Initiative Aims to Scale Innovative Solutions That Harness the Power of Digital Play for Pre-Teens and Teens, Fostering Creativity, Connection, and Agency.
NEW YORK, April 23, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Young Futures, in partnership with the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop and supported by Niantic, Pivotal Ventures and Susan Crown Exchange, is proud to launch a funding initiative designed to scale innovative solutions that promote the wellbeing of pre-teens and teens through digital play and gaming.
The Here Comes the Fun Challenge seeks to bridge this gap by funding solutions that intentionally design and build digital experiences—such as games, apps, and virtual worlds—to meet youth where they are and to prioritize their wellbeing.
Play is a universal human experience that fosters creativity, social connection, and emotional resilience. While play is widely recognized as essential for young children, it's often deprioritized for pre-teens and teens, despite being just as critical for their development, mental health, and sense of belonging. Yet, as today's youth grow up in an increasingly demanding world, the opportunities for unstructured, imaginative play are vanishing when they need them most. Simultaneously, adolescents are having to navigate all of these demands in an increasingly digital world.
"Play is not just a luxury; it's a necessity for healthy development," said Katya Hancock, CEO of Young Futures. "In a world where some pre-teens and teens are overscheduled and overwhelmed, digital play offers a unique opportunity to reclaim joy, creativity, and connection. This challenge is about meeting young people where they are and creating digital experiences that prioritize their wellbeing."
The challenge builds on research showing that digital play can have profound benefits for adolescents, including fostering a sense of belonging, improving emotional regulation, and encouraging creative expression. Examples of eligible solutions include games, frameworks for designing playful digital experiences, and programs that promote inclusivity and intergenerational learning through play.
"Digital play is simply play—it's not a separate category," said Michael Preston, Executive Director of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop. "And, when designed well, digital experiences can amplify the best aspects of play, supporting young people's agency, creativity, and social connections. This challenge invites us to reimagine digital spaces as environments with the potential to enhance adolescent wellbeing."
Research from the Responsible Innovation in Technology for Children (RITEC) initiative underscores the potential of digital play to enhance wellbeing. A global study of 787 children across 18 countries found that digital games can help young people experience a sense of control, freedom of choice, mastery, emotional regulation, and social connection. Additionally, world-building games like Minecraft, which allow user-generated content, have become spaces where Generation Alpha actively shapes virtual worlds, marking a significant shift in how young people engage with play.
"At Niantic, we believe in using tech thoughtfully to bring people together and create meaningful connections," said Yennie Solheim, Director of Social Impact at Niantic. "This challenge is an opportunity to explore how digital play can foster wellbeing and community for young people, helping them thrive in both virtual and physical worlds."
Grant recipients, known as Young Futures Innovators, will join the Young Futures Academy, a five-month program designed to help scale their impact through funding, mentorship, and leadership development. The program includes an all-expenses-paid retreat, Masterclasses, and a virtual Showcase to present their solutions to funders and partners.
"The Here Comes the Fun Challenge is about more than funding—it's about fostering this ever-growing and thriving community of innovators," said Kevin Connors, Managing Director at Susan Crown Exchange. "By joining the Young Futures Academy, innovators will become part of a dynamic community where they can learn from experts, connect with mentors, collaborate with peers, and access the tools they need to scale their impact. Together, we're creating a support system that empowers these leaders to reimagine digital play as a force for connection, creativity, and resilience in young people's lives."
Key Dates:
- Application Period: April 23 – May 9, 2025
- Prospective Applicant Info Session: May 1, 2025
- YF Innovators Announced: September 2025 - October 2025
- YF Academy Programming: October 2025 – February 2026
For more information or to apply, visit https://www.youngfutures.org/funding-challenge/.
About Young Futures
Young Futures (YF) is a nonprofit seeking to make the digital world an easier place to grow up. YF provides a social compass for teens and families navigating the tech-driven world by supporting emerging nonprofits working tirelessly to help young people and their families not just survive but flourish as a team when navigating the uncertainties of the digital wilderness. Young Futures is a project of the New Venture Fund, a 501(c)(3) public charity. Its principal sponsors include Pivotal Ventures, Susan Crown Exchange, and The Goodness Web.
About the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop
Named after Sesame Street's visionary co-founder, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center is an independent research and innovation lab within Sesame Workshop dedicated to shaping a positive digital future for children. The Center conducts cutting-edge research on emerging technologies, partners with industry leaders, academics, and educators to translate insights into action, and works closely with policymakers and investors to drive meaningful conversations and decisions. By actively involving children and young people in co-designing the tools that they use, the Center ensures that innovations enhance both learning and well-being—ultimately empowering children to thrive in the digital world.
About Niantic
Niantic is building a global-scale augmented reality platform that will power the next generation of computing experiences in the real world. Born out of the Maps team at Google, Niantic created Pokémon GO, a cultural phenomenon. Its latest games include Monster Hunter Now and Peridot. Niantic's tech platform enables developers to build their own applications using its location-based and AR technology, either through Unite or directly through the web. Niantic players explored more than 38 billion kilometers. To read more about what Niantic is up to next, check out their recent announcement here.
Media Contact
Brooke Messaye, Young Futures, 1 3232406653, [email protected], youngfutures.org
SOURCE Young Futures
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