Young America's Foundation is a conservativeyouth organization, founded in 1969, whose stated mission is "ensuring that increasing numbers of young Americans understand and are inspired by the ideas of individual freedom, a strong national defense, free enterprise, and traditional values." In 2018, the Los Angeles Times called YAF "one of the most preeminent, influential and controversial forces in the nation's conservative youth movement." Notable alumni members include Jeff Sessions and Stephen Miller.
History
Young America's Foundation was founded in 1969 at Vanderbilt University when students formed an organization called University Information Services. UIS was established to provide students with a familial atmosphere to express their conservative beliefs. When UIS became a national organization in the early 1970s, it changed its name to Young America’s Foundation. Young America's Foundation held the first National Conservative Student Conference in 1979. It is a co-founder of the annual Conservative Political Action Conference and has been a prominent supporter of the event since then. In 1998 it purchased the Reagan Ranch, "Rancho del Cielo", near Santa Barbara, California, with the help of a $10 million endowment from Amway billionaires Richard and Helen DeVos. The Ruhes helped YAF "retire the Reagan Ranch note early". YAF president Ron Robinson commented that YAF's goal was "preserving and protecting" both Reagan's legacy and the ranch itself and that it would maintain the facilities as they existed when the Reagans lived there. According to an article in Time by John Cloud, by 2004, there were no left-wing youth organizations as powerful as The Young America's Foundation, The Intercollegiate Studies Institute and The Leadership Institute. The same author stated, a "majority of 2003 freshmen — 53% — wanted affirmative action abolished, compared with only 43% of all adults. Two-thirds of frosh favored abortion rights in 1992; only 55% did so in last year's survey. Support for gun control has slipped in recent years among the young, and last year 53% of students believed that "wealthy people should pay a larger share of taxes than they do now," compared with 72% 11 years earlier". According to The New York Times, by 2005, there was a "renewed shift pronouncedly to the right on many defining issues". Young Americans for Freedom, Young America's Foundation, the Leadership Institute, the Collegiate Network, and the Intercollegiate Studies Institute college organizations that were "fueled and often financed by an array of conservative interest groups". By 2005, "51 percent of freshmen were for in 1987; 42 percent are. In 1989, 66 percent of freshmen believed abortion should be legal; , only 54 percent do. In 1995, 66 percent of kids agreed that wealthy people should pay a larger share of taxes; it down to 50 percent. Even on the issue of firearms, where students have traditionally favored stiffer controls, there has been a weakening in support for gun laws". By 2017, YAF had 250 high school and college affiliated known as Young Americans for Freedom, which was originally a separate organization. In July 2019, it was announced that former Governor of WisconsinScott Walker would become YAF's president in 2021. In November 2019, YAF cut ties with one of their long-time featured speakers, Michelle Malkin, who voiced her support for alt-right journalist, Nick Fuentes.
Programs
Young America’s Foundation is a tax-exempt educational foundation. The Foundation's programs include lectures on college and high school campuses, conferences throughout the United States, and campus activism initiatives. These programs are broadcast on C-SPAN. Young America's Foundation also preserves the Ronald Reagan Ranch, runs the National Journalism Center, and oversees Young Americans for Freedom.
The National Journalism Center
The National Journalism Center which was founded in 1977 by M. Stanton Evans, is currently a project of Young America's Foundation that places college students and recent graduates at media organizations in the Washington, D.C. area. Notable alumni include Ann Coulter, Tim Carney, and Malcolm Gladwell.
Young Americans for Freedom (YAF)
On March 16, 2011, Young Americans for Freedom passed a National Board Resolution which resulted in the merger of two organizations into the Young America's Foundation on April 1, 2011. Young Americans for Freedom, was founded on September 11, 1960 at the family home of William F. Buckley in Sharon, Connecticut. The charter for the Young Americans for Freedom, written by M. Stanton Evans, the Sharon Statement,was described by K.E.Grubbs in 2010 as "the late 20th century's single most elegant distillation of conservative principles". The Heritage Foundation described the Sharon Statement as "statement is a succinct summary of the central ideas of modern American conservatism".
Funding
Donors include Pat Sajak, the Koch brothers, and Amway billionaires Richard and Helen DeVos. Robert Ruhe, an orthodontist in California, was the single largest donor of the YAF, with his legacy estate gift of $16 million. This resulted in a doubling of YAF's programming, which includes campus speeches. During his lifetime he and his wife donated generously to YAF, particularly in terms of paying off the mortgage of the Reagan Ranch.
