Vision:

YDA is embraced as the premier organization for young people to organize within for progressive change, innovative issue campaigns and electing Democratic candidates, thus improving and leading the Democratic Party.

Mission:

Engaging young people in the Democratic Party and creating a viable and reliable voting bloc of young people that are voting for Democrats and participating in the Party and serving communities as leaders for the long term.

Core Values + Issue Stances:

As an organization that represents the under 36 generation of Democrats, we seek to engage young people in the Democratic Party. Our values and stances on critical issues ranging from health care to minimum wage are outlined in our Platform which is debated and adopted every two years at our National Convention. It is available in full text below and on our Member Only Site in pdf format.

Goals:

YDA’s has various programs we implement on a national, state and local level. The two key ones that are part of the Chapter Revolution are our chapter building program called “2006 in 2006” and our peer-to-peer campaign program called the “Alliance.” Both programs are meant to serve as catalysts of action for chapters and to give our leaders meaningful permanent programs they can implement on a state and local level in order to engage more members and build a bloc of young voters for Democrats.

All of our programs seek to build the youth-base for Democratic politics, provide hands-on and intensive training of the under 36 generation and secure a progressive Democratic agenda for the next 40 years.

In the last two years, YDA has begun to transition from serving as a social network, developing leaders and serving as the volunteer and staff backbone for campaigns to focusing on two major areas—building strong local chapters and a solid voting bloc of Democratic young people. Read more about our Chapter Revolution and the Alliance Campaigns.

YDA Platform 2009-2011: Vision, Values and Ideas for a Strong America

On August 8, 2009 at our National Convention, the Young Democrats of America formally adopted the YDA Platform, a set of values and priority issues representing a bold vision for our nation from Democratic young people under the age of 36.

You can read the full platform here.