Youth Fusion/Fusion Jeunesse

About Youth Fusion/Fusion Jeunesse:

Founded in 2009 in Montreal, Youth Fusion aims to lower high school dropout rates by creating closer links between schools and the community. The charity works closely with schools, businesses and university graduates to create projects for students in 11 different fields including Arts and Culture, Environmental Design and Robotics. It reports that each week it works with 15,000 youth in over 250 schools in rural, urban and Indigenous communities.

Youth Fusion’s largest program areas in terms of spending are Leadership Projects in Inuit and First Nations Communities (34%), the Robotics Program (31%), and Healthy Living Projects (6%). Its Leadership program helps students in Aboriginal communities become role models for their peers and promote community involvement. The program is offered at 17 schools in communities from James Bay to Nunavik, and the charity reports that the project reaches 1,785 at-risk youth. Youth Fusion also offers a Robotics program through their partner, FIRST Robotics Quebec, which provides students ages 9 to 14 the opportunity to explore the world of engineering and science.

Youth Fusion’s programs are designed and run by recently-graduated university students. The students work with at-risk students between 10 and 30 hours a week for the entirety of the school year. The charity states that it works with businesses operating in industries tied to the projects, bringing in employees as mentors and presenting opportunities in the industry to students.

Charity Intelligence has reviewed Youth Fusion since 2011 and found it to be a consistently high-rated charity delivering high charity impact. Youth Fusion is of interest to donors looking to support at-risk youth graduating from high school and education for Canada's First Nation youth.

Results and Impact: Youth Fusion reported that their Healthy Living project has made 84% of Aboriginal youth believe they are more active and healthier. It also reported that 75% of their FIRST Robotics graduates have found jobs in a field related to science, technology or math. Charity Intelligence gave Youth Fusion an impact rating of Fair for proven impact per dollar (see impact grid on the bottom right).

Financial Review:

Youth Fusion is considered a medium-sized charity with donations of $4.2m in F2017. Its fundraising and administrative costs together represent 15% of donations. For every dollar donated to the charity, $0.85 goes towards the cause. This falls within Ci’s reasonable range. Youth Fusion has funding reserves of $1.0m which can cover less than 3 months of program costs, indicating a need for donations.

This charity report is an update that has been sent to Youth Fusion for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated May 14, 2018 by Derek Houlberg.