KIDS FIRST! News

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

The year 2025 has presented unprecedented financial challenges for KIDS FIRST! We began the year with optimism, having secured two federal grants designated to support our Film Festivals in Ukraine, Pakistan, and across the U.S.

Unfortunately, a subsequent change in administration halted the release of federal grants, a dramatic move that impacted countless nonprofits, including ours. This forced us to immediately pivot and seek sustainable, forward-looking sources of revenue.

We responded by doing what we do best: innovating for the future. We successfully formed new alliances to ensure our stability and growth:

• We partnered with a company serving 5,000+ Montessori schools nationwide to host KIDS FIRST! Film Festivals for their families. This generates funds for their schools as well as for us.
• We relaunched our podcast with iHeartMedia, creating the potential for an ongoing ad-sales revenue stream from existing content.
• We established a relationship with three AVOD channels to create a dedicated KIDS FIRST! section, splitting ad revenue 50/50 with the independent filmmakers we champion.
• We launched our ambitious year-end fundraising campaign early, starting in June.

You Are Our Success Story

Your incredible support has made the difference. We successfully reached our first goal of $15,000 at the end of August, and we are now at 98% of our second goal of $30,000!

Your donations are truly keeping KIDS FIRST! alive and well, allowing us to continue our vital work and share our unique insights into youth-focused media with hundreds of thousands of kids and families globally.

We now invite you to help us cross the finish line—and even surpass it!

Will you contribute today? Click the platform link below to make a gift in any form. If you are unable to contribute, please consider forwarding this message to someone who can help us secure our future.

Thank you for your trust and generosity. We send our love and best wishes for the holidays.

Ranny Levy, Founder and President, and the KIDS FIRST! Team

https://fundrazr.com/kidsfirst2025

The 12^th annual Giving Tuesday is Tuesday, December 3, 2024. Initiated in 2012 by Henry Timms at the 92^nd Street Y in New York City and co-founded by the United Nations Foundation, Giving Tuesday was created as a simple idea: to encourage people to do good.

This year, more than ever, KIDS FIRST! needs your support!

For 33 years, KIDS FIRST! has been encouraging young people to do good – for themselves and for others. Since 1991, we have been teaching kids critical viewing skills and to sharing their film reviews with other kids and adults. Rather give young people a list of suitable programs considered safe for them, they learn to make their own thoughtful media choices. After all, “smart kids make smart consumers.” With your support, we can continue to empower young people to make informed choices. https://fundrazr.com/kidsfirstglobal

In 2011, we launched KIDS FIRST! Film Critics program and created an opportunity for tweens and teens to have their voices heard about their take on the latest films and TV shows being released. More than 400 kids have participated in this program and, not only have they have shared their reviews with millions of parents, teachers, grandparents, and children worldwide, they have developed their career skills while doing it. Our alumni has spoken up about how their experiences as a KIDS FIRST! reporter influenced their career moves. Here are comments from two of them:

1. There are SO many positive memories I have from KIDS FIRST! My first one is when I auditioned on the DreamWorks lot and the Trolls premiere was happening that day. Seeing Ranny explain the movie and television business and hearing the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics explain how this passion changed their lives made me feel inspired, empowered and made me feel like I could achieve my dreams. Audition day changed my life and made me realize KIDS FIRST! was the key for me to discover my confidence and my true potential. (Samantha Marcus)
2. My time at KIDS FIRST! was the most influential period of my life. I joined when I was 13 with a speech impediment and no experience in the film industry. Thankfully, Ranny Levy took me under her wing. From exciting private screenings to unforgettable red carpet events, KIDS FIRST! gave me opportunities that I could only dream of. I learned how to be a professional presenter and a conscientious writer. My education at KIDS FIRST! was intensive but never patronizing because KIDS FIRST! sees the limitless potential in children and pushes them to be the best they can be.  (Keefer Blakeslee)

As Giving Tuesday approaches, we invite you to help us “Do Good” and reach millions of parents and kids looking for guidance in their media selections. Thankfully our success is due to the generous donations from supporters like you who believe in KIDS FIRST!, the work we do, and the community we impact.

We set a goal of $55,000 for our end of year campaign and broke it into two parts; the first part was to raise $25,000, which we surpassed by $5,000. For part 2, we need to raise the last $25,000 and are asking for your support. Not just you personally, but help us spread the word to your friends and family. See if your employer makes matching gifts for donations that you make. Many do. No amount is too small or too big! If everyone that receives this newsletter made a $5 donation, that would be $225,000!

Your gifts to KIDS FIRST! make a difference. You help us change lives, engage youth in career-building activities, expand the awareness of cultural understanding, environmental responsibility and gender and racial equity.

With your support, we can continue to empower young people to make informed choices, shaping a brighter future for generations to come.

Thank you for your partnership and support.

Sincerely,

The KIDS FIRST! Team

Dear Friends,

For 33 years, KIDS FIRST! has been at the forefront of empowering young people to become critical media consumers. Our programs equip kids and their parents with the tools to discern age-appropriate content and make informed choices.

@kidsfirstmedia

Help support KIDS FIRST. Make a donation at https://fundrazr.com/kidsfirst global

♬ original sound – Kidsfirstmedia

Central to our mission is the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics program. Our team of 65 dedicated young reporters, ages 9 to 22, immerse themselves in the world of film, attending press screenings, junkets, and red carpet events. They review the latest PG-13 and under-rated films, interview celebrities, and share their insights with over 5 million people through our website, social media, and partner publications.

Today, we are at a critical junction. To sustain and grow these impactful programs, we need your support. As we celebrate our 33rd anniversary, we’re asking for your help to fuel our mission. While our young reporters volunteer their time, our dedicated staff – responsible for training, coaching, editing, and promoting their work – requires financial support.

Another cornerstone of KIDS FIRST! is our Film Festival. We curate a collection of inspiring films that promote pro-social values, cultural understanding, environmental responsibility, and gender and racial equity. We have successfully co-hosted screenings with 30 venues across the USA and worldwide, including the Atlanta Children’s Film Festival, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Tallgrass Film Festival, Phoenix Film Festival, Peoria Film Festival plus partners in Ukraine, Pakistan, Uganda and India where we will reach over 500,000 youth and families in 2025.

Our goal is to cultivate a generation of informed and conscientious consumers. We measure our success not by awards, but by the positive impact we have on young lives. As we celebrate our 33rd Anniversary, we invite you to join us in shaping the future by making a donation of $33, $330, or $3300. https://fundrazr.com/kidsfirstglobal

Your donation supports:

• KIDS FIRST! Film Critics: Empowering young voices, reaching millions.
• KIDS FIRST! Film Festival: Inspiring change through film, reaching half a million.
• Education: Training the next generation of media critics and advocates.

With your support, we can continue to empower young people to make informed choices, shaping a brighter future for generations to come.

Thank you for your partnership and support.

Sincerely,

KIDS FIRST! Team

First of all, I want to thank those of you who have already donated to our campaign and I thought you might enjoy today’s alumni story and you might want to pass it on to a potential donor.  This fundraiser won’t last long and we do need your support. As much as we all love what we do here, we do need little love (and funds) to keep the operation in business.

Once a year we ask for support for our year-end campaign. And it’s that time once again. A little goes a long way here so please know that your contribution, no matter how small or how big, will be put to good use.  

Today I have another alumni story to share with you and believe you will find it as inspiring as I have. Harmony Makhfi was a KIDS FIRST! reporter 11 years ago and is now a happy neuroscientist. Here’s her story.

KIDS FIRST! changed my life for the better. I began my time there at the age of 14 and am now 25. I have nothing but great things to say about my time at KIDS FIRST! Through my experience, I developed skills that have truly propelled me in my career as an adult. Looking back at the content I produced (at what now seems like such a young age) makes me really proud. Analyzing media in the way we did really gave me a unique, mature perspective on media – and I am so proud to have that skill set. It has given me a lens to view the world with much more intention. Being a KIDS FIRST! Film Critic allowed me to explore my passion for movies, express my opinions, and engage with a vibrant community of film lovers. Through analyzing and reviewing films, I developed a deeper understanding of storytelling, cinematography, and the power of visual art. 

The structure of the organization is amazing…managing a bunch of kids is no easy feat! I had such an amazing time going to advanced screenings, writing and filming professional reviews, and practicing my public speaking on the recurring radio shows. For children, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to be a part of and it gives them a sort of education you can’t get anywhere else.

I’m so thankful for my time at KIDS FIRST! I continued to do reviews into my early college years while deciding to pursue cognitive science – a completely different world! My experience really stood out on my college applications, and later my resume. I am now a happy neuroscientist with a heart in film and an experience I get to brag about to this day. 

We are dedicated to training tweens and teens to act as entertainment professionals – as journalists, as YouTubers, as Influencers – but more importantly we allow them opportunities to express their opinions about entertainment and to learn and grow as young adults.

In order to continue doing the work we do, we need your support.  Our goal is to raise $50,000 in our year-end campaign, which allows us to continue doing the important work we do and will be matched by donations from other sources. We welcome  your donation of any amount — no amount is too small! If every one of our subscribers would donate $5 we would easily hit our goal tomorrow!

@kidsfirstmedia

Hanadie K. Invite you to the KIDS FIRST! End of Year Campaign @yourfavlambchop

♬ original sound – Kidsfirstmedia

You can donate online here: https://fnd.us/kidsfirst?ref=sh_bCo1e4, through PayPal or Venmo, or simply mail a check to our address in my signature below.

Thank you so much for taking time to read this and for your support. Here’s wishing you a very happy Thanksgiving with your family and friends.

KIDS FIRST! Team

As we open the doors to a brand new, fresh-start in the new year, all of our KIDS FIRST! team send your our very best wishes for a remarkable and joyous new year. May it be filled with wonder and love. And, of course when you’re looking for that special film to see with your kids and family, remember that our team is here to help you make a suitable selection.

We are still just a few coins short of our end of year / start of year fund-raising goal, so if you are able to make a contribution to help us reach that goal, we would be very grateful. We look forward to sharing more reviews from our team of tween and teen reporters, plus interviews with the talent behind the screen. Check out Katherine S.’s review of Avatar: The Way of Water:

Or, perhaps you would enjoy Dominic D.’s review of the newly releases documentary, Wildcat. KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Dominic D., comments, “Prepare to be inspired by a new documentary, Wildcat, directed and produced by Melissa Lesh and Trevor Beck Frost, leaves viewers in a whirlwind of emotions and can turn your heart from empty to full at the drop of a dime.” See his full review below.

https://gofund.me/0e1d3794

The astute 11-year-old Giana N. shares her comment about the new series, Sonic Prime: “Sonic Prime is an entertaining eight episode series with a lot of adventures, including traveling through different universes and meeting different versions of Sonic’s friends. If you are a Sonic the Hedgehog fan or are looking for an enjoyable show to watch, check this out.”

Hanadie K. adds, “Video game fanatics, does Netflix have a treat for you. If you value nostalgia in the form of binge spree TV series, sit back and prepare to catch some as Sonic rings in this new adventure-filled, action-packed, family-fun animated series.” Check out her interview with Devan Mack, the voice of Sonic and Logan McPherson, SVP of Creative Animated Productions at Wildbrain Studios.

With the 2022 NFL playoffs scheduled to begin on January 14–16, 2023 football is very much in the news, so you might enjoy Maica N.’s review of Fantasy Football.

https://youtu.be/FYMaMlRuLAM

We believe in these kids.
They are the Creatives Of Tomorrow.  

As we start the new year, we invite you to help us make an impact on the future of children’s entertainment by helping support these young people that we work with today. Contributions from individual donors like you help us meet our annual fundraising goals and provide critical funding that  supports all the back-end work at our office – our coaches and editors, our IT and promotion team, our podcast producer and weekly e-zine editor.

Now more than ever, we need your support to keep our film critics program alive and well. No gift is too small or large. Every dollar counts. You have the power to shape the entertainment industry and transform young people’s lives by supporting this program.

KIDS FIRST! is a project of the national 501(c)(3) Coalition for Quality Children’s Media. Your donation is tax deductible to the degree allowed by law.

Support The Creatives of Tomorrow

https://gofund.me/0e1d3794

A contribution of any amount is meaningful. Here are some ideas of what different amounts sponsor:  

$ 20 Sponsors a youth filmmaker wanting to submit a film to our festival

$ 120 Sponsors one tween or teen at film critics Boot Camp

$ 2000 Sponsors a mini film critics boot camp at a local film festival

$ 5000 Supports a youth film critic for one year

For more details, visit out GoFundMe page. Thanks in advance for your help.

https://gofund.me/0e1d3794