Young America's Foundation (YAF) is a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

youth organization founded in 1969. In 2018, the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' called YAF "one of the most preeminent, influential and controversial forces in the nation's conservative youth movement." Scott Walker, former governor of Wisconsin and 2016 Republican presidential candidate, became President of YAF on February 1, 2021. Notable alumni members include

Jeff Sessions Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (born December 24, 1946) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 84th United States Attorney General from 2017 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as United Stat ...

and Stephen Miller.

History

Young America's Foundation was founded in 1969 at Vanderbilt UniversityYoung America's Foundation history
at official website. when students formed an organization called University Information Services (UIS). 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 The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC; ) is an annual political conference attended by conservative activists and elected officials from across the United States and beyond. CPAC is hosted by the American Conservative Union (ACU) ...

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. Donations, including $200,000 from orthodontist Dr Robert Ruhe, allowed YAF redeem the mortgage on the Reagan Ranch early. YAF president Ron Robinson said YAF's goal was to preserve 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 ''

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'' magazine, by 2004, there were no left-wing youth organizations as powerful as The Young America's Foundation (YAF), The Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) and

The Leadership Institute The Leadership Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Arlington, Virginia that teaches "political technology." The institute was founded in 1979 by conservative activist Morton Blackwell. Its mission is to "increase the nu ...

. The ''Time'' article noted that in surveys of incoming college students by the American Council on Education, 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 Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians. Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with onl ...

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". ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' cited more polling in 2005 to describe American college students' "renewed shift pronouncedly to the right on many defining issues", a movement it said was "fueled and often financed by an array of conservative interest groups" including Americans for Freedom, Young America's Foundation, the Leadership Institute, the

Collegiate Network The Collegiate Network (CN) is a program that provides financial and technical assistance to student editors and writers of roughly 100 independent, conservative and libertarian publications at colleges and universities around the United States. M ...

, and the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. By 2017, YAF had 250 high school and college affiliates known as Young Americans for Freedom, which was originally a separate organization. In July 2019, it was announced that former Governor of Wisconsin Scott Walker would become YAF's president in 2021. In November 2019, YAF cut ties with a long-time featured speaker, Michelle Malkin, who voiced her support for alt-right journalist, Nick Fuentes. YAF's stated mission is "ensuring that increasing numbers of young Americans understand and are inspired by the ideas of individual freedom, a strong

national defense National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military att ...

free enterprise In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...

, and traditional values."

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 Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United Stat ...

. Young America's Foundation also preserves the Ronald Reagan Ranch and his Boyhood Home, runs the National Journalism Center (NJC), 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 Ann Hart Coulter (; born December 8, 1961) is an American conservative media pundit, author, syndicated columnist, and lawyer. She became known as a media pundit in the late 1990s, appearing in print and on cable news as an outspoken critic ...

, Tim Carney, and Malcolm Gladwell.

Young Americans for Freedom

On March 16, 2011, Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) passed a National Board Resolution which resulted in the merger of two organizations into the Young America's Foundation on April 1, 2011. YAF 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 Medford Stanton Evans (July 20, 1934 – March 3, 2015), better known as M. Stanton Evans, was an American journalist, author and educator. He was the author of eight books, including '' Blacklisted by History: The Untold Story of Senator Joe M ...

, 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 "a succinct summary of the central ideas of modern American conservatism".

Funding

Donors include Pat Sajak and Amway billionaires Richard and Helen DeVos. Robert Ruhe (1929–2013), 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.

Criticism

Many of the organization's speakers, for example

Robert B. Spencer Robert Bruce Spencer (born 1962) is an American anti-Muslim author and blogger, and one of the key figures of the counter-jihad movement. His published books include two ''New York Times'' bestsellers. In 2003 he founded and has since di ...

, have been criticized for Islamophobic views and speeches.

References

External links

*
Selected publications
at ISSUU {{Coord, 38.9676, N, 77.3652, W, display=title Political organizations based in the United States Organizations established in 1969 Conservative organizations in the United States Student political organizations in the United States 501(c)(3) organizations 1969 establishments in Tennessee Political youth organizations in the United States