Advancing Youth Leadership
for Equality & Democracy
Supporting youth voices to advance rights, equality, and democratic change.
Why Support Youth Leadership
Across Central America, young people are organizing to defend fundamental rights and democratic values. Indigenous and Afro-descendant, women, and LGBTIQ+ youth sustain movements that challenge systemic inequality and advance a more just and inclusive region.
Yet their work is consistently underfunded and youth are excluded from decision-making spaces.
In response to these issues, SIF created the Central America Youth Fund (CAMY) Fund in 2014 to provide flexible support and trusted partnerships that strengthen youth leadership and expand space for democracy and human rights.
We amplify creative forms of activism, mobilize resources, and connect young leaders with allies who share their vision for a more equal, democratic region.
Strengthening Movements: Funding with Trust, Supporting with Care
Through CAMY Fund, SIF provides flexible, trust-based support to youth-led and intergenerational organizations across Central America. In many cases, we are the first donor to believe in a collective’s vision; in others, we remain a long-term ally walking alongside them through shifting political and social contexts.
Our approach goes beyond grants. We accompany our partners with tailored guidance and resources that strengthen their leadership and organizational capacity. From collective care and mental health support to strengthening communication strategies, we adapt to the needs of each organization to sustain their efforts.
Because challenges are stronger when met together, CAMY Fund also serves as a bridge — connecting youth leaders with peers, allies, and philanthropic partners. By creating spaces for dialogue and strategy, we help amplify youth voices and ensure their agendas for gender justice, bodily autonomy, and democracy are part of broader regional conversations.
How We Advance Youth Leadership
Flexible Funding for Rights & Equality
Provide trust-based support to youth and intergenerational groups advancing gender rights, bodily autonomy, and civic participation, with a strategic focus on Indigenous, Afro-descendant, women, and LGBTIQ+ youth.
Cross-Border Solidarity & Collaboration
Create opportunities for youth leaders and allies to connect, share strategies, and foster regional collaboration that strengthen movements and youth civic participation.
Collective Care & Adaptability
Creative & Transformative Activism
Back new and diverse forms of youth organizing—from artistic expression to digital campaigns—that shift narratives and inspire democratic participation.
Our Allies
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Youth-led collectives, grassroots networks, and organizations, ensuring resources reach groups often excluded from traditional funding
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Movements based in both rural and urban areas
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Transgender
Indigenous, Afro-descendant, women, and LGBTIQ+ youth groups
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Cheer
Intergenerational initiatives prioritizing youth leadership
Our Impact
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$6.5M+
Mobilized to support over 100 youth-led and intergenerational organizations in Central America over the past decade.
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600+
Activists strengthened their resilience and leadership through Collective Care cycles, enabling youth leaders to sustain their movements and protect civic space under hostile conditions.
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Regional convenings have united youth leaders across Central America, sparking cross-border collaborations that advanced bodily autonomy, strengthened democratic participation, and amplified youth voices.
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60+
Active partner organizations advancing rights, equality, and democratic change across Central America.
VOICES FROM THE FIELD
Insights from Our Partners
From our Allies
“With the support of the CAMY Fund, we strengthened our sisterly support to empower the voices of young women in El Salvador, in defense of autonomy over their bodies.”
Las Mélidas
El Salvador
“The CAMY Fund allows us to work collectively and flexibly, which drives our growth as an organization. Its support prioritizes the defense of democracy through civic education processes, consistent with our work defending the rights of Indigenous peoples.”
Liga Maya de Guatemala
“Working alongside the CAMY Fund is an adventure of shared purpose and creates opportunities to transform injustices. In this alliance that fills us with hope, we share our dreams: the defense of human rights, freedom of expression, and the conviction that feminist journalism is a key path to changing perceptions.”
Revista La Brújula
El Salvador
“The support of the CAMY Fund has been key to strengthening the leadership of feminist youth defending rights in complex contexts. Their backing has allowed us to train, organize, and mobilize young people, consolidate rural networks, and promote informed and stigma-free decision-making.”
Acción Joven Honduras
LATEST FROM SIF
Updates and Insights from Our Team
Learn more about our work
Partner with Us
Lasting change begins in local communities. Across Central America, young people are strengthening their organizations, sustaining movements, and amplifying their voices to defend rights and democracy. Step by step, they are building the networks and solidarity that sustain civic life and open spaces for a more inclusive democracy.
What these youth leaders need most is trust and long-term sustained support to continue this work.
Through the CAMY Fund, we provide support through flexible resources, collective care, and close accompaniment. By partnering with us, you help ensure that youth have the tools, visibility, and support they need to drive lasting democratic change in Central America.
Our CAMY Fund is supported by a growing community of philanthropic partners committed to youth leadership and democratic resilience.
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