SAN FRANCISCO, June 7 /PRNewswire/ -- YouthNoise, the social network for young people who want to create social change, announced today the completion of a $2.5m first round of funding from a consortium of the Omidyar Network, the Surdna Foundation, Skyline Public Works and Virgin Mobile USA. This investment in YouthNoise represents a blueprint for capitalizing high- performance non-profits in a way similar to funding for-profits.

Traditionally, non-profits are forced to fund-raise 365 days a year to meet the divergent investment cycles and criteria of donors. As a result, the time and energy that should be dedicated to achieving organizational goals is instead spent on fund-raising. By instituting a formal investment round for a non-profit, investors are providing an organization with a proven track record, such as YouthNoise, the upfront capital to achieve sustainability -- in the same way investors would fund a for-profit organization.

"Most non-profits are funded differently than for-profits, and live hand- to-mouth without the capital to sustain growth," said Omidyar Investment Manager Dena Jones Trujillo. "YouthNoise is a proven success in collaborating with sponsors to target the 200 million wired youths around the world. By funding YouthNoise like a venture deal through a formal round, and conducting the same amount of due diligence, the consortium of investors is providing YouthNoise with the upfront resources to be self-sufficient. It is how any successful organization should be funded, for-profit or not."

The first round of funding is being led by the Omidyar Network, a mission- based investment group committed to fostering individual self-empowerment on a global scale. They are joined by the Surdna Foundation, a family foundation that makes grants in the areas of environment, community revitalization, effective citizenry, the arts and the nonprofit sector, and Skyline Public Works, provider of administrative and grant making support for non-profit 501 c (3) organizations that promote civic engagement.

"YouthNoise was founded to encourage dialogue and inspire action in young people ages 16-22 to become involved in social movements they are passionate about," said YouthNoise CEO Ginger Thomson. "This funding is instrumental in re-launching http://www.youthnoise.com/ as a social networking site with 100% youth- generated content. By providing control over communications to our users, we are able to maintain the authenticity to help sponsors and partners interact with our future leaders.

With more than 113,000 registered users from all fifty U.S. states and more than 170 countries worldwide, YouthNoise boasts an average site visit of more than 10 minutes in length -- more than double the industry standard for teen Web sites. YouthNoise.com regularly logs approximately three million page views per month, which is comparable to the most popular teen Web sites. Studies have shown that YouthNoise participation has led to a 25% increase in volunteering and a 90% increase in the global awareness of users from "modestly aware" to "highly aware."

YouthNoise's Board of Directors include Sue Lehmann, director of Teach For America, Harlem Children's Zone and New Visions for Public Schools, Bill Unger, partner emeritus of the Mayfield Fund, Dena Jones Trujillo, Omidyar executive committee grants and investment manager, and Mark Jung, president and CEO of ING Entertainment, Inc.

About YouthNoise:

YouthNoise is the first youth-based social network for social change. YouthNoise is a nonpartisan, nonsectarian, nonprofit organization that brings young people ages 16-22 together to form a global network for sharing and converting their ideas into action to improve the world around them. Featuring 100% youth-generated content, http://www.youthnoise.com/ has registered more than 113,000 youth from all fifty states and more than 170 countries, and welcomes an average of 500,000 unique visitors per month. YouthNoise is based in San Francisco, CA.

Press Contact: David Barkoe RLM Public Relations (212) 741-5106 (x235) David@RLMpr.com

CONTACT: David Barkoe of RLM Public Relations, +1-212-741-5106, ext.
235, or David@RLMpr.com, for YouthNoise

Web site: http://www.youthnoise.com/