Equipping equity-driven leaders since 2016

About Moonshot

We believe the people closest to the challenge hold the solution

Moonshot was founded in 2016 to support local leaders transforming Colorado’s youth-serving systems.

Our community includes educators, organizers, and innovators who share one goal: building pathways for young people to thrive.

We connect our leaders with the tools, networks, and resources they need to design programs, test innovative ideas, and build sustainable organizations.

Our Fellows and alumni have reached more than 7,300 youth since launch across schools, nonprofits, and community spaces.

Two people engaged in a conversation indoors with a brick wall. One woman is sitting at a table, writing or drawing and listening intently. The other person, a man, is standing with a microphone and smiling. Colorful doodles and abstract designs are overlaid on the image.

The future we are building

Mission

Grow a community of BIPOC & historically marginalized leaders with the skills and resources to design collaborative solutions that disrupt systemic inequities impacting youth.

Vision

Equity-driven leaders embedded in the community are cultivating systems and environments for youth on the margins to thrive.

What makes Moonshot unique?

We invest in leadership differently because sustainable change starts with people, not programs.

We invest in local, underrepresented leadership.

Working harder, faster, more efficiently with the same overrepresented leadership won’t close the opportunity gap for youth of color.

We believe it is imperative to invest in leaders who come from the communities they want to serve to ensure long-lasting, sustainable change.

We care deeply about the leaders themselves, and about their growth.

A strong solution design is necessary but insufficient. We invest equal amounts of time in the leader as we do in the design of an idea.

We co-create with youth and families.

Our Fellows have good ideas. So do their communities. We create opportunities for Moonshot Fellows to source community need and co-design their ideas with youth and families, and frequently solicit feedback from them to make ideas better.

Our theory of change

How Moonshot drives change

We believe that if we invest in growing and mobilizing a community of local, community-rooted leaders and support them with the skills, network, and resources to disrupt systemic inequities, we can transform outcomes for youth most on the margins.