Advancing Freedom From Coast to Coast

By Young America’s Foundation Staff

In his prescient 1989 farewell address from the Oval Office, President Ronald Reagan told the nation, “Younger parents aren’t sure that an unambivalent appreciation of America is the right thing to teach modern children… Our spirit is back, but we haven’t reinstitutionalized it.” Since its founding in 1961—by a group of young conservatives at the Sharon, Connecticut, home of William F. Buckley, Jr.—YAF has diligently sought to “reinstitutionalize” the spirit of patriotism by teaching the ideas of individual freedom, a strong national defense, free enterprise, and traditional values to increasing numbers of young people in every part of the country.

Unique among conservative youth organizations, YAF has ensured permanence to its mission by preserving and protecting key physical assets across America.

In 1998, YAF took the bold step of saving the Reagan Ranch—President Ronald Reagan’s Western White House in the Santa Ynez Mountains—for the benefit of the nation’s young people. The Foundation subsequently established the 22,000 square-foot Reagan Ranch Center as a “Schoolhouse for Reaganism” in downtown Santa Barbara, offering dynamic, interactive exhibits, a library of conservative resources, and dedicated conference space. Together, the facilities serve as the premier site in the country to educate and inspire young

YAF’s William & Berniece Grewcock Capitol Hill Townhouse provides an ideal meeting space for Foundation students, alumni, supporters, and conservative leaders in the nation’s capital.

conservatives with Reagan’s freedom philosophy (see page 20). In 2014, we relocated YAF’s Northern Virginia headquarters to a new and expanded 20,000 square-foot location, which has proven beneficial to the organization’s efforts to host larger and more frequent student programs. These include the National Journalism Center’s internship program, Center for (Continued on page 18)

Young America’s Foundation

Inspiring Young People Nationwide

With campuses on the East Coast, the West Coast, and now the Midwest, Young America’s Foundation is reaching more young people across the country than ever before with the timeless ideas of individual freedom, a strong national defense, free enterprise, and traditional values.

YAF President Governor Scott Walker hosts students for a memorable tour of the Reagan Ranch during the Foundation’s High School Conference in March 2022.

(Continued from page 15) Entrepreneurship & Free Enterprise’s student conferences, Activism Training Seminars for YAF’s campus chapter leaders, and more.

Soon thereafter, YAF established a permanent presence in Washington, D.C., in 2018 by acquiring the William & Berniece Grewcock Capitol Hill Townhouse—located steps from United States Senate and House office buildings. The property provides an ideal meeting space for Foundation students, alumni, supporters, and allies in Congress and the White House. The prime location also allows the Foundation to expand its reach to the thousands of young people who live and work in the nation’s capital throughout the year.

YAF’s presence in Washington, D.C., however, began with the inaugural National Conservative Student Conference in 1979. This annual conference—along with YAF’s other programs at its physical sites and various regional locations (see page 31), has brought together young people from colleges, high schools, and middle schools nationwide to meet and hear from the leading conservatives of the day.

Most recently, in 2020, YAF acquired the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home (see pages 24 and 28), guaranteeing that another key Reagan site is neither lost to history nor dependent on taxpayer dollars. Instead, YAF’s preservation of the Boyhood Home ensures that our 40th President’s character and values— formed in his hometown of Dixon, Illinois—inspire future generations.

Importantly, the Boyhood Home establishes a permanent beachhead for YAF in the Midwest, complementing our facilities on both coasts. This latest addition further cements YAF as the only truly national conservative youth organization.

More than mere event spaces, YAF’s venues serve as training grounds for future conservative leaders, bringing together the brightest students for educational conferences, indelible experiences at premier Presidential properties, and camaraderie with likeminded peers. Today’s leaders who came through YAF’s doors in years past represent the life-changing impact of YAF’s programs.

New York Times bestselling author Peter Schweizer got his start in the Conservative Movement by attending the National Conservative Student Conference in 1982 (see page 10). Fox News Host Greg Gutfeld participated in the National Journalism Center’s internship program in 1987 on his path to media stardom. Breitbart Editor Alex Marlow launched his career after meeting Andrew Breitbart during a YAF program in 2007 at the Reagan Ranch Center. Similarly, journalist Katie Pavlich was inspired to pursue a career in media after attending the West Coast Leadership Conference at the Reagan Ranch in 2007.

In addition to operating physical sites across the country, YAF has, since 1991, organized the nation’s leading campus

lecture program—reaching millions of American students in person and online. Great conservatives, including Ronald Reagan, William F. Buckley, Jr., Margaret Thatcher, Clarence Thomas, Jack Kemp, Jeane Kirkpatrick, Ed Meese III, and Milton Friedman, boldly took the conservative message to young people nationwide in the lecture program’s early years.

Today’s most articulate advocates of freedom—Ben Shapiro, Michael Knowles, Mike Pence, Ted Cruz, Arthur Laffer, and Kellyanne Conway, among others—also partner with YAF to inspire students on campuses. This April alone, the Foundation hosted 25 campus lectures across 13 states. Just two of Shapiro’s exclusive YAF lectures at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Iowa State University reached more than 4,500 attendees in person and millions of online viewers.

YAF’s lectures, along with campus initiatives and Young Americans for Freedom chapters—the Foundation’s chapter affiliate—have provided the organization with a presence on more than 2,000 four-year college campuses and hundreds of high schools.

To maximize the reach of its programs and physical venues, YAF continues to invest in its digital properties. Since 2007, the annual viewership of YAFTV (Youtube.com/ YAFTV)—the organization’s YouTube channel—has grown by more than 1,580,000 percent, from roughly 20,000 to 316 million views. YAF now has the most popular YouTube channel for young conservatives, with more than 700,000 subscribers (see page 9).

Contrary to media reports and claims from leftist activists about the rising popularity of socialism and antiAmericanism among young people, this exponential growth in demand for Young America’s Foundation’s programs and resources demonstrates that students in every region of the country are more eager and willing to hear conservative ideas than ever before.

In the years ahead, YAF—through its Long Game plan launched in 2021 (YAF.org/LongGame)—seeks to dramatically grow its nationwide reach and impact. With the involvement of courageous young people, conservative leaders and allies, and generous and patriotic supporters, YAF plans to establish a conservative presence at more than 4,000 colleges nationwide, sponsor campus lectures in all 50 states, and grow the scale and number of our student conferences across the country.

As YAF President Governor Scott Walker remarked,

High schoolers gather in front of the Reagan Ranch Center in downtown Santa Barbara during a YAF conference in 2021.

More than 2,700 students and community members attend YAF’s exclusive campus lecture featuring Ben Shapiro at Iowa State University in early 2022.

The Long Game is the way we win not only the battle, but also the war. It’s investing in our children’s children. It is about persisting for the cause of freedom and what we know to be true and right. This plan will help ensure future generations of Americans pass on the same love of country and freedom which our parents and our grandparents shared with you and me.