Youth Empowerment in Action - Nonprofit Startup

Hello and thank you so much for visiting my page! My name is Sierra Mullan, and I am currently working on establishing a non-profit organization in San Angelo, Texas that is geared towards providing teens with opportunities to share their voice and to feel empowered by making change in their community.

I envision creating a space for teens to go to receive guidance, feel a sense of community, and gain confidence in their unique skills… all while improving their neighborhoods and finding purpose by positively impacting the lives of others.

In my past work with teens, I was made aware of the gaps in services in our area, especially in meeting the needs of teens that lack a sense of connection within their community. It was heartbreaking to hear many of these teens talk about feeling labeled and judged by their community, their families, and their peers. These labels oftentimes led to a sense of hopelessness and drastically impacted self-esteem and motivation.

But we can change this! When these same teens connected with a sense of purpose and found communities that were meaningful to them, their confidence increased, their motivation skyrocketed, and you could see them take ownership and pride in both their individual actions and in working as a part of a team.

For years, I have had the dream of opening a program in this town to expand these opportunities for teens to feel empowered through service-learning projects and increase their voice within our community. My vision for this nonprofit includes guiding teens through the process of identifying needs in their community that they connect with and working with them to put programs and events in place to meet these needs. They will learn team-building skills, how to advocate for change, and how to cope with both the challenges and successes that arise throughout the planning process. I also hope to start a teen support group so that teens can connect with and support one another through the challenges they experience at this stage of their lives. I also intend to create a Youth Action Committee that is involved in local decision-making so that teens have yet another means of ensuring that their voices are heard in this community.

I’d like to ask for your help in supporting me in the start-up phase of establishing this non-profit agency and the programs mentioned. Starting up a non-profit takes a great deal of time and commitment (which I am more willing to put into making this program happen). It requires research and planning in the early stages to ensure both quality of the programs provided and the ability to make lifelong change. Much of this time (especially in the early stages before filing for 501(c)(3) nonprofit tax-exempt status) will not be funded through grants, so it is your support that makes this change possible.

Your donations in this stage of the process will go towards the resources needed to conduct research through townhall meetings, focus groups with teens, and surveys that will be used to ensure that the steps that are taken by this organization actually meet the needs of the teens in our town. This will also be crucial in getting local community partners invested in this program so that we can better support our teens. Donations will also go towards the costs that arise in applying for 501(c)(3) nonprofit status.

According to an article by Devon Reeser on fundraisingIP.com, the cost for incorporating a nonprofit and registering with the IRS could cost between $1,000 to $1,500. Other costs to consider include the cost for finding a location to host townhall meetings and focus groups, cost of resources during the research phase, and printing costs for surveys and data collection. For this reason, I am setting an initial goal of $2,000 for this start-up fundraiser. Once this goal is met, any additional funds donated will go directly to the costs of maintaining the nonprofit once it has been established.

Support in these earlier stages is crucial to making this dream a reality. In borrowing a line from one of my favorite artists, “You can DREAM a little dream or you can LIVE a little dream. I’d rather live it, ‘CAUSE DREAMERS ALWAYS CHASE BUT NEVER GET IT!” I am tired of letting down the teens in my community… So with your help, we CAN and WILL make this change. Thank you again for your support!