Steps to New Horizons Corp. is a small, founder-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit developing Financial Foundations, an online financial education program for youth ages 14 to 18. The founder brings more than 20 years of banking and financial-services experience and creates the curriculum, presentations, assignments, and scripts.
Our current Financial Voice pilot combines four live financial literacy classes with eight TED-Ed Student Talks sessions. Early participation shows that the combined live format requires too much time and work from teenagers. Based on those lessons, we are redesigning Financial Foundations as a separate program with approximately 8 to 10 short recorded lessons, practical assignments, flexible progression, and limited live support such as optional open office hours.
The organization currently has no paid staff. We need an experienced grant-strategy volunteer to assess our grant readiness, determine a realistic initial grant amount, identify funders that fit our size and program, clarify required materials or partner letters, and flag deadlines requiring immediate action. We also need a staged funding pathway, a prioritized list of 8 to 10 suitable funders, and a six-month funding calendar. Budget development and the evaluation approach will be addressed through separate projects once the funding strategy identifies the target funders and their requirements.
This project concerns Financial Foundations only. TED-Ed Student Talks and any future programs will be developed and funded separately.
By the end of the project, the volunteer will deliver a practical, right-sized funding strategy for Financial Foundations.
During the first week, the volunteer will identify relevant funding opportunities and sort them into: Apply Now, Prepare, Rolling, Next Cycle, or Skip. Any strong time-sensitive opportunity should be brought to the founder’s attention immediately.
The final deliverables will include:
- A short grant-readiness assessment identifying what is ready, what is missing, and what should be addressed first
- A recommendation on a realistic initial grant amount based on the organization’s current size and track record
- Identification of priority funders’ requirements or restrictions regarding founder compensation
- A checklist of documents required by priority funders, identifying which are available and which are missing, without a legal or compliance review
- A staged funding pathway, with a smaller first request for production and an initial pilot, followed by a larger request after results are documented
- A prioritized list of 8 to 10 suitable funders, including deadlines, likely grant range, geographic fit, application pathway, partner-letter requirements, fit rating, and recommended next action
- A six-month funding calendar and the three actions the organization should take first
