FUTURE 5 INC

Our overall goal is to help our members connect to the resources essential to making the transition to post-secondary education, careers, and ultimately financial independence and productive citizenship.

Future 5's membership experience will: 1) increase student members' connections, which will lead to greater confidence and opportunities; 2) increase students' motivation, which will lead to increased academic achievement; and 3) increase students' job readiness skills, which will aid students in gaining meaningful employment and financial independence.

Future 5's point of difference centers on the power of belonging to a positive, caring membership-based community. We engage our students as members throughout high school and beyond. Future 5 is not a one-dimensional program, but instead a holistic membership organization. We are not purely a college prep program, a tutoring service, a mentor-mentee organization, or a job training program. Instead, we believe that each of these components are important for students to thrive, and therefore, Future 5 provides all of the former.

Additionally, we believe that providing our students with the opportunity to make meaningful connections and teaching students the skills to maximize connections decreases the opportunity gap. When young people are connected to themselves and the community, they are better able to navigate obstacles and systems that may hinder their academic, professional, and personal success. Therefore, instead of matching students with a single coach, our students partner with many different coaches, depending on the workshop they participate in or the career they are interested in pursuing or exploring. When students become part of the Future 5 community, they gain a life-altering network of ongoing support.

Future 5 is specifically focused on: 1) discipline in maintaining the quality of the workshops we offer; 2) building physical infrastructure (about to double our space); and 3) building financial infrastructure necessary to ensure sustainability of our organization for many years to come. Moreover, the staff meets weekly to review individual student progress, programs, infrastructure, and fundraising.

Additionally, we attribute our accomplishments to our membership-based community model, our “army" of more than 70 dedicated and committed volunteer coaches, our talented staff and engaged board, and our ability to monitor, assess, and adjust programming in response to student needs. We believe that providing meaningful connections to our members and helping them develop the skills necessary to maximize those connections and resources helps decrease the opportunity gap. Our volunteer coaches provide professional and academic guidance, as well as a new network of connections to our student members. In the 2015-2016 academic school year, our volunteers committed more than 5,000 hours or $415,000 of pro bono guidance, support, and tutoring.

REAL ESTATE/PHYSICAL SPACE: Due to our rapid student member growth, we had outgrown our physical space. We addressed this challenge by renting adjacent space in the building next door. This expanded space was designed with the flexibility to be used simultaneously for workshops, small group workshops, homework space, tutoring/coaching space.

ACADEMIC REMEDIATION AND UNDERCLASSMEN ENGAGEMENT: Much of our programming engages our juniors and seniors (such as College Prep and Job Prep). At the same time, we recognize that many of our students (at all grade levels) struggle academically. We have already put systems in place to increase academic achievement, such as offering academic tutoring four days/week, Think Tank Wednesdays, and requiring students to bring in and review their report cards/ progress reports with a student advocate. While these initiatives have been beneficial, we will provide more opportunities for younger students to be involved in Future 5. We are expanding our programming to include reading, writing, math, and financial literacy "Skill Builder" workshops, which will help build strong academic and technical foundations.

TRADE SCHOOL AND CAREER CONNECTIONS: Since it is our goal for all student members to achieve financial independence, and will continue to help our student members navigate trade school, certification, and job possibilities. While we believe that all students should have the opportunity to attend college, we are expanding our network with connections to support our students who are interested in learning a vocational trade.