The Children’s Defense Fund grew out of the Civil Rights Movement under the leadership of Marian Wright Edelman. It has become the nation’s strongest voice for children and families since its founding in 1973.

CDF traces its heritage to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., his Poor People’s Campaign and the Washington Research Project, a nonprofit organization that monitored federal programs for low-income families.

In our first decade, we:

- researched and defined critical child needs in all racial and income groups
- outlined and tested action strategies to meet those needs
- began documenting the cost effectiveness of early child development programs and early intervention when children get into trouble
- worked to organize child advocates to work together to protect all children

In our second decade, we focused on public education and mobilizing child advocates. We:

- educated the public about the importance of child and youth investment
- formed Child Watch® coalitions in more than 100 communities, and strengthened ties with state and local officials
- studied the federal budget''s impact on children and published the first annual CDF® State of America''s Children® Yearbook
- held our first national conference to train child advocates to affect the budget process

In our third decade, CDF sought to strengthen and integrate our field mobilizing, organizing, and communications efforts. We have aimed to empower a critical mass of young servant-leaders to advocate for children. CDF is a leadership incubator for the child advocacy movement.

Former CDF board members, alumni, interns, and the 6,000-plus youths we trained serve at the highest levels in academia, the private sector, and advocacy institutions across our nation.