In February, National 4-H Council announced a landmark $50 million unrestricted gift from writer and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott that will help close the opportunity gap for America’s youth. It is the largest single gift in 4-H’s 120-year history.
This investment will accelerate 4-H’s ability to meet the needs of young people today and tomorrow, while providing the professional development and training required to deliver quality, relevant and impactful programming. The Board will preserve the remainder of the gift for the long term to ensure that National 4-H Council can sustain programs and activities that have the greatest benefits for 4-H youth development in the future and to ensure the gift’s enduring impact.
National 4-H Council will invest to:
Strengthen the 4-H Workforce:
*Develop volunteer and staff recruitment tools to assist Cooperative Extension in attracting and retaining top talent in paid and volunteer youth development roles.
*Expand the 4-H Positive Youth Development Academy – powered by Cooperative Extension research-based approaches – to build the capabilities of all 4-H educators and volunteers.
*Create a world-class leadership development program to ensure there is a long-term pipeline of diverse and capable 4-H leaders who are equipped to grow 4-H today and into the future.
*Commission an Applied Research Study – Cooperative Extension will continuously improve 4-H program quality by building on previous national research. Data will inform 4-H’s current and future approaches to positive youth development and will be translated into useful tools for local 4-H professionals.
Optimize 4-H Programming:
*Expand national in-person 4-H youth experiences to build their skills, explore careers and develop in-person connections.
*Launch Clover by 4-H to give young people a digital platform – powered by Cooperative Extension’s expertise and educational content – to access 4-H anytime and to complement their in-person experiences.
The National 4-H Council Board made its investment decisions based on an inclusive process undertaken over six months with extensive input from Cooperative Extension and land-grant university leaders. These investments will ensure that Cooperative Extension can expand its capabilities of providing 4-H programming to our youth in partnership with Council as we continue to build public-private partnerships, tell the 4-H story, and convene 4-H youth and adults in meaningful ways now and moving forward.
