Start A New Program

Interested in running our next location?

If you want to start a program in a city where we don’t currently serve youth, we ask that you contact our national program support center for guidance. We will walk with you through a discernment process before giving you approval to train and develop a local program bearing the StandUp for Kids identity. As the process unfolds, you will be asked to provide the following:

  • What does youth homelessness look like in your city?
  • What needs do homeless youth have?
  • What services currently exist to meet these needs?
  • Who will serve on the inaugural leadership team in your proposed program? On your advisory council?
  • How will you recruit volunteers to counsel youth and serve behind the scenes?
  • What programs are you proposing to operate in your city, how often, where, and why?
  • What partnerships with other stakeholders in the community do you have and will need to develop?
  • How will you fundraise a starting balance and manage your expenses over time (overseen by our national program support center)?
  • How will you evaluate the success and impact of your program?
  • How will you ensure program sustainability over time with predictable and unpredictable volunteer turnover?

Some of our locations have been operating for decades. We want to help you build a successful program that can last, so be prepared for a lot of hard work initially. Though it gets much more rewarding when you open your doors, the hard work will never cease! That’s part of the beauty in knowing you’re doing something big to end the cycle of youth homelessness.

It is important to know that our national program has ultimate financial oversight and fiduciary responsibility for all locations. It singularly carries the 501(c)3 designation.

Currently, local programs pay the national organization quarterly dues in exchange for the following provision of services:

A Supportive Community of Local Programs

  • Peer-to-peer, board-to-leader, and staff-to-leader support for local program Executive Directors and Leadership Teams
  • Monthly ED teleconference calls with summary minutes via email
  • Ability for Board Members (and staff) to visit local programs to meet and establish relationships with volunteers and sponsors
  • ED Advisory Council provides seasoned expertise and technical know-how on a consultancy basis on hot topics, sticky issues, and best practices
  • Hosts Annual National Conference and awards dinner
  • Hosts online forum and Slack web platforms for additional communication, idea sharing, and knowledge storage

National Visibility

  • Provides strategic support and direction to help us continually meet our mission and vision, track our successes, and tell our stories
  • Provides informational and marketing materials with a name, logo, and style that has a nearly 30-year history in as many as 48 cities at various points in time
  • Provides inclusion of local chapters in national advocacy and policy decisions, letter writing campaigns, and other matters that seek to end the cycle of youth homelessness
  • Hosts a website (brand new design and content as of April 2017)
  • Initiates and administers nationwide email campaigns
  • Maintain donation platform services (online and other donation networks)
  • Issues email addresses for the program and leaders
  • Provides a toll-free number for volunteers, partner agencies and organizations and programs to contact the National Office
  • Provides a toll-free number for kids, partner agencies and organizations, sponsors and supporters to contact a local program. This phone number distinguishes a caller by the area code they are calling from and then transfers the call to the local program at a number that program designates
  • Creates and publishes a national monthly newsletter and social media accounts and effective April 2016 will also maintain a blog with ability for all local programs to have a blog subsection
  • Provides brand identity materials such as t-shirts and promotional items at cost
  • Prepares an Annual Report and viewbook

Volunteer Training and Onboarding

  • Provides comprehensive training materials for onboarding new volunteers, and ongoing, expert technical training support via phone, web, and in-person as needed (travel is at cost)
  • Processes and maintains Background Investigations and waivers of liability for all volunteers
  • Recruits majority of local program volunteers through high-traffic website
  • Trains EDs on national office services/processes

Financial Management

  • Processes all program financials (Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable)
    • Receives, logs, and records all donations from chapters and donors
    • Deposits donations
    • Tracks restricted vs unrestricted funds
    • Prepares and mails thank you letters to donors
    • Receives, approves and records all vendor bills for chapters
    • Records donations and expenses by chapter
    • Prepares monthly reports
    • Provides financial reporting support for grants
    • Tracks donors and purchases donor lists
  • Provides programs with monthly Financial Statements and account balance information
  • Files and maintains programs’ State Registrations (as a registered charity/ nonprofit) and IRS documents
  • Oversees the completion of an Annual Audit of Accounts and tax filing
  • Files all state nonprofit reporting requirements

Legal and Risk Management 

  • Establishes and oversees policies and protocols to protect the organization, all local programs, leaders, volunteers, and youth
  • Maintains corporate documents
  • Provides whistleblower protections and investigational services
  • Provides human resources support to programs with paid staff
  • Maintains general liability insurance for all volunteers and programs
  • Maintains D & O insurance for directors and officers
  • Reviews and coordinates contracts, leases, and other legal issues
  • Provides as-needed access to legal counsel and other business operation experts