Aspen Institute and Bezos Family Foundation Announce Historic Commitment to Young People with the Founding of the “Center for Rising Generations at the Aspen Institute”
13 Agosto 2024 - 11:00AM
Washington, DC, August 13, 2024 – The Aspen Institute and
the Bezos Family Foundation today announced the founding of the
Center for Rising Generations at the Aspen Institute.
Through a historic investment of $185.7 million, $175 million of
which will establish a permanent endowment alongside $10.7 million
to support initial operational costs, the Center will exist in
perpetuity as a resource for youth and young adults, as well as
those who support their development and leadership.
The Center will be led by the nationally recognized education
leader Kaya Henderson, the former Chancellor of
Washington, DC’s Public Schools and Founder and CEO of the
education technology company Reconstruction, who will also serve as
an Executive Vice President of the Aspen Institute. In service of
the Aspen Institute’s purpose and mission, the Center’s vision is
for civil dialogue, civic engagement, and leadership development to
become an integral part of the journey to adulthood for young
people in the United States and around the world.
“As a Fellow and former trustee of the Aspen Institute, I have
witnessed its commitment to enriching the lives of young people of
all backgrounds,” said Kaya Henderson. “Every young person
has the potential to be an active participant and leader in their
community and beyond. This extraordinary investment from the Bezos
Family Foundation will enable the Aspen Institute to use our many
assets and relationships in service of this vision of including,
engaging, equipping, and empowering the young, and I am delighted
to lead this work, building on the Institute’s 75 years of
promoting civil dialogue and leadership development.”
The establishment of the Center for Rising Generations reflects
the shared commitment of the Aspen Institute and the Bezos Family
Foundation to support young people and facilitate intergenerational
dialogue. The Aspen Institute’s 2023 strategic plan identifies this
emphasis as a major priority and the Institute has long invested in
the leadership of young people by strengthening their skills,
amplifying their voices, and connecting them to opportunities. The
Center’s primary activities will include:
- Enhancing the Aspen Institute’s existing portfolio of programs
that serve young people and enabling the inclusion of young people
in more Institute programs and offerings;
- Convening experts and building a global community of practice
focused on the civic engagement and leadership development of young
people; and
- Supporting the development of promising new initiatives and
partnerships with other organizations that work with young
people.
“My wife Jackie and I are continually inspired by the
bright ideas and hope that young people bring for our collective
future,” said Mike Bezos, Co-Founder of the Bezos Family
Foundation and Aspen Institute trustee. “Supporting the leadership,
passion, and creativity of young minds to enact change today has
been at the heart of the Foundation, and for two decades, we’ve
worked side-by-side with the Aspen Institute to support new
programs and platforms for young people to put their education into
action. With the Aspen Institute’s strong values-based leadership
and expertise, and with renowned global education leader Kaya
Henderson at the helm, we are confident the Center for Rising
Generations will exponentially expand opportunities for our rising
generations, bringing their voices to the forefront to shape our
world for the better.”
“This unprecedented investment from the Bezos Family Foundation
is the largest gift ever made to the Aspen Institute. It will
transform our ability to help young people reach their full
potential—with all the benefits that brings to society as a
whole—and we look forward to establishing new partnerships with all
who seek to tap the dreams and talents of our rising generations,”
said Dan Porterfield, President and CEO of the Aspen
Institute. “We are deeply grateful to Mike and Jackie Bezos and the
entire Foundation for their vision and confidence, and know that
Kaya Henderson is the ideal leader to launch this new
undertaking.”
“The Center for Rising Generations is the first endowed center
of its kind, and it addresses a critical need in today’s world. Our
young people are not just the leaders of tomorrow; they’re leading
today, and it’s crucial that we increase our investment in their
potential,” said Dr. John Deasy, President of the Bezos
Family Foundation. “With the Center, we move closer to ensuring
that civil dialogue, civic engagement, and leadership development
become a predictable and integral part of every young person’s
educational experience.”
“Engaging, learning from, and investing in rising generations is
one of the Aspen Institute’s major priorities in our new five-year
strategic plan,” said Margot Pritzker, Chair of the Aspen
Institute Board of Trustees. “The Center for Rising Generations
brings this commitment to life and will enable us to serve as a
go-to partner to support young people on their leadership and civic
engagement journeys now and far into the future. Thank you to the
Bezos Family Foundation for making this possible.”
The Aspen Institute has many current programs that focus on
youth and young adults. These programs engage young people both
directly and indirectly and address a range of issues relevant to
rising generations. Examples of their work include providing tools
and platforms for youth to design solutions to community
challenges; enabling cultural and educational exchange among
middle-, high school-, and college-aged youth around the world;
promoting intergenerational family prosperity; supporting networks
and organizations that serve opportunity youth; and advancing best
practices and leadership within the American K-12 and higher
education systems.
The Center for Rising Generations will complement and strengthen
this distinctive portfolio and take the Aspen Institute’s current
commitment to young people to the next level. It will enable the
Institute to serve as a permanent anchor partner in the field that
supports rising generations and the systems and organizations they
rely on, ignites their leadership and civic engagement, and enables
them to use their voices and platforms with even greater effect to
create impact for their communities and the world.
The Aspen Institute will hold a public launch for the Center for
Rising Generations in 2025 and will share more information in the
months to follow.
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The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization
whose purpose is to ignite human potential to build understanding
and create new possibilities for a better world. Founded in 1949,
the Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership and action
to help solve society’s greatest challenges. It is headquartered in
Washington, D.C. and has a campus in Aspen, CO, as well as an
international network of partners. For more information, visit
www.aspeninstitute.org.
The Bezos Family Foundation is an independent, nonprofit
private Foundation founded by Mike and Jackie Bezos, who, along
with their family, serve as the Foundation’s directors. Since 2001,
the Foundation has partnered with remarkable organizations and
individuals to transform how we prepare young people from prenatal
through young adulthood to pursue their own path for success and
meaningfully contribute to society. In addition to grantmaking, the
Foundation runs two in-house programs, the Bezos Scholars Program
and Vroom. The Foundation has partnered with the Aspen Institute to
launch the Aspen Challenge and the Stevens Initiative, which offer
young people the opportunity to connect and collaborate on the
local and global issues they care about. Learn more at
bezosfamilyfoundation.org.
Jon Purves
The Aspen Institute
jon.purves@aspeninstitute.org