At DC Action, we know the District’s young people can accomplish anything when they have a fair chance.

And we also know how much stands in their way -- particularly our young people most affected by poverty and racism. These are powerful injustices, and they must be met with an equally powerful response. 

So in early 2020, DC Action for Children merged with DC Alliance of Youth Advocates (DCAYA) to form DC Action. Leveraging the strengths of each organization, DC Action aims to unite all those fighting on behalf of the District’s children and youth to pursue a single, shared vision for what it looks like to grow up in our city. Because, while childhood exists on a continuum from birth to adulthood, the systems, programs and organizations designed to support our children and youth are too often fragmented by age. Together with our young people, parents and community partners, we’re advocating with one voice for public policies that support our young people at every step from early childhood to early adulthood.

Over the past months, the DC Action team has worked to define our mission, vision, and strategic goals, as well as craft a brand identity that reflects what we do and stand for. As the threat to our children and youth grew exponentially with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, our resolve grew right along with it. Because the challenges we most need to solve are often the most difficult. Through hours of strategic planning, difficult discussion and soul searching, together our team built an organization and brand that reflect our dedication to dismantle injustice, and help build opportunity for all of the District’s children and youth.

We are grateful to our many partners who participated in the process. It is with great joy and pride that I share with you our plans for DC Action’s next phase. On behalf of the entire DC Action Board of Directors and staff, I invite you to reach out, learn more, and join us in our mission to ensure that all of our children and youth grow up safe, resilient, powerful, and heard.

Our Focus

As we pursue our ultimate vision of a city where all children and youth grow up safe, resilient, powerful and heard, we must make some intentional choices about precisely where we focus our attention and resources. We have identified our expertise in research and data analysis, community engagement, and advocacy narratives as key assets that must remain core to our work. Over the next five years, we will leverage these assets, on a phased journey to realize our ultimate strategic aim:

Our Name and Tagline

We chose to maintain DC Action in our name to reflect our orientation toward “doing.” Because when the solutions are clear, we have an urgent responsibility to act on them. Racism is an injustice that should not be allowed to persist another day. We concurrently eliminated “for Children” from our name to incorporate our broadened age focus, which now spans early childhood to early adulthood. Our tagline “One Voice. One Future” reflects our belief that those fighting on behalf of the District’s children and youth are stronger, louder and more effective when working together. And, whether our policies are focused on helping a toddler learn her letters or a young man pursue his professional passion, we share one goal: that all of the District's children and youth grow up safe, resilient, powerful, and heard.

Our Logo and Look

The DC Action logo is a reflection of the organization’s values and the communities we serve. The logo is constructed with a two-font lockup – a strong sans-serif paired with an energetic handwriting – creating a stylized contrast that projects the power and strength of our community’s voice. The logo evokes the community-grounded spirit of DC Action’s work, while also establishing a fresh and unique look-and-feel for this new entity. At DC Action, we speak truth to power, and give voice to those previously unheard, and the new DC Action logo serves as a reminder of that promise. The bright, diverse and energetic colors in our palette were carefully selected to reinforce our orientation toward action and forward momentum.