# E4 Youth > E4 Youth is a community-rooted nonprofit in Austin, Texas that uses storytelling and creative technology to unlock equity, workforce access, and opportunity across generations. The organization builds multi-generational pathways through the E4 Ecosystem — a circular development model with four stages: Engage, Educate, Empower, and Elevate. All youth experiences are stipend-supported, providing compensation for participants. ## About E4 Youth E4 Youth is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Austin, Texas. The organization connects young people to skills, mentors, and career opportunities through community-rooted creative technology programming. Its model is grounded in storytelling — the belief that helping young people tell their own stories, in their own communities, builds the foundation for workforce readiness, civic participation, and long-term economic mobility. Programs are designed to compound: a young person who shows up through a public story experience can move through structured learning, applied production, leadership, and eventually employer-funded work without ever leaving the ecosystem. Alumni who reach the Elevate stage often return to engage the next generation, which is the design intent of the circular model. ## The E4 Ecosystem The E4 Ecosystem is the organizing model behind every program. It has four interconnected stages, and the design is circular — participants who Elevate return to Engage the next generation. 1. **Engage** — Community entry points: public experiences, events, and cultural programming that welcome new participants into the ecosystem with no prior commitment. 2. **Educate** — Structured learning experiences in digital media, storytelling, and creative technology that build foundational skills (DSP is the canonical Educate program). 3. **Empower** — Applied projects and professional experiences where participants create real work, build portfolios, and develop career-ready competencies (Get Creative!, HIP). 4. **Elevate** — Workforce placement, leadership roles, and alumni pathways that create lasting economic impact (E4 Level Up, employer-funded roles). - [E4 Ecosystem page](https://www.e4youth.org/e4-ecosystem): Detailed explanation of the four-stage model. ## Main pages - [Home](https://www.e4youth.org/): Overview of E4 Youth's mission, programs, ecosystem, and recent stories. - [Experiences](https://www.e4youth.org/experiences): Overview of all youth experiences and programs across the ecosystem. - [Impact](https://www.e4youth.org/impact): Outcomes data — engagement, skill development, portfolio completion, and workforce placement metrics. - [Stories](https://www.e4youth.org/stories): Real participant pathway stories and testimonials from across the ecosystem. - [About](https://www.e4youth.org/about): Organization, mission, team, and board of directors. - [Partner](https://www.e4youth.org/partner): Partnership opportunities for corporations, community organizations, and educators. - [Funders](https://www.e4youth.org/funders): Information for institutional supporters and grantmakers. - [Contact](https://www.e4youth.org/contact): Contact information, application links, and ways to get involved. - [Blog](https://www.e4youth.org/blog): Articles and updates from E4 Youth. - [WOW Heritage Center](https://www.e4youth.org/wow-heritage-center): The institutional bridge page explaining how What Once Was and the WOW Heritage Center demonstrate the E4 Ecosystem in place. ## Recent blog - [Come Dream with Me](https://www.e4youth.org/blog/come-dream-with-me): Carl Settles Jr. invites prospective partners and community leaders to 30-minute Dream with Me Sessions at the WOW Heritage Center to hear the programming vision and help shape what happens inside. ## Public experiences (Engage stage — open to everyone) Public experiences are the community entry points. No application required. - [AR Heritage Tours](https://www.e4youth.org/experiences/ar-heritage-tours): Our Stories, Our Streets connects East Austin oral histories, archival research, digital media, and augmented reality with the places where those stories happened. Self-guided tour intent routes to https://tour.whatoncewas.org; group experience inquiries stay with E4Youth. - [Public experiences overview](https://www.e4youth.org/experiences/public): Community showcases, AR Heritage Tours, and What Once Was cultural experiences. ## Learning experiences (Educate stage — skill building) Structured learning that builds foundational creative technology skills. - [Digital Storytelling Program (DSP)](https://www.e4youth.org/experiences/digital-storytelling): The foundational youth media training experience — learn to research, produce, and share digital stories rooted in your community. Applications open on a rolling basis; no prior experience needed. - [Learning experiences overview](https://www.e4youth.org/experiences/learning): Workshops, labs, and other hands-on skill-building sessions. ## Professional experiences (Empower & Elevate stages — career pathways) Applied projects, professional production, and leadership roles. Stipend-supported. - [Get Creative!](https://www.e4youth.org/experiences/get-creative): Hands-on creative technology education where participants develop original projects, build a professional portfolio, and prepare for creative careers. Prior experience in digital media (DSP or equivalent) recommended. - [Heritage & Innovation Pathways (HIP)](https://www.e4youth.org/experiences/hip): Youth-driven heritage research and creative production preserving community stories through technology — leadership-level projects with real community impact. Prior E4 Youth experience or equivalent community-based work expected. - [E4 Level Up](https://www.e4youth.org/experiences/e4-level-up): Career advancement connecting experienced participants to employer-funded professional opportunities and visible leadership roles. The bridge from program participation to paid creative-economy work. - [E4 Live](https://www.e4youth.org/experiences/e4-live): Youth-led live event production team building professional media and production skills through real events. Organizations can also book the E4 Live team to produce events. - [Professional experiences overview](https://www.e4youth.org/experiences/professional): Full directory of professional and career pathway experiences. ## How participants move through the ecosystem Real participant pathways (drawn from public Stories on the site) illustrate how the model compounds: - **Engage → Elevate (media production):** AR Heritage Tour visitor → DSP → Get Creative! → HIP researcher → paid heritage content producer at a local nonprofit. - **Engage → Elevate (audio):** DSP participant → Get Creative! audio producer → E4 Live production lead → E4 Level Up → employer-funded audio engineer at an Austin music production studio. - **Engage → Elevate (UX design):** Public storytelling attendee → DSP → Get Creative! UX designer → E4 Level Up → employer-funded UX designer at an Austin creative agency. - **Engage → Elevate (documentary):** E4 Live volunteer → DSP → Get Creative! videographer → HIP documentary lead → stipend-supported media director producing E4 Youth's public content and mentoring new participants. Stipend support is consistent across the Educate, Empower, and Elevate stages so financial barriers do not gate access to skill building or career pathways. ## For partners and funders - [Partner](https://www.e4youth.org/partner): Corporations, community organizations, and educational institutions can support youth workforce development through mentorship, project sponsorship, showcase hosting, and program co-design. Creative agencies, design firms, tech companies, heritage organizations, archives, libraries, cultural institutions, and media companies are typical partner categories across HIP, Get Creative!, and DSP. - [Funders](https://www.e4youth.org/funders): Institutional supporters fund community-informed pathways combining storytelling, digital literacy, and applied learning for workforce readiness. Funding sustains stipend support, the WOW Heritage Center's operating capacity, and the long-term ecosystem model. ## What Once Was and the WOW Heritage Center What Once Was is the public-facing cultural and place-based expression of the E4Youth ecosystem. The WOW Heritage Center is the physical home of E4Youth's place-based storytelling and creative technology work at Rosewood Courts. Community stories become immersive experiences; young people research those stories, create digital media and technology, build portfolios, and develop skills that connect to real opportunities. - [WOW Heritage Center](https://www.e4youth.org/wow-heritage-center): E4Youth institutional bridge page explaining why E4Youth operates the Center and how it connects story, place, skills, opportunity, and leadership. - [What Once Was](https://whatoncewas.org): Public visitor information for the cultural destination, exhibitions, community stories, public programs, events, and visit planning. - [Our Stories, Our Streets tour](https://tour.whatoncewas.org): Immersive self-guided story experience and AR heritage tour. - Grand opening: October 18, 2026 - Address: 1143 Chicon St., Austin, Texas 78702, USA ## Utility - [Search](https://www.e4youth.org/search): Site-wide search across pages, programs, stories, and blog posts. - [Privacy Policy](https://www.e4youth.org/privacy-policy): How E4 Youth handles personal data. ## Contact - Email: info@e4youth.org - Location: WOW Heritage Center, 1143 Chicon St., Austin, Texas 78702, USA - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/e4youth - Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/e4youth - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/e4youth ## Compliance and accuracy - This file describes the public website at https://www.e4youth.org/ and is not a complete program catalog, financial report, or impact report. - Program names, eligibility criteria, cohort schedules, and stipend amounts change between cohorts. The live site is the canonical source for current program details. - Participant pathway examples above are drawn from public Stories on the site and are illustrative of model design; they should not be read as the only paths through the ecosystem. - The official site at https://www.e4youth.org/ is the source of truth for organizational information.