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The Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP) is a nonprofit organization that invests in and advances the health of young people in Southern Africa, with the stated goal of creating a more equitable future for all. It works by strengthening the health and safety of young people in the region so they can "unleash their power and potential," and it is associated with actor Charlize Theron, who is quoted on the site as saying, "Young people have always been the drivers of social change. And this generation holds unique promise."

If you are trying to understand what the organization does, where it operates, or how to get involved, the sections below cover each of those questions.

What CTAOP focuses on

CTAOP describes its work through three "Pillars of impact":

A recurring theme across these pillars is that CTAOP funds and strengthens community-driven programs rather than running them directly — the site frames this as "supercharging community-driven programs."

Where it works

CTAOP's geographic focus is Southern Africa. Its health and safety programming is delivered through local partner organizations in the region, and its Youth Leaders Scholarship program draws Scholars who are nominated by local organizations.

Programs and campaigns mentioned on the site

• Youth Leaders Scholarship (YLS) Leadership Summit — an annual gathering that brings together young leaders for leadership development, personal growth, and community impact. The site notes that a recent December marked the fourth annual gathering of Scholars, who are nominated by local organizations for their passion and potential for change.
• 2025 Impact Report — an annual look back at what the organization is "seeing, hearing, and learning from the communities and organizations we support," described as going beyond numbers and outputs.
• Olivela x CTAOP — a shopping campaign in which customers can select CTAOP to receive 20% of the net proceeds from every purchase, supporting young people's access to sexual and reproductive health and rights resources.

How to get involved

The site includes a "Get Involved with CTAOP" section, and the campaigns above point to two concrete paths: contributing through the Olivela partnership, or engaging with the organization's programs and updates (including its Instagram presence and impact reporting).

What to keep in mind

CTAOP is a grantmaking and partnership organization: its impact runs through local Southern African organizations and the young leaders they nominate, not through direct service delivery. If your interest is in the organization's mission, the clearest entry points are its impact report and its get-involved page.

The Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP) offers several ways to support its work with young people in Southern Africa, and the right one depends on what you can give. If you want to contribute without a direct cash donation, the Olivela shopping campaign routes 20% of net proceeds from your purchase to CTAOP. If you want to explore all options, the "Get Involved with CTAOP" section of the website is the starting point. If you want to stay current or follow the impact of your support, CTAOP's Instagram is where updates are posted.

What CTAOP Does With Your Support

Knowing where support goes helps you decide whether and how to give. CTAOP describes its work through three pillars of impact:

The organization frames this work around a simple premise, quoted from Charlize Theron on its site: "Young people have always been the drivers of social change. And this generation holds unique promise." CTAOP's stated goal is to strengthen the health and safety of young people in Southern Africa so they can use their power and potential.

Ways to Get Involved

Shop Through the Olivela Campaign

The most concrete option described on the site is the Olivela x CTAOP campaign. When you shop with Olivela, you can select CTAOP to receive 20% of the net proceeds from every purchase. According to CTAOP, those funds help provide young people with resources for their sexual and reproductive health and rights.

• Input: a purchase made through Olivela
• Action: select CTAOP as the beneficiary at checkout or through the campaign
• Expected result: 20% of net proceeds from that purchase go to CTAOP

This is a fit if you were already planning to buy something from Olivela, or if you prefer a purchase-based contribution over a direct donation. The site does not state any minimum spend or eligibility restrictions for the campaign, so check the Olivela x CTAOP page for current terms before relying on it.

Use the "Get Involved" Section

The website's "Get Involved with CTAOP" section is the hub for participation options. The homepage evidence confirms this section exists but does not enumerate every path inside it, so treat it as your first stop rather than a complete list. Expect to find donation and partnership information there.

Follow CTAOP on Instagram

The site surfaces a "Latest on Instagram" section, which is the channel CTAOP uses for ongoing updates. Following along is useful if you want to see programs in action before committing support, or if you want to share CTAOP's work with your own network.

Learn About the Youth Leaders Scholarship

CTAOP's Youth Leaders Scholarship (YLS) program is one of its flagship efforts. Each year, the YLS Leadership Summit brings together young leaders for leadership development, personal growth, and community impact. The most recent December gathering was the fourth annual summit, with Scholars nominated by local organizations for their passion and potential for change.

If you represent an organization working with young people in Southern Africa, this program is worth understanding — though the site does not publish nomination criteria or deadlines in the material available here, so contact CTAOP directly for specifics.

How to Decide Which Path Fits

• You want to give without a separate donation: use the Olivela x CTAOP campaign.
• You want the full range of options: start with the "Get Involved with CTAOP" section.
• You want to evaluate the work first: read the annual Impact Report and follow CTAOP on Instagram.
• You work with youth in the region: look into how Youth Leaders Scholarship Scholars are nominated.

A Practical Next Step

Read the 2025 Impact Report before you commit. CTAOP describes it as a look back not just at numbers and outputs, but at what the organization is seeing, hearing, and learning from the communities and organizations it supports. That gives you a grounded sense of what your support funds — and whether CTAOP's approach matches what you want to back.

The Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP) supports community-driven programs in Southern Africa by funding and partnering with local organizations across three pillars — Health, Safety, and Community Leadership — and by convening young leaders through its Youth Leaders Scholarship (YLS) Summit. Its stated goal is to strengthen the health and safety of young people in the region so they can "unleash their power and potential." This approach is relevant if you want to understand how an international foundation channels resources into locally led work rather than running its own programs.

The three pillars of impact

CTAOP organizes its support around three areas, each delivered through partnerships with organizations already working on the ground.

Health

CTAOP partners with local organizations that provide:

• Sexual and reproductive health education
• HIV/AIDS prevention
• Reproductive health services for youth

The aim stated on the site is to break stigmas, expand access to care, and cultivate a new generation of health advocates.

Safety

Under this pillar, CTAOP supports on-the-ground initiatives that:

• Prevent gender-based violence
• Build protective community, professional, and peer networks

The intended outcome is helping young people live free from violence.

Community Leadership

This pillar focuses on equipping both current and next-generation leaders. The clearest example is the Youth Leaders Scholarship Summit.

How the Youth Leaders Scholarship Summit works

The YLS Leadership Summit is an annual gathering that brings together young leaders for leadership development, personal growth, and community impact. According to the site, Scholars are nominated by local organizations for their passion and potential for change. The December gathering described on the site marked the fourth annual summit.

This structure matters if you are trying to understand CTAOP's model: it does not recruit participants directly, but relies on its local partner organizations to identify young people worth investing in.

How CTAOP reports on its work

CTAOP publishes an annual Impact Report. The site describes it as a look back "not just at numbers and outputs, but at what we're seeing, hearing, and learning from the communities and organizations we support." The most recent one referenced is the 2025 Impact Report. If you want evidence of what the programs actually do, this report is the primary document to check.

Ways to get involved

The site lists a "Get Involved with CTAOP" section. One concrete example shown is a campaign with the retailer Olivela: when you shop with Olivela and select CTAOP, the organization receives 20% of the net proceeds from every purchase, which the site says helps provide young people with resources for their sexual and reproductive health and rights.

What to keep in mind

• CTAOP works through local partners, so its impact is tied to the capacity of those organizations.
• The pillars are interconnected: health education, violence prevention, and leadership development are treated as mutually reinforcing rather than separate tracks.
• For specifics on funding amounts, eligibility, or how organizations can apply for partnership, the site does not provide those details in the material available — the Impact Report and direct contact with CTAOP would be the next step.

The Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP) organizes its work around three pillars of impact — Health, Safety, and Community Leadership — and delivers all of them by investing in and advancing community-driven programs run by local organizations in Southern Africa. The stated goal is to strengthen the health and safety of young people so they can "unleash their power and potential," and to create a more equitable future.

Health

CTAOP partners with local organizations that provide:

• Sexual and reproductive health education
• HIV/AIDS prevention
• Reproductive health services

The intended outcomes named on the site are breaking stigmas, expanding access to care, and cultivating a new generation of health advocates. In other words, the health pillar is not only about delivering services but about changing the conditions — stigma and limited access — that keep young people from using them.

Safety

Under this pillar, CTAOP supports on-the-ground initiatives that:

• Prevent gender-based violence
• Build protective community, professional, and peer networks

The framing here is preventative and network-based: the aim is for young people to live free from violence, with community and peer structures acting as protection rather than relying on any single program.

Community Leadership

CTAOP equips both current and next-generation leaders. A concrete example from the site is the Youth Leaders Scholarship (YLS) Leadership Summit, described as an annual gathering that brings together young leaders for leadership development, personal growth, and community impact. The site notes that the December gathering was the fourth annual summit, with Scholars nominated by local organizations for their passion and potential for change.

How the Model Works

Across all three pillars, the common mechanism is the same: CTAOP funds and strengthens organizations already rooted in Southern African communities rather than running programs directly. The site describes this as "supercharging community-driven programs." That distinction matters if you are evaluating the organization — its impact runs through local partners, and its published materials (such as the annual Impact Report) are the place to look for what those partners report.

Ways to Get Involved

The site lists a "Get Involved with CTAOP" section. One featured campaign is Olivela x CTAOP: shopping with Olivela allows you to select CTAOP to receive 20% of net proceeds from every purchase, which the site says helps provide young people with resources for their sexual and reproductive health and rights. Additional involvement options are available through the Get Involved section of the site.