# Youth Leadership Institute (YLI)

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## Organization facts

- **Organization:** Youth Leadership Institute (YLI)
- **Legal name:** YOUTH LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE
- **Organization type:** 501(c)(3) nonprofit
- **EIN:** 68-0184712
- **IRS 501(c)(3) ruling:** 1989
- **Headquarters:** Coachella, California
- **Primary cause:** Children & Families
- **Cause confirmed by:** organization's own category selection on its CV Giving Day profile ('Children & Family')
- **CV Giving Day status:** 2026 participant
- **Official website:** http://www.yli.org
- **Giving page:** https://www.mightycause.com/organization/Youth-Leadership-Institute

## About Youth Leadership Institute (YLI)

"I appreciate how YLI has made me feel like my opinion matters… when they gave me the opportunity of public outreach, I felt like I was heard. Also YLI has made me feel like a real artist, which I really appreciate. " — Youth participant, YLI Eastern Coachella Valley

At Youth Leadership Institute, young people realize their power by learning to use their voices to create meaningful change. Our programs support young people to identify the root causes of systemic issues in their communities and to uplift their own stories to bring about positive change.
Coachella Unincorporated was the first youth media program based in the Eastern Coachella Valley (ECV), followed by ¡Que Madre! Media in 2018. More recently, we piloted our newest Youth Trusted Messenger program which trains and empowers young people to do outreach in the ECV communities surrounding various campaigns such as Extreme Heat, Mental Health Resources, and Air Quality Awareness. Our ECV office is also a member of the ECV Pride Planning Committee.
In Fall 2025, our ECV office joined yli’s K–12 Behavioral Health Services Campaign, the organization’s largest statewide effort to advance equitable access to youth behavioral health care. Through this campaign, ECV youth leaders are trained to understand the Behavioral Health Services Act (BHSA), conduct community-based research, and advocate for policy changes that strengthen mental health services for youth at the local and state levels.
In addition, we offer workforce development opportunities, including Program Assistant and Community Health Navigator roles. The ECV serves as a career pipeline for youth participants by providing paid internships that help lead and sustain our programming.
To learn more about Youth Leadership Institute:
-Visit our website, yli.org or email info@yli.org .

## Record

- **Verified:** Identity confirmed against IRS records. Participation confirmed against CV Giving Day registration. Public information compiled from the organization's own sources. Organizations that have indicated a preference against search indexing on their CV Giving Day registration are excluded from search indexing and from this site's sitemap. A cause may come from the organization's own category selection, from its IRS classification, or from CV Giving Day review; the source is always stated on the page and in this record.
- **Participation years on record:** 2026
- **Years covered by our records:** 2025, 2026 (absence of a year does not mean the organization did not participate)
- **Last reviewed:** August 19, 2026
- **Canonical page:** https://www.cvgiving.org/nonprofits/youth-leadership-institute-yli/
- **Provided by:** Desert Community Foundation (501(c)(3), EIN 95-4725924)