Nonprofit Youth Services Business Plan

Unite For Youth

Executive Summary

In Brief

Solution

Unite for Youth is a nonprofit agency providing mentoring programs for middle and high school youth in the Greater Claremont area. Unite for Youth’s goal is to foster a commitment to young people that will promote pro-social friendships, strong interpersonal skills, and reassert a sense of hope in the future. 

In Brief

Unite for Youth is a nonprofit agency providing mentoring programs for middle and high school youth in the Greater Claremont area. The program will form partnerships with local school districts and the juvenile court system. Unite for Youth’s goal is to foster a commitment to young people that will promote pro-social friendships, strong interpersonal skills, and reassert a sense of hope in the future. Only through personal relationships can a sense of individual responsibility be reestablished that will give youth the commitment to follow through on path to adulthood with a sense of pride and accomplishment.

Through repeated failures in the classroom and the development of destructive habits, at-risk young people have lost faith in the possibilities that await them if they are successful in putting their lives together. To accomplish this goal, young people must be in a caring, inclusive learning environment that promotes their best effort and reinforces personal respect.

Unite for Youth is a program that is in direct response to the growing number of young people that are either falling through the cracks at school or are already entangled with the juvenile court system. The goal of the program is to identify youths who are going to have a turbulent transition to adulthood and offer positive support system to avoid the pitfalls that can derail their lives. The focus is slightly different at each level but the goal remains the same; empower the young person to make positive changes in his/her life. 

Unite for Youth will focus primarily on middle school youths. It is projected that within three years, 50% of the system’s students will be in middle school. This age group is particularly problematic and a perfect time for mentoring to be effective.

Unite for Youth’s mentoring programs will pair a youth with mentor for 12 months. During that time the two will participate in weekly planned activities to strengthen the relationship between the two and improve the young person’s confidence and hopefulness.  Mentors will receive continuous training throughout the year and will participate in monthly meeting to report the young person’s progress.

Over time, Unite for Youth will create a learning environment that will be an invaluable resource to young people, aspiring mentors and the community at large.

Why Us?

Unite for Youth is a program that is in direct response to the growing number of young people that are either falling through the cracks at school or are already entangled with the juvenile court system. The goal of the program is to identify youths who are going to have a turbulent transition to adulthood and offer positive support system to avoid the pitfalls that can derail their lives. The focus is slightly different at each level but the goal remains the same; empower the young person to make positive changes in his/her life. 

Expectations

Forecast

• We expect to raise enough money through regular ongoing donations to support the needed activities offerings to make this work. 
• We project total donations to run at approximately half a million dollars annually 

Financial Highlights by Year

Financing Needed

We’re assuming a $25K grant from the city to get us started. 

And regular ongoing donations which are the equivalent to our revenue line for the financials. 

Opportunity

It's About the Kids

Mission

The mission of Unite for Youth is the pursuit of the following principles:

• Commitment: Unite for Youth wants to inspire pro-social friendships, strong interpersonal skills, and instill a sense of hope in the future.
• Responsibility: The focus of Unite for Youth is to empower youth in establishing goals and following through on commitments.
• Possibility: Unite for Youth wants to expand the perspective of young people to make them aware of life’s possibilities.
• Support: An individual is dramatically influenced by their support system. Unite for Youth wants to surround young people in a caring, inclusive learning environment.

Specific Objectives

Unite for Youth is being established to provide mentoring for at risk middle and high school youth in the Greater Claremont area. The program will create partnerships with the local school districts and the juvenile court system. Unite for Youth matches a caring adult volunteer with a referred youth. Unite for Youth will setup four distinct mentoring programs:

• Trailblazers: Trailblazers is the central program of Unite for Youth. At risk middle school students and their mentors participate in a structured program of support.
• Turnaround: Turnaround focuses on students who are chronically suspended from middle and high schools.
• Higher Ground: Higher Ground engages youth involved in the juvenile court system.
• Lunch Friends: Lunch Friends works with children from local elementary schools.

Our Solution

Unite for Youth is a program that is in direct response to the growing number of young people that are either falling through the cracks at school or are already entangled with the juvenile court system. The goal of the program is to identify youths who are going to have a turbulent transition to adulthood and offer positive support system to avoid the pitfalls that can derail their lives. The focus is slightly different at each level but the goal remains the same; empower the young person to make positive changes in his/her life. 

Unite for Youth will focus primarily on middle school youths. It is projected that within three years, 50% of the system’s students will be in middle school. This age group is particularly problematic and a perfect time for mentoring to be effective.

The goal of the program is to identify youths who are going have a turbulent transition to adulthood and offer positive support system to avoid the pitfalls that can derail their lives.  The focus is slightly different at each level.  At the elementary school level, mentors strive to guide the young person back into the mainstream of class activity in order to destroy the negative reinforcers that can turn a student off to school.  With middle school students, Unite for Youth provides mentors that serve as developmental role models for young people looking for direction.  Sometimes it is as easy as a young person identifying with his mentor rather than a person involved in criminal or destructive activities.  Once a student has entered high school with a history of classroom disturbances and poor academic skills, it takes a tremendous proactive effort to assist a student in redirecting their lives.  Unite for Youth has found that group activities can service as a powerful reinforcer of hopeful behavior.

Target Market

Market Size & Segments

Currently, middle school youths disturbances the majority of students being served by Unite for Youth.  Elementary children represent a critical group as they progress through school.  Children between the ages of five to 11 disturbances close to 40% of the children attending Claremont public schools.  It is projected that within three years, 50% of the system’s students will be in middle school. 

The target market for Unite for Youth are young people ages eight to 16 that  have developed destructive habits that will lead down a path of hopelessness.  Unite for Youth has created a series of mentoring programs that pair the young person with a trained mentor who will assist him or her in developing the habits and perspective that will lead to success and hopefulness in the future.

Unite for Youth has a number of market focuses that are key to the program’s success.

• Youth who are overcoming stressors in their lives, such as poverty, discrimination, abusive situations, addictions, unstable homes, and academic life, are the primary marketing focus of Unite for Youth. Mentoring programs foster positive changes through goal setting, self-discipline, skill development, and friendship. 
• Families are also the marketing focus when adult mentors are able to help youth work on solutions for their family stresses, and provide an objective but caring sounding board. As a result, many youth and their families report improved relations at home. Families must buy into the benefit from our United Parenting program, a 10-month series of custom-designed information and discussion groups that enrich parenting effectiveness, especially in the area of cognitive skills associated with family management practices. 
• Marketing also attracts mentors to Unite for Youth because they care about kids and their community. The typical mentor-youth relationship demands a commitment that must be sold to the potential mentor. For most mentors, this experience changes their lives, taps their inner resources, and challenges their convictions and beliefs. 
• Ultimately, Unite for Youth is marketed to Claremont as a critical social support system young people. Unite for Youth impacts how many other city services will be called in to respond to destructive behavior in the community.

Competition

Our Advantages

Unite for Youth is being established to provide mentoring for at risk middle and high school youth in the Greater Claremont area. The program will create partnerships with the local school districts and the juvenile court system. Unite for Youth matches a caring adult volunteer with a referred youth. Unite for Youth will setup four distinct mentoring programs:

• Trailblazers: Trailblazers is the central program of Unite for Youth. At risk middle school students and their mentors participate in a structured program of support.
• Turnaround: Turnaround focuses on students who are chronically suspended from middle and high schools.
• Higher Ground: Higher Ground engages youth involved in the juvenile court system.
• Lunch Friends: Lunch Friends works with children from local elementary schools.

Keys to Success

Keys to Success

• Establish a strong network of support with the school systems and the juvenile court system.
• Launch a series of fundraising activities that will successfully fund the expanding program.
• Establish an effective training program for mentors that will increase their ability to be successful communicators.
• Establish an effective monitoring system to protect both the youth and the mentor.

Execution

Fundraising

Marketing Plan

Unite for  Youth believes in the goal of leaving no child behind.  The goal is to raise the visibility of program to assure that:

• Referral sources will use the service;
• Funding sources will support the program;
• Adults will volunteer to be mentors.

The marketing strategy will be to successfully sell this new resource to the schools and the juvenile court system.  This will be accomplished by a referral coordinator who will create and maintain a network of contacts that will serve as the referral source for the program.

Brochures will be developed to sell the benefits of the program to both potential referrers and participants. The referral coordinator will provide progress reports for the referring program, school, or agency.  The goal will be to build an effective marketing program on the success of the mentoring relationships.

A marketing effort will also be implemented to attract and retain quality mentors for the program.  The program’s mentor recruiter/trainer will make presentations to Claremont civic and social group, selling the benefits of participating in Unite for Youth.  Reward activities will be planned for mentors.  These activities will be used to recruit new mentors from the friends and associates of current mentors.

The core of the marketing strategy will be the creation of the program’s Board of Directors who will be chartered with the responsibility of selling the benefits of the program to the community.

Sales Plan

Unite for Youth’s funding sources include private donations, federal and state contracts, grants from private foundations, school districts and business sponsorship. The program’s fundraising Coordinator has established a number of contribution options that a supporter can select from.

• Cash Donation: From $1,000 to sponsor a youth for a year to $30 to fund the Outdoor Challenge course that all participants take part in.
• Gift of Appreciated Stock: a gift of appreciated stocks, bonds, or mutual funds can both support the program and provide tax saving to the donor.
• Legacy Gifts: a planned gift in a will, trust, or other estate plan.
• Corporate Giving and Sponsorship: Businesses can provide cash or grants. Businesses are also encouraged to participate in the Unite for Youth fundraising events that take place throughout the year. These events include Fun Runs, Wine Tasting, Bike Races, and Raffles.
• Food Store Community Partnership Program: Unite for Youth receives a portion of what is spent in local food stores when the shopper uses the program card when making purchases. The card will be scanned at the checkout and the program will receive credit for the sale.

Activities and offerings

Main programs

Unite for Youth offers youth, that have already been identified as at-risk, an opportunity to work with a caring mentor to improve their ability to develop a positive attitude towards their future. The long-term goal of Unite for Youth is to empower the young person to break the habits that are leading to trouble in school and in the streets.

Unite for Youth has four mentoring programs. They are as follows:

• Trailblazers: Trailblazers is the central program of Unite for Youth. At-risk middle school students and their mentors participate in a structured program of support. At-risk middle school students and their mentors participate in an energizing retreat, followed by a seven month structured program that includes monthly team-building and group activities. The program ends with a graduation but the mentor and youth remain together for the following five months.
• Turnaround: Turnaround focuses on students who are chronically suspended from middle and high schools. The goal of the program is to rekindle the youth’s commitment to learning and being successful in the classroom. By empowering young people to finish school, mentors are improving the student’s success in the work world as adults.
• Higher Ground: Higher Ground engages youth involved in the juvenile court system. The mentoring relationship is utilized to establish a program of change in the young person’s life. The mentor encourages goal-setting, self discipline, and skill development that improves the young person’s sense of hopefulness. Mentors and youth work one-on-one for a year and are also offered opportunities to participate in monthly group activities and outings.
• Lunch Friends: Lunch Friends works with children from local elementary schools. Adult mentors come to school each week to have lunch with their "friend." The program lasts for the duration of the school year.

Milestones & Metrics

Key Metrics

More and more, metrics are critical for non-profits as donors and general community demand them. 

• Obvious metrics are money raised, money spent, and, specifically, money spent on activities as a percent of total money raised. We need that to be as high as possible. In the projections it’s about 70%
• Children served.
• Hours spent per child, on average.
• Children served staying in school.
• Children served graduating from school.
• Children served going on to compete in sports in school programs
• Comparison of average delinquency rates in the served population demographic in general, vs. average delinquency rates for children who have participated in our programs. 

Milestones Table

Company

Overview

Ownership & Structure

Unite for Youth is a tax-exempt not-for-profit mentoring organization that pairs volunteers with at-risk youth.

Team

Management Team

The following table summarizes our personnel expenditures for the first three years. Unite for Youth will have the following staff.

• Fundraising/grant coordinator;
• Mentor recruitment/training coordinator;
• Youth referral coordinator;
• Office manager.

Personnel Table

Financial Plan

Forecast

Key Assumptions

The financial plan depends on important assumptions, most of which are shown in the following table. The key underlying assumptions are:

• We assume a slow-growth economy, without major recession.
• We assume that there are no unforeseen changes in federal grant funding availability.
• We assume a continued need for services by at-risk youths.
• We assume broad community support for mentoring.

Revenue by Month

Expenses by Month

Surplus or Deficit

Statements

Projected Surplus or Deficit

Projected Balance Sheet

Projected Cash Flow Statement