YouthFund
Child Safety Policy
YouthFund is designed so that the situations parents worry about do not have a chance to arise. Every session is a group session hosted by a YouthFund officer with the speaker as a second adult. There are no one-on-one meetings, no private chats, no recordings, and no exchange of personal contact details between adults and students. This policy sets out those rules so that every adult knows them, every parent can see them, and every student knows what to expect.
1. Purpose and scope
YouthFund serves high school students aged 13 and older, most of whom are under 18. YouthFund does not enroll students under 13. This policy sets the rules for every adult who takes part in YouthFund activities on its behalf, whether as a director, officer, speaker, or volunteer ("adults"). It applies to all YouthFund activities, including the Monthly Hero Talk and the ShareSquare community. Members of the Student Executive Committee who are under 18 are students for the purposes of this policy, whatever their program title.
2. Consent and registration
Students join YouthFund through the sign-up form, which collects a parent or guardian name and contact for any student under 18. A student under 18 may take part in a Hero Talk or other program only after a parent or guardian has been identified on the form. Session links are sent only to registered students and are not posted publicly.
3. Two-adult rule
No adult is ever alone with a student, online or in person.
- Every Hero Talk and every group session has at least two adults present for the full session, one of whom is a YouthFund director or officer.
- One-on-one meetings between an adult and a student do not take place. YouthFund does not offer individual advising or counseling; all guidance happens in group sessions.
- YouthFund's programs are currently online only. If YouthFund ever holds an in-person event, it takes place in a public venue with at least two adults present.
4. Online sessions
- Every Monthly Hero Talk is hosted and moderated by YouthFund's founder, Ariel Zhu, with the guest speaker as the second adult. Talks are whole-group sessions; YouthFund does not use breakout rooms.
- Sessions run on YouthFund's own video account, with a waiting room, host-controlled admission, and private chat between participants disabled.
- Sessions are not recorded, and screenshots of students are not taken or shared.
- The host may remove any participant and end any session at any time.
5. Communication with students
- Adults communicate with students only through YouthFund channels: the hello@youth-fund.org address, the official group channels, or the ShareSquare platform. A YouthFund director or officer is copied on any adult-to-student email.
- Adults do not exchange personal contact details or social media connections with students, and do not arrange to meet or message students outside YouthFund.
6. Speakers, mentors, and volunteers
Hero Talk speakers are invited guests who join a hosted group session under the two-adult rule; they are not given student contact information and have no contact with students outside the session. If YouthFund ever introduces ongoing roles that involve regular contact with students, such as mentors or volunteers, those adults are screened in line with standard youth-program practice and agree to this policy before they begin.
7. Photos, names, and student work
YouthFund does not publish a student's photo, full name, school, or personal story without written consent from the student and, for students under 18, a parent or guardian. Consent can be withdrawn at any time. Featured initiatives on the website are described with the information the student team has approved for publication.
8. Reporting concerns
If anyone, including a student or parent, is uneasy about something they saw or heard in a YouthFund setting, they should tell the Board Chair (Ariel Zhu, hello@youth-fund.org), or any other director if the concern involves the Chair. You do not need to be certain, and no one is ever penalized for raising a concern in good faith. We look into every report, keep a record, and involve the parent or guardian. Where a student's safety may be at risk, we contact the appropriate authorities, and anyone is always free to do so directly; New York's child protection hotline is 1-800-342-3720.
Community norms such as the Chatham House Rule (see YouthFund Community Rules) do not limit the reporting duties in this section.
9. Breaking the rules
An adult who breaks a rule in this policy is spoken to and the incident is recorded. A serious or repeated breach means the adult no longer takes part in student-facing activities. Any concern involving a student's safety goes to the full Board and, where the law or the student's safety requires it, to the authorities.
10. Review and updates
The Board reviews this policy every year and whenever YouthFund adds a new kind of activity. Changes are approved by the Board, posted at youth-fund.org with a revised date, and emailed to registered students and their parents or guardians. Adults in ongoing student-facing roles agree to the current version before taking part.
11. About this policy
This policy sets the standards YouthFund holds itself and every adult to, and we follow it in good faith. Where it and the law differ, we follow whichever protects students more; where two of its rules seem to conflict, the one that better protects students applies. It follows New York law, and if any part is ever found invalid, the rest still applies. It does not limit any right a student or parent has under law.