Youth: The Young Person's Guide to Starting a Nonprofit -- Olivia Zhang, Paperback

This essential guidebook--created by the founder of Cancer Kids First, the world's largest youth-led cancer nonprofit--gives young changemakers the exact blueprint they need to turn big ideas into real-world impact.

Young people are driving social change like never before--but many passionate activists lack the roadmap to turn their ideas into sustainable organizations. In this guide, Olivia Zhang, who launched Cancer Kids First at age fourteen after losing two loved ones to cancer, delivers the comprehensive nonprofit playbook she wishes she'd had when first starting out. Now a student at Harvard University and a recent inductee into the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for Social Impact (she was the youngest honoree in her category in 2025), Zhang shares her journey of scaling a youth-led charity to reach over 10,000 patients across twenty-two countries.

Readers will receive the following:

• Step-by-step instructions on legal filing, branding, teambuilding, and fundraising
• Practical worksheets, checklists, and actionable exercises
• A Gen-Z-friendly format with emojis and approachable language
• Proven strategies from Zhang's journey of scaling Cancer Kids First globally

Drawing from her viral Google Docs guide--which garnered more than 400,000 views--Zhang transforms trial-and-error lessons into an actionable blueprint, covering startup essentials, growth strategies, and the authentic leadership challenges unique to young founders. Whether you're in high school or college, for every passionate young person who believes they can (and should) change the world--YOUth is the ultimate resource to make it happen.

Author: Olivia Zhang
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Published: 02/03/2026
Pages: 168
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.81lbs
ISBN: 9798890571533

About the Author
Olivia Zhang founded Cancer Kids First (CKF) in 2019 at age fourteen after losing two loved ones to cancer. As CEO, she's grown CKF into the world's largest youth-led nonprofit in its field, with over 40,000 volunteers across eighty countries. The organization has initiated more than 200 events, donated 60,500 resources, and partnered with seventy-two hospitals, aiding 10,000 patients in twenty-two countries. Zhang received the 2023 Diana Legacy Award and Harvard First-Year Emerging Global Leader award. She has been featured in People, Yahoo News, Business Insider, CBS News, and more.