21 AND CHANGE INC

Our mission is to protect, defend and pursue the civil and human rights for those who make up this segment of our society. Our focus is on inclusion, education, and civil rights. Our end state is an inclusive community where children and adults with developmental disabilities are woven into the fabric of daily life including education, employment, religious observance, community leadership, arts, leisure, and any other aspect a 'typical' person may enjoy.

* Empower parents with the knowledge and tools needed to successfully advocate for their loved one.
* Provide free, professional IEP and special education advocate services to parents requiring assistance for their loved one.
* Pursue the civil and human rights for those with developmental disabilities through advocacy with local leaders, state and federal legislators.
* Dedicate ourselves to continuous research and education which is paramount to staying on the ‘cutting edge’ of policy and procedures for special education, civil rights, and advocacy.
* Message and communicate the facts and realities concerning present circumstances for the developmentally disabled to drive positive effects on policy and in our community.
* Provide opportunities within the community to foster understanding and inclusion while supporting those of other similar organizations.
* Recruit to build capacity for expertise, influence, and resourcing for mission effectiveness.
* Review our operations, programs, and services at regular intervals to adjust as needed to better serve our community.

21 & Change continues to build a pool of trained and experienced advocates in the areas of education and public policy to advocate for the rights of individuals born with developmental disabilities. Our advocates are trained and continually seek out additional professional development. Our affiliations, alliances, and partnerships with similar local and national-level organizations helps build capacity for the greater mission and enables us to leverage capability we may not otherwise possess. We possess highly experienced professionals in the areas of public relations, communications, marketing, and advertising to assist with our messaging and strategic communication with the community, local, state, and federal government. We also possess directors on our board who are experienced working in the public policy arena, including individuals who worked on staff for members of Congress. As a veteran-founded and veteran-led nonprofit organization, we understand what it means to fight for something that matters and we will pursue our mission with the same determination and professionalism as when we served in uniform.

Established in late June 2018, 21 & Change has quickly established itself in Florida as a professional and focused nonprofit organization aimed at changing the current paradigm for the developmentally disabled. Our intent is to disrupt the 'status quo' and promote change for the good of our community.

Over the last year, we have accomplished the following:
* Continued to establish key and critical partnerships, alliances and affiliations at the local, state, and national levels.
* Contributed efforts to key action committees and organizations like the NDSS National Inclusive Education Task Force, NDSS DS-Ambassador program, the Florida Anti-Defamation League’s “Florida Hate Crime Coalition”, and the Autism Society of Florida's "Cameras in Classrooms Task Force" and "Safe Schools Task Force".
* Established the “Champions for Change Challenge” as an annual community event focused on ability and the value of inclusion.
* Improved communication and messaging of critical issues through a professional-looking website, social media platforms, and other advertising products.
* Established our quarterly newsletter through a professional email marketing vehicle and developed a professional digital version of our Annual Report to promote our mission and increase transparency.
* Continued to provide IEP Advocate assistance to families resulting in the award of 23 IEP Advocacy Scholarships to 18 families across 12 counties in Florida so children with learning disabilities have the necessary services and accommodations required to learn.
* Grew our number of full-time IEP Advocacy service providers from two to four in 2022 in order to reach more families and help more children with learning disabilities.
* Reviewed our programs, services and processes and made necessary adjustments for organizational effectiveness and efficiency. Changes included cutting an unused and redundant program, fine-tuning our communication strategy and messaging, formalizing our board selection and on-boarding process, and conducting after action reviews of events and key actions to capture any lessons observed so we may improve an event or program.
* After fulfilling our initial 3-year strategic plan, began the process of a 5-year strategic plan to chart the way-ahead and maximize our impact, dollar-for-dollar, for the benefit of people with developmental disabilities in Florida.

What’s next:
* An Adult Empowerment Scholarship and Grant program to address shortcomings for the adult community.
* Continue to grow and expand our programs and services to fulfill the needs of the families and our community.
* Continue to build relationships with local school administrators and teachers to help families with IEP issues.
* Continue working hard to build relationships with our local leaders, state and federal legislators to promote positive change.
* Expand our Board of Directors and continue building committees of talented and committed experts.