In May 2001, The Congressional Award Foundation, with the endorsement of the U.S. Congress, launched the "Charter for Youth", a national re-commitment to America's young people with the theme of American youth helping themselves through the private sector - the great American success story.

The goal of the Charter initiative is to dramatically increase the number of young people participating in The Congressional Award - to a desired number of 150,000, or a doubling of the number of youth in the program each year for the next five years. This can be accomplished by targeting U.S. companies, associations and other organizations for assistance in identifying new candidates through their employees, business relationships and from the communities in which they operate. With the new, innovative strategy, corporate partners are invited to cooperatively promote The Congressional Award and to provide adult mentors to selected youth in support of their pursuit of The Award - simultaneously expanding and strengthening the mission and reach of the program.

 
Black Entertainment Television founder Robert Johnson is recognized at the
US Capitol as one of the first Charter for Youth donors.

EDS is presented a special award by Congressional Leadership for serving as a Charter for Youth donor.