The National Guard Youth Foundation (NGYF) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization formed to support the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program.

Fast Facts

• The National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program is an intervention program for at-risk youth consisting of a 22-week Residential Phase followed by a 12-month Post-Residential Mentoring Phase.
• The Residential Phase, set in a quasi-military environment, focuses on basic lifestyle changes approached through a rigorous program of education, training and service to the community.
• During the Post-Residential Phase, graduates are mentored by a caring adult who is a consistent and positive role model who works with the graduate to sustain his or her new positive lifestyle changes.
• ChalleNGe is administered by the National Guard Bureau (NGB) on behalf of the Department of Defense (DoD).
• There are 33 program sites located in 27 states and the territory of Puerto Rico.
• To qualify for ChalleNGe, applicants must be drug-free high school dropouts between 16 and 18 years of age.
• On a daily per capita basis, ChalleNGe is
  85% less expensive than High School
  320% less expensive than Job Corps
  433% less expensive than Juvenile Corrections
  600% less expensive than Adult Corrections
  660% less expensive than Private Military-style Programs
• ChalleNGe programs graduated 7,003 Corpsmembers for the current reporting period.
• Graduating Corpsmembers improved 1.7 grade levels in reading and 1.8 grade levels in math during the 22-week Residential Phase.
• Seventy percent of graduated Corpsmembers were awarded GED's, nearly double the 41% average pass rate for the same age group in reporting Adult Education programs
• Communities surrounding ChalleNGe facilities received the benefit of 590,665 hours of volunteer service to the community. This represents a value of $3,041,925 based on the Federal minimum wage.
• The ChalleNGe program's unique Friendly-Match Mentor model for all graduates has demonstrable benefits over conventional Stranger-Match mentoring models.

            Learn More

The NGYF launched a national public awareness campaign to educate the public, media, Congress, educators and corporations about the ChalleNGe's positive impact on at-risk youth.

The NGYF is leading a fundraising effort to increase donations and in-kind support to provide scholarships and higher education assistance for Program graduates.

The NGYF is encouraging local officials, civic groups, businesses and individuals to participate in the award-winning mentoring component of the Youth ChalleNGe Program and support ChalleNGe students after graduation through job training opportunities and career support.