Young Futures Launches “Oops!…AI Did It Again” Challenge to Equip Youth in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

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NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 9, 2025--

This week, Young Futures announced the launch of the “Oops!…AI Did It Again” Challenge, a national funding call for nonprofit organizations pursuing innovative solutions that increase youth agency in an AI-driven world. The challenge addresses the urgent need to equip young people with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to navigate AI, which is rapidly reshaping their learning, creativity, relationships, and mental health.

Backed by foundational funders Pivotal Ventures, Susan Crown Exchange, Enlight Foundation, Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, Resonance Philanthropies and The Goodness Web, with additional support from Pinterest, Bezos Family Foundation, Hopelab and Omidyar Network, the challenge will fund approximately 10 “Young Futures Innovators,” who will receive grant funding and join a five-month accelerator program to scale their impact.

“While billions of dollars are flowing into AI startups, there is an urgent need to invest in the downstream infrastructure that helps young people navigate the effects of AI,” said Katya Hancock, Chief Executive Officer of Young Futures. “This funding challenge will support nonprofits that are transforming how we think about AI, ensuring that its use on the internet and in our digital spaces is safe, supportive, and tested.”

The initiative comes at a critical juncture when over half of young people (51%) report using generative AI, primarily for information gathering and brainstorming. Research from Young Futures’ Youth Listening Tour and from partners in the digital wellness space reveals that teens often use these powerful tools alone, in secret, and without clear guidance, leading to anxiety, uncertainty, and missed opportunities for support.

“AI is no longer something young people opt into; it's embedded in the world they’re inheriting. But fluency in using tech doesn’t mean they control it,” said Dr. Kristine Gloria, Chief Operating Officer of Young Futures. “We can't afford to repeat our mistakes from the dawn of the social media era. This challenge is about moving beyond digital literacy to what we call ‘AI agency’—the ability for young people to understand, question, and even build AI systems that reflect their values and prioritize their wellbeing.”

The “Oops!…AI Did It Again” Challenge is seeking applications for solutions across four key themes:

• Youth-Powered AI: Projects where teens build, challenge, or creatively remix AI tools.
• AI in Learning, Work, and Creativity: Resources that help youth use AI to learn and create without sacrificing critical thinking or originality.
• AI in Relationships and Mental Health: Programs that help youth navigate AI companionship and mental health tools safely and critically.
• Intergenerational Guidance: Projects that equip adults to have supportive, informed conversations about AI with the young people in their lives.

“Young people are telling us they feel anxious and overwhelmed navigating software that some adults barely understand,” said Lindsay Louie, CEO at Enlight Foundation. “They’re not asking to be shielded from AI; they want the tools to be able to use AI on their own terms. This challenge answers that call by investing in co-created solutions that put young people in the driver's seat.”

Grant recipients will also join the Young Futures Academy, a program providing leadership coaching, fundraising strategy, storytelling support, and subject-matter expertise. The cohort will kick off with an all-expenses-paid retreat in Colorado in April 2026.

Key Dates:

• Application Period Open (LOI Submission): October 8 - October 24, 2025
• Prospective Applicant Info Session (Register Here): October 15, 2025
• Full Proposal Submission (For Invited Finalists): November 12 - December 1
• Finalist Interviews: January 2026
• YF Innovators Selected & Announced: February - March 2026
• YF Academy Programming: April - August 2026
• YF Academy Retreat: April 13-15, 2026 (Colorado)

Last month, Young Futures also launched YF500, a first-of-its-kind philanthropic index fund dedicated to building a robust ecosystem to support youth wellbeing in a tech-driven world. This five-year, $50 million commitment, which was announced onstage at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) 2025, will fund, connect, and amplify 500 community-rooted nonprofit leaders across the United States who are working at the critical intersection of youth, technology, and mental health.

For more information or to apply to the “Oops!…AI Did It Again” Challenge, visit https://www.youngfutures.org/funding-challenge/.

About Young Futures

Young Futures (YF) is a nonprofit seeking to make the digital world an easier place to grow up. YF provides a social compass for teens and families navigating the tech-driven world by supporting emerging nonprofits working tirelessly to help young people and their families not just survive but flourish as a team when navigating the uncertainties of the digital wilderness. Young Futures is a project of the New Venture Fund, a 501(c)(3) public charity. Its principal sponsors include Pivotal Ventures, Susan Crown Exchange, and The Goodness Web.

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SOURCE: Young Futures

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PUB: 10/09/2025 10:00 AM/DISC: 10/09/2025 09:59 AM

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