Marin 9 to 25 Charter

Vision

Marin 9 to 25 is an action-oriented collective of Marin County youth and adults dedicated to realizing positive and equitable outcomes for youth ages 9 to 25.

Mission

Marin 9 to 25’s aim is to ensure that all young people in Marin County can meet their physical, mental and social health needs.

Values

Shared Agenda: Participants share the same vision, problem statement and approach.
Accessibility and Equity: Marin 9 to 25 accounts for cultural diversity, languages and disabilities in program design and implementation.
Coordinated Activities and Communications: Participants coordinate and collaborate on project activities, promoted by clear and concise communications.
Aligned and Equitable Understanding of Youth Needs and Measurement: Participants work to identify youth needs and set agreed-upon common metrics for measuring our programs’ impact.
Youth Empowerment: Marin 9 to 25 centers youth voice to guide and inform the work and supports youth in positions of genuine leadership.
Ongoing community collaboration: Community leaders serve as the backbone for Marin 9 to 25 sustainability, with youth as key partners.

Organizational Model

The Collaborative

Overview

The Marin 9 to 25 Collaborative brings together stakeholders that represent the diversity of Marin County and serve as a forum to share ideas, issues and opportunities relating to the well-being of Marin youth.

Description

Quarterly Collaborative meetings allow members to discuss youth needs, forge relationships, and share the work being done across the county. Meetings also provide the opportunity to hear directly from youth regarding initiatives and topics of interest. The collaborative gives input to the annual plan and priorities. Members of the collaborative determine workgroup subject areas and track outcomes.

Composition

The aim is for at least 50% of the Collaborative to be youth members. Key partners are identified to ensure that youth representation is equitable and represents the diversity of our county’s youth. Youth leadership groups within the county are represented in Marin 9 to 25, and the collaborative facilitates partnerships among these groups. An evaluation of youth participation will be included as a metric for success.

Characteristics of organizations in the Collaborative include:

Outsized impact on youth well being
Represent an underserved community
Demonstrated clear success in engaging with or impacting youth (e.g. youth programming)
Work toward equity and diversity
Representative of community served (geography, demographics)

Leadership

Collaborative leadership is made up of one adult lead and one or more youth co-leads for a one-year term.

Co-leads help set the meeting agendas and lead collaborative meetings
Co-leads are responsible for nominating their replacement(s) before the end of their term to the Advisory Team for approval
Youth co-lead(s) also serve as Find Your Way lead(s)

Role of Collaborative

Meet quarterly to foster connection, share activities, and meet objectives
Join projects or workgroups of interest
Provide feedback through surveys and targeted discussions to inform and advance the work of Marin 9 to 25

Budget

The budget is approved annually, in alignment with the county fiscal year.
The backbone staff reviews the budget monthly as a standard agenda item.

Workgroups

Work Groups are action-oriented temporary committees created by the Collaborative and backbone staff to ensure progress is made on specific collective impact projects.

Not meant to be permanent, rather they are intended to address an identified issue by facilitating collaboration between stakeholders.
Composition to be dependent on the project and made up of stakeholders from the collaborative.

Meeting Cadence

The Collaborative meets quarterly.

Find Your Way

Marin 9 to 25 encompasses a youth-developed youth-led wellness program, Find Your Way, aligned with the collaborative’s overall goals and purpose.

Vision

To create a supportive and equitable community where all Marin County youth can lead happy, healthy, and fulfilling lives.

Mission

Find Your Way aims to connect young people to accessible resources and drive wellness initiatives made for youth by youth.

Values

Youth Empowerment, Collaboration, Accessibility, and Equity.

Description

Marin County youth developed the Find Your Way (FYW) program as the youth arm of Marin 9 to 25. Find Your Way actively works towards improving physical, mental and social health of young people through promotion of accessible resources, opportunities for civic engagement and connection among peers. The Youth Visioning Group sets the agenda for Marin 9 to 25 and Find Your way.

Composition

Find Your Way is composed of Marin youth ranging in ages between 14-25, representing all school districts, and representative of diverse genders, sexual orientation, cultures, and languages spoken. Find Your Way is open to all youth and offers a scholarship program for those involved or wanting to get involved in a community initiative and connect with other young people.

Leadership

Youth Visioning leadership is made up of one or more youth co-leads for a one-year term (and also serves as co-leads of Marin 9 to 25 and members of Advisory team). .

Co-leads set agendas for bi-weekly Youth Visioning meetings and work with members to plan calendar for the year

Co-leads are responsible for determining their replacement(s) before the end of their term working in partnership with backbone staff and advisory team

A $500 stipend is provided to lead(s) for the length of their term under the Find Your Way Scholarship program.

Role of Find Your Way

To promote connection among youth and youth-serving organizations in Marin

To provide opportunities for involvement through participation in community initiatives

To provide framework for peer to peer engagement and resource sharing

To compensate young people for their contributions

Youth Projects:

Youth are involved in community activities and county initiatives in partnership with County departments and other agencies and organizations. Projects areas include: mental health and wellness, social justice, education, and overdose prevention.

Projects are youth-driven and supported by backbone team and partners.

Meeting Cadence

Find Your Way Youth Visioning meets bi-weekly. Find Your Way scholarship youth are encouraged to come to several in-person events throughout the year.

Program Advisors and Backbone Staff

Role

Program advisors and the backbone staff represent a cross-section of community/county leadership (both youth and adult). Staff are contracted to facilitate the successful coordination of the Marin 9 to 25 collaborative.

Description

Program advisors are responsible for setting priorities and developing an annual strategic plan. In addition, Program advisors are available to address program issues and manage risks. Program advisor(s) also have fiscal oversight and manage the program budget.

Backbone staff are responsible for setting meeting agenda for working groups, the Advisory Committee and the Steering Committee. They are essential to Marin 9 to 25’s work as they facilitate collaboration between members through working groups and work to connect the dots between organizations. The backbone staff leads the effort for grant-seeking and grant-writing, which may lead to workgroup(s) dedicated to a particular grant request.

Composition

Current Advisors: