Looking Ahead: The Next Phase of the California Men’s Service Challenge
Executive Summary
Improve Your Tomorrow (IYT) is working to sustain and deepen the impact of the California Men's Service Challenge (CAMSC) for young men of color across California, even beyond the timeline of the challenge. Federal cuts to AmeriCorps funding have massively reduced support for programs like ours across the US, even as demand for this work continues to grow.
The Challenge: Sustaining Impact Amid Federal Cuts
Nonprofits nationwide are absorbing significant reductions in federal support, particularly funding streams tied to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Organizations like IYT, created to serve historically underserved communities, were among the first and most significantly affected. Our organization alone lost $6 million in AmeriCorps funding. These cuts widen the gap between the staffing capacity available and the level of direct-service programming needed to meet the growing demand among young men of color.
Maintaining and sustaining the current work, not expanding, is our immediate priority. In short, our next phase will focus on keeping existing service levels intact, while strengthening the operational capacity needed to grow steadily and responsibly.
Why IYT: The Importance of Investing
We offer what those in the broader field cannot easily replace: years of outcome data tied specifically to young men of color, a highly successful mentoring model, and the infrastructure to run College Access and College Completion programming as a single continuum rather than two disconnected programs. The bottom line: our programming is already producing results.
We focus on students with the greatest need. IYT programming specifically serves young men of color who are off track to graduate from high school or attend college. Many enter the program with a GPA below 2.0, a history of chronic absenteeism, or behavioral incidents that place them at greater risk of disengaging from school.
Proven Results: 99% high school graduation rate vs. 81.75% statewide average for Black and Hispanic students; 86% postsecondary enrollment.
A Sense of Belonging: 90% of IYT members agree that “IYT is a place where I can be my true self.”
Instilling Self-Confidence: 90% agree that participating in IYT increased their confidence in themselves, their ability to do well in school, and their confidence in going to college.
Statewide Footprint: An established presence across the Sacramento, Central Valley, and Bay Area regions.
A Full Pipeline: Continuous support from College Access (6th - 12th grade) through College Completion.
A Proven Partner: An active CAMSC grantee with a multi-year track record of delivering on state and federal investment.
The Opportunity: Investing Beyond the Grant
For any organization to have meaningful, lasting impact, there must be sustained investment in the infrastructure and operations supporting their work. This is what positions an organization for success, and enables them to continue fueling positive change in California communities for years to come, well beyond any single grant or funding program.
For IYT, that infrastructure is the shared-service backbone that never appears on a mentoring schedule but makes every mentoring relationship possible:
Research and evaluation staff who keep outcome data credible
Communications experts who drive visibility for the work
Finance teams who ensure resources are managed responsibly and sustainably
Anchoring it all is the vision and leadership of IYT's executive team, who determine the strategy that connects each element and ensures programming is sustained well beyond any single funding cycle.
By fiscal year 2028-2029, we projects total students served in California growing from roughly 4,700 to over 6,000, an increase of nearly +29%.
Conclusion
IYT programming wasn’t created to simply fill a gap in the short term. We're investing in the foundation; strengthening the infrastructure to deepen impact for young men of color across California, both immediately and in the long run.
Our next phase represents an investment not in a single grant cycle, but in the durable infrastructure that enables this vital work to continue for generations across California.
Would you like to learn more about how you can support IYT and help us support young men of color? Hit the link below!