From Insights to Impact: Embedding Adolescent Development into Philanthropy

What might you do differently if adolescent development were more fully centered in your work?

Developmental science has expanded our understanding of adolescence as a distinct and powerful window of growth, marked by heightened learning, exploration and discovery, deepening reflection on our values, goals, and identities, growing capacities for managing our emotions and decisions, and stronger connections with peers and communities.

From Insight to Impact: Embedding Adolescent Development into Philanthropy provides practical entry points and real-world examples to help grantmakers translate developmental science into action. Funders may use this resource as a reflection tool to assess current alignment with adolescent developmental science, a planning guide to identify opportunities to deepen impact, a conversation starter with staff, boards, and partners, or as a way to surface new approaches within existing portfolios.

Investing in adolescence is not only an investment in young people, it is an investment in the long-term health, equity, and vitality of communities. By aligning investments, partnerships, and strategies with what we know about how adolescents grow and thrive, funders can help create more supportive, equitable, and developmentally responsive environments at scale, shaping not only individual trajectories, but our collective future.