Fueling the Future

DoSomething embarked on a bold impact journey - Fueling the Future - in 2022. Our goal was to evolve our work to meet the needs of today’s digital native Gen Z and Gen Alpha youth. We set a new mission and vision to meet the needs of young people hungry for systemic social change. We spent the last several years centering youth voices, perspectives, and actions as the heartbeat of our work.

We are proud to say that we’ve made great strides in 2022. Tracking Our Impact and Betting on the Future summarizes what we did and what we will do going forward. While a lot has changed since 2022, our north star remains true: we are dedicated to educating and equipping young people with the knowledge, skills, tools, resources, and, most importantly, the agency to take action and lead change in their communities.

Tracking Our Impact

The Strategic Plan

Strategic Bets

DoSomething’s next chapter will focus on building the systems that make youth action visible, verifiable, portable over time and enduring.

A young volunteer sits beside a car trunk filled with bags of groceries and supplies, showcasing community service efforts. This image highlights opportunities for civic engagement and the importance of giving back to the community.

Big Bet 1

Build program design for intentional youth progression from first action to sustained engagement and community leadership.

A smiling individual with styled dark hair and glasses is sitting at a desk, wearing a light-colored, textured sweater. Behind them are posters with colorful designs, highlighting a welcoming and creative environment for community service and civic leadership programming.

Big Bet 2

Arm Gen Z & Gen Alpha to be digital leaders and real-world problem solvers.

A diverse group of individuals holds whiteboards with handwritten messages about community and belonging at a volunteer event hosted by DoSomething.org. The participants, representing various backgrounds, showcase their commitment to civic engagement and social change.

Big Bet 3

Make youth impact visible with better infrastructure.

Our Strategic Priorities

A diverse group of 4 young people in an embrace, smiling joyfully

1. Foster a diverse and inclusive collective of young people who use their power to effect change together

A young person casting their ballot, wearing an 'I Voted' sticker; a neighbor casts their ballot in the background, in a voting booth adorned with an American flag sticker

2. Change the economic and political conditions that block young people from using their power to change the world

3 young people discover how to creatively amplify their voices at a DoSomething civic leadership event

3. Cultivate a culture of belonging and purpose within our organization and our collective of members

Young activists exercise their civic voices in a peaceful protest; a cardboard sign reads ' We will NOT be SILENT', while others wave rainbow pride flags.

4. Build a sustainable organization positioned for long-term impact

Our Progress

A few of the key initiatives we are working on to advance our strategic plan:

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Youth-Led Brand Refresh

We invited seven young co-designers to hang, ideate, and collab with us on how DoSomething’s platform should evolve in order to help today’s young people Do Something about the causes they care about. They inspired us to go beyond changing just our colors and fonts, challenging us to dive deeper into how we could show up more dynamically, better connect young people with others in their communities, champion them towards success, and how to be the unshakable coach and mentor they need on their way to building a safer, kinder, and fairer world.

A collage showcasing diverse individuals engaged in community service and leadership activities. Scenes include a person addressing an audience, participants brainstorming on a poster, and two individuals discussing with microphones, emphasizing civic engagement and volunteer opportunities.

Show Up for What!?

This civic engagement program provides the next generation of young leaders with the identity, knowledge and agency to become a force for change, both in and out of the voting booth. Through civic events and activations, we provide safe spaces for them to learn how to show up for their communities and make a difference.

Our Soundoff! Story Booth Series gives young people the opportunity to lean into their civic voices, share their vision for a better future, and let decision makers know how they can better address the issues young people care about.

A collage featuring diverse individuals engaged in community service and civic leadership activities, showcasing expressions of enthusiasm and commitment. The image highlights volunteer opportunities and civic engagement initiatives, emphasizing inclusivity and active participation.

Civic Fellows Program

In 2023 we launched the first cohort of our Civic Fellows program, and have since mentored and provided resources to 8 young civic leaders to help launch and scale their own community initiatives that addressed various issues young people are experiencing, using media, art, and storytelling to get their peers engaged.

A collage showcasing diverse individuals engaged in community service activities, including food preparation, recycling, and beautifying public spaces. These volunteer opportunities highlight teamwork and civic engagement, fostering leadership skills in the community.

DoSomething for Others

From food and clothing drives to litter cleanups, DoSomething for Others turns youth engagement into lasting, quantifiable change while helping them to build connected, healthy, and sustainable communities nationwide!

Over 63,000 members have contributed more than 102,500 volunteer hours, helped clothe 31.8 million people in vulnerable populations, donated 667,000 non-perishable food items to those in need, donated 1.2 million period products to homeless shelters, and driven environmental impact - with members recycling 4.2 million aluminum cans and cleaning up 4.9 million cigarette butts, removing toxic chemicals from the environment.

A vibrant collage of diverse individuals showcasing their smiles and engagement in community service and leadership activities. This image represents a range of volunteer and civic opportunities for youth empowerment and collective learning.

The EMBER Collective

Our inaugural EMBER Collective cohort featured a diverse group of 19 young people across 13 states who led mental health initiatives, ranging from books tackling eco-anxiety to open mic nights addressing collective grief!

During their 6-month journey, members developed leadership and technical skills, growing their network, and improved the mental well-being of their community. The collective is soon to grow with more young changemakers taking the lead in their communities in 2026 and beyond.

A diverse group of young people visit the DoSomething office in NYC to partake in the Public narrative event

Public Narrative Training | February 2024

We brought together leaders across the DoSomething collective alongside staff for a full–day Public Narrative training. Led by The Leading Change Network and designed by legendary organizer and Harvard professor Marshall Ganz, the training supported participants in developing their Story of “Self,” “Us,” and “Now,” weaving together a cohesive narrative connecting one's personal story to a collective call-to-action.

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