About NEXGEN

Built because our kids deserve serious institutions.

A youth and family hub built by UMMA Foundation. Open all week. Designed for the way families actually live.

Year one · 2026
The problem

Meet Adam, 13.

The story of one kid that we kept hearing variations of, from dozens of families. NEXGEN exists because too many of our kids feel this way,alone.

  1. 01

    At home, he’s a good kid.

    He prays. He respects his parents. He tries to follow what he’s taught.

  2. 02

    But outside, everything clashes.

    His friends talk and act in ways that don’t match what he’s taught at home. Teachers, leaders, even YouTubers say things that go against his parents’ beliefs.

  3. 03

    He starts to wonder.

    "Is what we believe outdated? Do my parents get how the world works now?" No one in his life seems to get both sides.

  4. 04

    He’s not trying to rebel.

    He’s just feeling alone, stuck between staying silent or losing himself. No space to ask real questions.

  5. 05

    The scariest part?

    Adam thinks he’s going through this alone. He’s not. NEXGEN exists because too many of our kids feel the way Adam feels.

, Adam, 13. From the UMMA NEXGEN master deck.

I just want my son to grow up in a place where he doesn’t have to choose between who he is at home and who he is with his friends.

,a parent we kept hearing

We’ve heard versions of this from dozens of families. The pain is the gap between the two halves of a kid’s life,and the absence of a third space where both can coexist. NEXGEN is the answer to that gap.

A third space
Built for that

Our solution

The third space.

Every kid needs three spaces. Home shapes values. School and masjid teach structure and knowledge. The third space is where they grow into themselves,where they choose who to be. NEXGEN is that space.

01

Home

Where love and values are shaped.

02

School / Masjid

Where structure and knowledge are taught.

03

NEXGEN

Where youth choose to grow, lead, and own their identity.

Our approach

Four things we focus on.

Everything we do at NEXGEN sits under one of these. They’re how we organize the work,and how we measure whether it’s working.

LEARN

Faith & Academics

Accredited full-time learning, study halls with coaching, Quran, Seerah, Fiqh, and daily-life Islamic knowledge.

  • Accredited learning
  • Study halls + coaching
  • Quran · Seerah · Fiqh
  • Daily-life Islamic knowledge

BUILD

Real-World Skills

Media, entrepreneurship, leadership with Islamic grounding, creative and community projects.

  • Media + podcasting
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Leadership
  • Creative projects

SERVE

Community Impact

Programs that help the community. Projects with visible results. Networking and growth through service.

  • Community programs
  • Visible impact
  • Service-led growth
  • Networking

LEAD

Youth Leadership

Youth mentor youth. Real responsibility. Paid leadership roles.

  • Youth mentor youth
  • Real responsibility
  • Paid leadership roles
  • Peer-powered

Who it’s for

Built for Muslim families. Welcoming to all.

NEXGEN is grounded in Islamic character,discipline, respect, service, purpose. We don’t lecture. We build the environment those values live inside. Families of every background are welcome.

Year one

What we’re built to do.

NEXGEN just opened. These are the targets we’re building toward, not numbers we’ve already hit.

Thousands

of youth we’re looking to serve

Hundreds

of young leaders we’re building toward

7 days a week

a space open as long as the community needs it

Who we are

A program of UMMA Foundation.

NEXGEN is one of UMMA Foundation’s ecosystem brands,alongside UMMA Relief, UMMA Farm, UMMA Studio, Yala, and Hope Bus. We’re built around what kids actually need: ~4,000 sqft at 6 Arc Place, Staten Island, open all week. This is how scaled, modern, Muslim-rooted youth development happens.

Where we’re going

Growing nationwide.

We’re not building one space. We’re building the model. NEXGEN starts in Staten Island, but the cities below are next on the map.

Staten IslandYear 1NYC · QueensNYC · BrooklynNewarkPatersonBostonPhiladelphiaDetroitChicagoHoustonDallasLABay AreaAtlantaWashington DC+ more on the map
Join us

Become part of the third space.

Members fund the work. Founding Donors build the institution. Both are what makes NEXGEN possible.