Advocates for Youth

What Advocates for Youth does

Advocates for Youth is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1980 and headquartered in Washington, D.C. (1325 G St NW # 980), operating with 11–50 employees (EIN 52-1173590). Its functional purpose is to partner with young people and adult allies to advance youth sexual health, reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ equity, HIV prevention, and racial justice in sex education. The organization serves a primarily horizontal segmentation including youth activists (ages 14–24), adult allies, educators, healthcare providers, parents, and policymakers — with explicit prioritization of LGBTQ+ youth, youth of color, and youth seeking abortion care. Its programmatic footprint in the United States and globally includes 1,000+ college campuses, 500+ K-12 school districts, and country-level initiatives in Uganda, Nigeria, and Jamaica.

Name

Advocates for Youth

Legal name

Advocates for Youth

Website

https://advocatesforyouth.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Advocates for Youth is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1980 that partners with young people and adult allies to advance adolescent sexual health, reproductive rights, and LGBTQ+ equity through educational curricula, digital content, training, and youth-led advocacy campaigns.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Sexual and Reproductive Health Education and Advocacy

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Child and Youth Services (62411), Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Sexual & Reproductive Health Services (EDALAFAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Children’s & Youth Educational Entertainment (Edutainment) (EDAGALAK), Digital/Interactive Curriculum Content (Apps, Games, Multimedia Lessons) (EDACAJAK)

Keywords

• Comprehensive sex education
• Reproductive health advocacy
• Youth activism programs
• Sexuality education curricula
• HIV prevention programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Individual donors contribute via the website with suggested donation amounts ($10-$250) or custom amounts through Action Network fundraising platform.
2. Corporate Sponsorships: Mission-aligned corporations partner with Advocates through sponsorship opportunities and special events to advance reproductive freedom, LGBTQ health and rights, and racial justice.
3. Planned Giving/Legacy Gifts: Bequest gifts, securities gifts, life insurance gifts, personal property gifts, and retirement/IRA gifts as legacy giving options.
4. Stock Donations: Donors can transfer stocks, bonds, or mutual funds to avoid capital gains tax while supporting organizational programs.
5. Matching Gifts: Corporate matching gift programs where employers match employee donations dollar-for-dollar.
6. Federal/Government Grants: Previously received federal funding from CDC and other government sources. In 2025, organization publicly declined $1.4 million in CDC funding due to policy conflicts with Trump administration executive orders.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Advocates for Youth builds and disseminates free digital sexual-health education products (the AMAZE animated-video platform, the K-12 Rights, Respect, Responsibility (3Rs) curriculum, and Virtual PD simulated teacher training) and operates youth-led advocacy programs, condom and emergency contraception distribution networks, and an annual Youth Activist Institute, all in service of advancing adolescent sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice.

Product overview

Advocates for Youth offers a portfolio of educational products and advocacy programs focused on adolescent sexual health and reproductive rights. The core educational offerings include AMAZE (a YouTube-based video platform with 300+ animated sex education videos in 70+ languages), the Rights, Respect, Responsibility (3Rs) K-12 curriculum (a free, comprehensive sex education curriculum used by 13,000+ educators), and Virtual PD (a simulated training environment for educators). These are complemented by numerous youth-led campaigns and programs including Youth Abortion Support Collective, The Condom Collective, Know Your IX, Act Out, and various youth leadership and advocacy programs. The organization operates internationally through AMAZE International partnerships. The portfolio functions as an integrated ecosystem where educational resources (AMAZE, 3Rs) support program campaigns, and youth activists trained through programs (Youth Activist Institute, YouthResource) amplify the organization's advocacy work.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AMAZE: Online platform with 300+ animated videos providing sex education to young people; has 100+ million views globally and adaptations in 70+ languages
• AMAZE International
• YouthResource
• Rights, Respect, Responsibility (3Rs)
• Youth Activist Institute
• Youth Activist Network
• EC Access Network (ECAN)
• The Trans Affirming Schools Project (TASP)
• Queer and Gender Equity Project (QGEP)
• Hope in a Box
• Get Your Life
• Kikis with Louie

Products and services

• AMAZE A free digital platform and YouTube channel of 300+ short, animated, medically accurate, age-appropriate sex-education videos covering puberty, contraception, healthy relationships, consent, and sexual orientation, for adolescents, parents, educators, and healthcare providers, with content viewed more than 100 million times worldwide.
• Rights, Respect, Responsibility (3Rs) A free K-12 comprehensive sex education curriculum mapped to National Sexuality Education Standards, LGBTQ-inclusive, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive, covering all 16 CDC-recommended topics; downloaded by 13,000+ educators and adapted for use in 13 states and 500+ school districts reaching 2.3 million students.
• Virtual PD (Professional Development) A simulated classroom environment in which educators practice teaching student avatars using common classroom scenarios, with instructional coach guidance, for inclusive sex education skills; backed by University of Central Florida research showing statistically significant skill gains after four 10-minute sessions.
• Youth Activist Institute An annual five-day conference in Washington, D.C. that hosts over 100 youth activists for skill-building, sharing expertise, and creating strategic plans for community-level change in sexual health and rights.
• The Condom Collective A youth-led grassroots movement to normalize condom use on U.S. college campuses, with about 2,000 members on 1,000+ campuses distributing one million Trojan-brand condoms annually and reaching nearly 10 million young people.
• Youth Abortion Support Collective (YouthASC) A nationwide network of young people who serve as abortion access resources in their communities, supporting people in getting the care they need and reducing stigma around abortion.
• Know Your IX A survivor- and youth-led project that empowers students to end gender-based and sexual violence in schools through education, training, organizing, and policy advocacy at federal, state, and local levels.
• AMAZE International The international arm of AMAZE that partners with NGOs, youth-led organizations, UN agencies, and governments to adapt, translate, and disseminate sex-education videos and complementary resources (comics, games, lesson plans, discussion guides) in country-specific contexts across 70+ countries.
• Trans Affirming Schools Project (TASP) A resource guide and a four-session, 90-minute-per-session professional development training series ('Finally Enough Love') that helps schools support transgender and non-binary youth.
• Get Your Life A seven-session, group-based HIV prevention facilitation guide designed by and for Black and Latino young men who have sex with men, ages 14–19, as a culturally responsive interactive intervention.

Quantifiable outcome

• 60% increase in young people (ages 14-24) accessing primary healthcare services at El Rio partner sites
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• El Rio Health CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Partnership with El Rio, a Federally Qualified Health Center in Tucson, Arizona, for the Rights, Respect, Responsibility Reproductive Health Access Project (3Rs RHAP). Youth leaders ages 14-24 work alongside adult allies to provide sexual and reproductive health education and services. Preliminary evaluation (2017-2019) showed 60% increase in youth accessing healthcare services.
• SisterReachcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with SisterReach to create ten asynchronous teacher training modules on racial justice in sex education. Modules help educators address implicit bias, intervene in microaggressions, and build culturally responsive learning environments.
• ViiVHealthcarecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for CommuniTea project engaging Black women and girls (cis and trans) in ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Youth activists lead advocacy on campus and in communities, centering experiences of young Black women and girls.
• Ibis Reproductive HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration for the #FreeThePill Youth Council, bringing together youth activists across the country to advocate for over-the-counter birth control that is affordable and accessible.
• We TestifycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Youth Testify program - young people who share their abortion stories to fight for access, build empathy, and end stigma.
• Hope in a BoxminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration to bring LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum and resources into classrooms nationwide, combining Advocates' expertise with Hope in a Box's literature-based approach.
• Future of Sex Education Initiative (FoSE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Answer, SIECUS, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America to promote comprehensive sexuality education. Founded in 2007, FoSE produced National Sexuality Education Standards and National Pre-Service Standards for Sexuality Education.
• Amplify (Online Activism Hub)coreOthersFounded in 2010 - the first fully-integrated hub for online activism and youth-led grassroots movement building for young advocates across the country and around the world.
• National Assembly for School-Based Health CareminorOthersCo-founded in early 1990s to continue school-based health center expansion work pioneered by Advocates.
• National Youth Advocacy CoalitionminorOthersSeminal organization incubated by Advocates for Youth.
• Queer African Youth InitiativeminorOthersLGBTQ youth health and rights program launched by Advocates in Uganda, Nigeria and Jamaica in 2012, leveraging domestic expertise.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• GLSEN: National education-focused organization working to create safe and inclusive K-12 schools for LGBTQ students. Comparable to Advocates for Youth's Trans Affirming Schools Project, Act Out campaign, and YouthResource LGBTQ youth programming.
• Scarleteen: Independent digital sex-education resource for young people, providing medically accurate, inclusive content online. Comparable as a direct-to-youth digital sex-ed platform overlapping with Advocates for Youth's AMAZE product, though Scarleteen is text-led.
• SIECUS (Sex Information and Educational Council of the U.S.): National policy and advocacy organization focused exclusively on comprehensive sexuality education. A direct peer to Advocates for Youth's 3Rs/sex-ed policy work and a co-convener within the Future of Sex Education Initiative (FoSE) alongside Answer and Planned Parenthood.
• The Trevor Project: Provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services specifically for LGBTQ young people. Comparable in serving LGBTQ youth populations, though with a mental-health crisis focus rather than Advocates' reproductive-health and rights focus.
• Sex Ed for Social Change: Sexuality education organization delivering training and curricula to youth-serving professionals. Comparable to Advocates for Youth's sex-education training and curriculum work, including Virtual PD-style professional development offerings.
• Answer (Sex, Etc.): Provides K-12 sexuality education curricula and trains youth peer educators through the Sex, Etc. platform. A direct peer in sex-ed curriculum provision and a fellow FoSE co-convener with overlapping National Sexuality Education Standards advocacy.

Broad incumbents

• Guttmacher Institute: Research and policy organization focused on sexual and reproductive health and rights. Comparable as a peer in evidence-based advocacy and policy work supporting comprehensive sex education and adolescent reproductive health.
• Center for Reproductive Rights: Global reproductive-rights legal advocacy organization using litigation and policy. Comparable in reproductive-rights advocacy mission and international footprint, complementary to Advocates for Youth's domestic youth-organizing model.
• NARAL Pro-Choice America: Federal political and advocacy organization dedicated to protecting abortion access. Comparable in reproductive-rights policy advocacy and grassroots mobilization, operating at a broader electoral/political scale than Advocates for Youth.
• Planned Parenthood Federation of America: The largest U.S. reproductive-health and rights organization, with affiliated clinical services, advocacy, and sex education. Comparable to Advocates for Youth in the reproductive-rights and sex-education advocacy space, though it operates a far broader clinical and political portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AdvocatesTweets
• YouTubeyoutube.com/advocatesforyouth
• Facebookfacebook.com/Advocates4Youth
• Instagraminstagram.com/advocatesforyouth
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/advocatesforyouth

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Advocates for Youth