Supporting Transition Age Youth

The Walter S. Johnson Foundation assists transition-aged foster and other vulnerable youth in Northern California and Nevada to become successful adults.

2023

$0M

We funded over $5.1 million grants to organizations serving transition age youth.
2022

$0M

We funded over $5.4 million grants to organizations serving transition age youth.
2021

$0M

We funded over $5.8 million grants to organizations serving transition age youth.
2020

$0M

We funded over $4.1 million grants to organizations serving transition age youth.
2019

$0M

We funded over $4.5 million grants to organizations serving transition age youth.
2018

$0M

We funded over $4.6 million grants to organizations serving transition age youth.
2017

$0M

We funded over $4.4 million grants to organizations serving transition age youth.
Nevada System of Higher Education
Nevada System of Higher Education
 Side by Side
Side by Side
Think-of-Us
Think-of-Us
 John Burton Advocates for Youth
John Burton Advocates for Youth
Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute
Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute

About Walter S. Johnson Foundation (WSJF)

WSJF is focused on helping youth and young adults (ages 14-26) succeed in adulthood.  We pride ourselves on our ability to be:

  • Flexible and nimble:  respond quickly to change and fund faster than our larger foundation and public agencies partners.
  • Engage those with lived experience:  too often, the children, youth, and families who are experiencing problems are not part of developing the solutions.  We support programs that engage those closest to the problem to help develop the solutions.
  • Focused on the “long game”: we believe in relational grantmaking and support organizational improvements for our grantees to become more effective and efficient in their work.
  • Co-fund with others to support system reform: we believe in partnering with our funders and the nonprofit community in supporting sustainable programs.

Transition-Age Foster Youth and Other Vulnerable Young People

The transition to adulthood is challenging.  For youth ages 14-26 who were involved or at risk of being in the foster care system, this transition is often more difficult because they often don’t have a support network for the resources needed to reach their full potential.  We support programs that assist these vulnerable youth to receive the things that all young people need to thrive, such as:

  • Better coordinated child welfare policies that are easy to access and reinforce the physical and emotional needs that accompany young people transitioning from foster care.
  • Educational and job training programs that target the specific needs of young people who have spent time in foster care or are at risk of child welfare involvement.
  • Government and social service systems that connect to help make accessing services and benefits easier for young people and providers.
  • Research and policy to evaluate the effectiveness of services and programs.
CREDIT: First Star Academy
CREDIT: First Star Academy
CREDIT: iFoster
CREDIT: iFoster
CREDIT: On the Move/VOICES
CREDIT: On the Move/VOICES
CREDIT: Nevada System of Higher Education
CREDIT: Nevada System of Higher Education
CREDIT:  California College Pathways
CREDIT: California College Pathways

Education and Career Strategies

Too many vulnerable students fail to complete their career goals in higher education or post-secondary training programs, whether it’s the completion of an associate degree, an apprenticeship, a career technical certificate, or a bachelor’s degree. WSJF works with post-secondary institutions to address barriers to completion for this population, as well as career and employment training programs addressing the needs of former and current foster, homeless, and other vulnerable students.  The types of services we support include:

  • Programs that prepare vulnerable students with child welfare involvement in middle and high school prepare for post-secondary success.
  • Programs that improve employment career pathways for vulnerable young people.
  • Programs that improve general education to create better pathways towards transfer from 2-year to 4-year campuses.
  • Research and policy work to evaluate these programs.

Our Priorities

Since its inception, the Walter S. Johnson Foundation has been committed to supporting vulnerable young people to become successful adults.

California College Pathways and Nevada Foster Youth Success Initiative

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Reforming Systems

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Employment and Career Opportunities

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California College Pathways and Nevada Foster Youth Success Initiative

CREDIT: Fnd for CA Comm Colleges
CREDIT: Fnd for CA Comm Colleges

In Northern California and Nevada, thousands of young people leave foster care and find themselves often without adequate social support or life skills every year.  The California College Pathways and the Nevada Foster Youth Success Initiative supports current and former foster youth in their post-secondary career, using these  types of strategies:

  • Campus housing, and availability of year-round housing, either on- or off-campus;
  • Assistance with finding a stable and skilled college mentor or coach who can help develop and monitor an education plan and tutoring to support student's academic progress;
  • Access to robust financial aid;
  • Access to student support services (such as mental health services, the Federal TRIO program, and the Educational Opportunity Program);
  • Frequent monitoring of student academic progress and follow-up advising to ensure student access to academic support services;
  • Active involvement in first-year orientation, college culture, summer bridge programs, and first-year experiences;
  • Student outcome data collection, including data on persistence and graduation rates and internal/external services accessed;
  • A formal relationship with local social services to ensure that students receive the full range of supportive services;
  • Linkages between two- and four-year schools to facilitate student transfer; and
  • A long-term plan to sustain the program itself through public/private support.

Reforming Systems

WSJF supports systemic change through policy reform initiatives and implementation of existing policy

CREDIT: iFoster
CREDIT: iFoster

Our foundation has found that supporting public/private partnerships can result in big wins.  The truth is that the need is so great and so crucial to the well-being of our nation that no single foundation or entity, no matter how big, can mend it by itself.  True transformation takes many efforts on all fronts.  Some recent examples of WSJF’s role in public/private partnership projects include:

Employment and Career Opportunities

WSJF supports programs and system which support employment and career training for opportunity youth. 

CREDIT: Civicorp
CREDIT: Civicorp

More and more smart employers are committing to a double bottom line: profitably growing their businesses while providing foster and other vulnerable transition-age youth with employment opportunities. And with the largest labor gap for the next generation of work-ready employees ever facing this country, a commitment to hiring talented young people is all the more urgent.  We believe that by bringing together businesses, non-profit organizations, government agencies, and philanthropy, we can:

  • Ensure a level playing field so that foster youth and other vulnerable young people have the same employment opportunities as their counterparts;
  • Develop youth-focused work-readiness assessments, job training curricula, and other resources;
  • Connect the nation’s leading employers and small businesses with work-ready youth;
  • Provide innovative approaches to internships and mentorships; and
  • Educate the business community, the public, and the media about the value and potential of the nation’s foster and other vulnerable youth populations.

Areas Served

We serve counties in Northern California as well as all counties in Nevada.

Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Inyo, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Modoc, Mono, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Benito, San Francisco,San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Yolo, Yuba

Northern California

As of February 2018, all counties in Nevada are eligible for WSJF grant funding (prior to this date, only agencies serving Washoe county were eligible for WSJF funding).

Nevada

For More Information

The Walter S. Johnson Foundation’s grant application process is by invitation only (after it is determined that your nonprofit organization is eligible).  A Letter of Inquiry is often requested before consideration for a proposal invitation. We do not accept or review unsolicited proposals or sales requests.  We generally do not make grants to individuals, towards arts or film projects, to international organizations, or contribute to ongoing general operating costs, capital campaigns, or endowments.  For county chapters of state organizations, we generally offer proposal invitations only to the state organization.  

While we make every effort to get back to emails in a timely fashion, we may not be able to respond immediately to your inquiry. Thank you for your patience.