to get organized, vote, and lead in the electoral process. They believe that when young people step into power, real change follows. And their track record proves it: in 2024 alone, they registered 14,328 voters across 56 campuses, driving a 146% average increase in youth turnout.
What makes P26 stand out is how they organize. Their campus fellowship program centers on paid student organizers, with two-thirds of their fellows returning each year, building real, lasting leadership and relationships. In 2026, they’re going even further by launching Pennsylvania’s first state-level youth organizing program for off-campus young people aged 18-34, including trade workers, recent grads, and young professionals too often left out of traditional outreach programs. They’re also intentionally organizing young men by creating non-political third spaces that prioritize community building as a pathway to civic participation. Add their student digital creator cohort on Instagram and TikTok, and a deep social listening project aimed at meeting Gen Z where they are, and you have an organizing model that is both innovative and effective.
At the helm is Executive Director Aimee Van Cleave , an experienced organizer, coach, and campaign manager extraordinaire. Aimee brings experience from local and national campaigns and issue advocacy work advancing queer rights, reproductive access, and public health legislation. She’s exactly the kind of movement leader we love and are proud to have in our Network. [[link removed]]
Pennsylvania’s young people have a champion in P26, and we’re excited to be a helping hand in building the future they deserve. Let’s get to work!
Follow them on Instagram for day-to-day updates: @project26pa [[link removed]]
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ICYMI: ROOTED: Foundations of Organizing
Rooted in purpose. Growing in power — together.
Last month, the Alliance for Youth Organizing hosted ROOTED — a four-day convening in Austin, Texas, gathering organizers from 17 Network organizations to sharpen their craft and deepen the foundations of lasting movement work.
[[link removed]] Grounded in the belief that strong movements are built intentionally, participants left with sharper campaign-planning skills, stronger power-mapping tools, and renewed confidence to drive their work back home. But ROOTED wasn’t just about building better organizers. It was also about building stronger communities. The skills practiced there will translate into real wins: more young people stepping into power, more families equipped to demand accountability, and more communities shaping the decisions that affect their lives.
This was just the beginning! Our Capacity Building team will continue working alongside the Network to practice, troubleshoot, and grow — making sure that what was built in that room keeps growing at home. As our Executive Director, Dakota Hall explores in his piece, The ABCs of Organizing [[link removed]] : a strong organization takes time, care, and intention. Only when the roots are strong can our movements grow and endure.
To all of the organizers who showed up rooted in our shared values and dedicated to the hard work — thank you!
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Your Taxes. Your Community. Your Voice.
Tax Day is about more than what we pay; it’s about who gets a say in how those dollars are spent. Across the Alliance Network, our Affiliates are fighting to make sure their communities are heard in the decisions that shape their lives. Here’s a snapshot of the power our Network is building throughout the country:
New Era Colorado [[link removed]] is pushing to get a Graduated Income Tax measure on the November ballot [[link removed]] that would cut taxes for 97% of Coloradans and raise an estimated $2 billion for health care, child care, and K-12 education. And just three weeks after launching, their canvassing team gathered 6,000 signatures, demonstrating strong community support for the ballot measure.
The Washington Bus [[link removed]] helped push the Millionaire’s Tax across the finish line [[link removed]] after months of building local support and taking young people to Olympia to testify and talk to lawmakers! On March 31, Governor Bob Ferguson signed SB 6346 into law, establishing a 9.9% tax on residents earning over $1 million annually, an initiative projected to generate $3.5 billion per year to fund schools (including free school lunches for K-12 students), universities, child care, and healthcare for all Washingtonians.
North Carolina Asian Americans Together [[link removed]] is turning economic power into political power [[link removed]] with their neighbors. As the fastest-growing racial group in North Carolina, AAPI communities contribute billions to the state’s economy — and NCAAT is making sure those communities have a voice in how those dollars come back to them, with their annual Asian American Advocacy Day focused on bringing young people to the state legislature to advocate for education, healthcare, and community safety against ICE.
New Hampshire Youth Movement [[link removed]] is proving that tax dollars can address the most important issues in their communities, in their case: housing affordability. As co-founders of the Manchester Neighbors Welcome Coalition [[link removed]] , they led the charge to pass the Manchester Zoning Ordinance, a landmark land-use reform creating more affordable housing options. Now, the coalition is holding city leaders accountable as implementation begins.
Next Up Oregon [[link removed]] helped direct public dollars where they’re needed most during Oregon’s 2026 Legislative Short Session [[link removed]] , winning passage of the Universal Representation and Children’s Stability Fund, protecting the Healthier Oregon Program for residents regardless of immigration status, and securing $111 million to protect SNAP benefits in the face of federal cuts.
Poder in Action [[link removed]] is organizing Phoenix residents to show up to city budget meetings and demand that tax dollars serve working families, not just political priorities. They’re advocating for a Working Families Relief Fund [[link removed]] to support communities hit hardest by federal cuts to SNAP benefits and healthcare, and increased ICE threats.
When communities organize, tax dollars become tools for opportunity, stability, and representation. This is what it looks like when young people take the reins!
This is what movement in motion looks like, and we’re just getting started. Thank you for coming along for the ride.
Until next month!
Selasi Tagbor Morales
Communications Manager
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