More Than Bootstraps
Because It Takes More Than Bootstraps to Succeed
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The college matriculation rate for first-generation, low-income students, is far lower than for students whose parents had some postsecondary education. When first-generation students are able to secure much-needed financial aid, they often matriculate at local public Pell-serving institutions, where resources are limited and the average six-year graduation rate of 39% means that more than half of these students will find themselves in debt and without a degree at the end of six years. Many college access programs focus on sending high-achieving high school students to elite institutions. MTB serves all students with a passion for higher education and offers support to help them achieve success at a broad range of institutions. We empower students to make informed decisions about the institution that is the best initial fit from an academic, financial, and cultural perspective.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
MTB Near-Peer Mentoring for College Access and Success
College students from the community return to guide their younger peers through the college search, application, and assimilation process. These leaders, working as a cohort, in turn strengthen their own college-going identities and improve their own chances of success in higher education.
Where we work
External reviews

Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of seniors who pursue Post-secondary Educational opportunities
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adolescents, Immigrants, Undocumented immigrants, Low-income people, Working poor
Related Program
MTB Near-Peer Mentoring for College Access and Success
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
More Than Bootstraps college success and access program in Passaic, NJ, launched in 2020.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
More Than Bootstraps (MTB) is a non-profit organization founded by educators who understand the challenges first-generation college students face on their journey to and through higher education.
Our mission: To build a community of first-generation, underrepresented students who empower each other to access and succeed in higher education. The MTB strategy for creating a scalable community of success is based on three components: near-peer mentorship, stipend support for program participants, and parent engagement.
MTB employs the power of near-peer mentoring. We train our college student Leader, who are uniquely qualified to understand and motivate their younger peers, to mentor high school juniors and seniors from their community. Our Leaders are not only role models and mentors; they also benefit from being part of a leadership community of college-going peers
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The MTB strategy for creating a scalable community of success is based on three components: 1) near-peer mentorship, 2) stipend support for program participants, and 3) parent engagement.
NEAR-PEER MENTORING. College students from within the community return to their high school to guide their younger peers through the college search, application, and assimilation process. These leaders, working as a mentoring cohort, in turn strengthen their own college-going identities and improve their own chances of success in higher education.
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE. First-generation high school and college students often have limited resources and significant family responsibilities. We provide financial assistance to allow students to commit the time needed to come together and succeed as a community. All students in the MTB program received monthly stipends, the use of laptop computers, and access to emergency funding.
OUTREACH TO FAMILIES. MTB is a resource for family members and guardians. We help families, particularly immigrant and non-English speaking families, understand the demands and benefits of higher education so that they understand how best to support the college-going success of their children in higher education.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
More Than Bootstraps has partnered with the Passaic Public Schools, located in an urban, low-income, Latinx-serving community. Passaic’s student body is made up of groups underrepresented in higher education: low-income, Latinx, and first-generation. Our goal is to serve all students with the drive to succeed in higher education and the commitment to participate in MTB, regardless of prior academic achievement. We serve high school juniors and seniors in the Passaic Public Schools and college students from the Passaic Public Schools. We also strive to support the families of these students because we know that family support is critical to first-generation success.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
More Than Bootstraps has published an impact report that covers our initial years of operation (2020 to 2022): https://www.morethanbootstraps.org/mtb-impact-report. The report describes the pathways students have followed since the beginning of our program and provides numerous testimonials highlighting the power of near-peer mentoring, the importance of stipend support, and the benefits of our family outreach efforts.
Significant accomplishments include:
Expanded our mentoring program from eleven students from the Passaic Public Schools in the 2020-2021 academic year to 28 students (14 high school juniors, 5 high school seniors and 9 college student Leaders) in the current 2022-2023 academic year.
Conducted three intensive summer training programs for the new and returning MTB College Student Leaders. The Summer 2022 program included sessions led by outside experts and returning Leaders on imposter syndrome, financial aid, under-matching, networking, and wellness.
Expanded the MTB Advisory Board to eleven members (including nine women) who provide a broad range of expertise and support: https://www.morethanbootstraps.org/board
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
More Than Bootstraps
Board of directorsas of 01/24/2023
Audrey Fisch
Audrey A Fisch
New Jersey City University
Jim Taylor
Mercator Advisors LLC
Claudia Severino
Passaic County Technical Institute
Atiya Kai Stokes-Brown
Coastal Carolina University
Claire Strom
Rollins College
Matt Jackson
Tower Hill School, DE
Carl Salisbury
Bramnick, Rodriguez, Grabas, Arnold and Mangan
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Not applicable -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Not applicable -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Not applicable -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Not applicable
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 10/05/2021GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.