Meet youth where they are
We start with the room in front of us, not the room we wish we had. That includes students who are angry, tired, or certain this will be a waste of time.
About
A foundation built around one stubborn problem.
The program is built. Getting it into the rooms it was designed for is the part that costs money. Level Up Foundation exists to work on that second part.
Mission
Level Up Foundation equips young people with the practical skills, confidence, accountability, and support needed to make informed decisions, overcome challenges, and create stronger futures for themselves.
Vision
We envision communities where every young person, regardless of circumstance, has access to the tools, guidance, and opportunities needed to recognize their potential and move forward with purpose.
Based in Central Texas. Programming is offered to youth-serving organizations across the region.
Why a foundation
Access is the gap.
Level Up Program LLC built the curriculum, the workbook, and the way a session is run. That work is done. What stands between the program and a group of young people is usually not the program. It is the cost of bringing it in.
The settings that serve the youth this program was designed for are often the ones with the least discretionary budget. In-school suspension rarely has a programming line. A small church youth group does not have a grant writer. A probation department is already stretched.
Level Up Foundation exists to sit in that gap. Through grants, sponsorships, and community support, the Foundation works to make Level Up programming, workbooks, workshops, and related resources available to youth-serving organizations, particularly when funding is the barrier.
Level Up Program LLC
Created and developed the Level Up curriculum, workbooks, facilitator resources, and programming model.
Level Up Foundation
A nonprofit organization working to expand access to Level Up programming for youth, schools, churches, community organizations, alternative education settings, juvenile justice programs, and other youth-serving organizations, particularly when funding is the barrier.
These are separate organizations. The Foundation does not own the curriculum, and the LLC is not a nonprofit.
Program philosophy
The rules the work runs on.
These are not values on a wall. They decide how a facilitator handles the hardest ten minutes of a session.
Respect their voices
Students are asked what they think and are allowed to disagree. A young person who pushes back is participating, not misbehaving.
Accountability without humiliation
We are direct about choices and consequences. We do not make an example out of anybody to get a reaction from the room.
Honest conversation over performance
No scripts to recite, no right answers to guess. The value is in students working something out for themselves.
The past is not the forecast
Circumstances and previous decisions explain where a young person is standing. They do not decide where the road ends.
Honest feedback, including the critical kind
We ask students what did not work and we publish those answers next to the good ones. That is how the program gets better.
Youth privacy
We protect students first, and show our work second.
We do not make photography a focus of our programming. Protecting students’ privacy helps us create an environment where young people can speak honestly and participate without feeling that they are being put on display.
We do not treat photographs of youth as proof of impact, and we do not publish images that identify young people. What we publish instead is what students wrote, anonymously, in their own handwriting.
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Privacy helps create trust.
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Trust allows honest conversation.
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Honest conversation creates space for growth.
Leadership
Who runs Level Up Foundation.
The organization, the program, and the young people in it are the story. Leadership is here so you know who is accountable.
Ta'Nia White
Texas nonprofit organization
Level Up Foundation is a Texas nonprofit. Federal tax-exempt recognition is not in place yet, and nothing on this site describes contributions as tax deductible.
Questions
Straight answers.
Is Level Up Foundation a 501(c)(3)?
Level Up Foundation is a Texas nonprofit organization. Federal tax-exempt recognition is not in place yet, so we do not describe contributions as tax deductible. We will update this page and our funder materials as soon as that changes.
How is the Foundation related to Level Up Program LLC?
They are separate organizations. Level Up Program LLC created and developed the Level Up curriculum, workbooks, and facilitator resources. Level Up Foundation is the nonprofit working to expand access to that programming for youth who might not otherwise receive it.
Is the program faith-based?
No. Level Up is a life skills and youth empowerment program. It is written to be delivered in churches and faith-based organizations as well as public schools and justice settings, and the content works the same way in all of them.
Do you work with students who were required to attend?
Yes. Level Up is designed for settings where attendance is assigned, including ISS, DAEP, alternative education, and juvenile justice programs. The program was built with that in mind rather than pretending every student arrives excited.
Do you photograph students?
We do not make photography a focus of our programming, and we do not treat photographs of youth as proof of impact. We share student work and student feedback instead. Where an organization has its own media policy and consent process, we follow it, and we do not publish images that identify young people.
How long is a program?
It depends on the setting. Level Up can run as a single workshop or as a short series of sessions. Length, group size, and schedule are agreed with the host organization in advance.
Level Up Foundation is a Texas nonprofit organization. Federal tax-exempt status is not yet in place, so contributions should not be treated as tax deductible at this time. We will update this page as soon as that changes.
Bring Level Up to your organization.
Tell us about your youth, your setting, and what you are trying to change. We will take it from there.
- Principals, counselors, and campus support teams
- ISS and DAEP coordinators
- Juvenile justice and youth intervention staff
- Church and community youth leaders
- Funders and sponsors who want to make it possible