Olivia Allen

Olivia co-founded Children’s Funding Project with Elizabeth Gaines in 2018. After a year working together at the Forum for Youth Investment, Olivia pushed Elizabeth to spin off Children’s Funding Project and joined her on the journey from a part-time, fiscally sponsored project to the independent nonprofit it is today. Along the way, Olivia was responsible for leading core projects, co-developing the organization’s mission, vision, and theory of change, and helping to grow the team from two to 29.

In her current role, Olivia oversees Children’s Funding Project’s advocacy agenda and all work to generate and secure new public funding for children and youth at the state and local levels. This includes leading the organization’s projects to support new and existing local voter-approved children’s funds. During her time at Children’s Funding Project, Olivia has supported seven successful campaigns to establish local voter-approved children’s funds, which together generate over $150 million in dedicated public funds for children and youth annually. Additionally, Olivia oversees Children’s Funding Project’s work to support advocates for increased child and youth funding at the state level, and the organization’s work to help communities identify and take action around opportunities to secure innovative sources of additional funding. Olivia is also the director of Children’s Funding Accelerator, a nonpartisan supporter of campaigns for dedicated public funding for infants, toddlers, children, and youth and the advocacy partner of Children’s Funding Project.

Originally from Charlottesville, VA, Olivia received her Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Middlebury College in Middlebury, VT, where she developed a passion for advocacy as a Vermont-certified volunteer victim crisis counselor. Olivia brings to Children’s Funding Project her experience at the Forum for Youth Investment as well as her time at the National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice (NCMHJJ) as policy research associates, where she assisted with technical assistance for states and tribal nations focused on behavioral health and juvenile justice policy reform. Olivia now lives in Brooklyn, NY.