Advocates for Young Adults, Inc.

Impact Statement

In the first six months of 2008 we delivered life skill education (civic education, professional development and financial education) to 476 individuals and over 700 hours of time committed to delivering our classes. We have worked with many nonprofit organizations, businesses, schools and government agencies, including: Colorado Department of Education, Mile High United Way, Urban Peak, The Gathering Place, Community Educational Outreach, New Vista High School, Peak to Peak High School, Hyatt Hotels.

We have helped create the Colorado Asset Building Coalition and the Colorado Disability Economic Initiative. And we have joined forces in the development of the Literacy Coalition of Colorado and the Adams, Boulder & Jefferson Asset Building Coalition.

This fall, Advocates will continue delivering classes at Urban Peak, The Gathering Place and Community Educational Outreach.

We will add classes at Community College of Denver, Douglas Countyand the Colorado Department of Corrections

We will continue working on the Financial Literacy Curriculum for the Colorado Department of Education and implementing that curriculum at New Vista High School in Boulder.

We will continue to work to help develop the Colorado Asset Building Coalition, Adams, Bouler & Jefferson County Asset Building Coalition, Literacy Coalition of Colorado and the Colorado Disability Economic Initiative.

Needs Statement

Advocates for Young Adults is growing its programs rapidly throughout the state of Colorado. By increasing our funds in the following areas, we can continue to grow our programs and operations without losing the quality of our teaching.

Technical Assistance Funding
Capacity Building Funding
Program Funding
Volunteers
Employees

Background Statement

Advocates for Young Adults focuses on taking financial and civic education to the people. We travel to organizations, businesses or agencies who have a population that needs to be served, but will not travel to an additional site for the additional education. Our goal is to make it impossible to say "no" to education by making ourselves 100% accessible.

The idea was started by the Founder (Shawn Young) in 2006 as he developed classes and workshops for his employees and co-workers to assist them in becoming more productive engaged members of the workforce and their community by understanding fundamental life skills. Advocates for Young Adults formally incorporated in June of 2007. Since it's formal incorporation, Advocates has provided over 600 hours of Life Skill Education to over 475 people.

Executive Director Statement

Given the state of the US economy - the credit crisis, the mortgage crisis, the levels of personal debt, etc... it has never been more clear that civic and financial education are critical to success as an adult. The impact of not having these skills is detrimental to business productivity as well as community development and without educating our workforce/citizens on these basics, it will be very difficult for people to chnge their behaviors.

We currently have two generations that have had very little contact with civic and financial education skill sets and are graduating high school and college students every year that add to numbers of people who learn these skill set by making financial management mistakes.

Advocates for Young Adults aims to help people already in the workforce and those preparing to enter the workforce in learning these skill sets in the hope of preventing major financial crises.

Board Chair/President Statement

Our Challenges : those which face most start up organization, significant dependence upon the founder to perform many of organizations functions. Result is a lack of checks and balances and single point of failure risk.

Successes:
1 because of the founder's willingness to make a full time commitment the organization has established itself as a credible, reliable provider of financial responsibility education within in a short period of time.
2 organization has positioned itself in a market, newly identified by government and corporations, as a necessary service for citizens and employees.
3 because of the founders willingness to make such a significant commitment the ability of the organization to continue has been substantially enhanced by the low initial operating costs.