Launched in the summer of 2003, Youth Taking Action (YTA), is a California registered nonprofit organization that promotes youth involvement in philanthropy. Its comprehensive online portal allows for teenagers worldwide to participate in programs that aren't based on the typical, 'time-consuming', model of volunteering. Over the past few years, YTA has gained much recognition as it is completely managed by a group of student representatives across the United States, Canada, and India.
The idea for the venture started when they were in middle school. Inspired after reading a biography about Craig Kielburger, a 12-year-old Canadian who started his own crusade against child-labor, the students decided to do something similar. After much struggle in development and construction, YTA now hosts two programs intended to spread awareness about various prevailing social issues.
More recently, YTA has received seed funding from a nonprofit organization, Youth Venture. The Ashoka Foundation launched Youth Venture in 1996 in the U.S. with the vision that everyone in society could take initiative and address social needs, rather than looking to the elite few who lead today. Youth Venture currently supports hundreds of youth groups by offering seed funding, guidance, tools and support.