Character matters. It always has and it always will.

Nearly four decades in, our mission remains not just relevant but urgent. I find myself saying more and more these days, “the kids are not alright.” Today’s students are facing record levels of stress, anxiety and disconnection. 

In this landscape, Youth Frontiers (YF) retreats offer something truly rare: a day set apart from the noise where students reflect, connect and build on the character they need to thrive. We create experiences that help shape who they are because character matters not only in school, but in life.

Thanks to your partnership, more students, educators and schools experienced these transformational moments this year. We not only met our student retreat goals — we surpassed them, reaching 105% of our target. And continued strong demand from schools helped our program fee revenue come in better than projected. Your investment made that possible.

That momentum is real. But so are the headwinds.

Because you are a trusted partner in this work, it is important to let you know that in the last half of our fiscal year, we experienced a significant budget shortfall. We had budgeted for $2.3M in donor revenue but ended the year at $1.7M. In addition, we had hoped to expand more of our excellent new programs for schools and young adults, but fell short of our goal. As a result, we had to make difficult and tough decisions — including a reduction in staff — to protect the health of the organization. In June, our president, Nicole Sullivan, also stepped down to pursue other opportunities.

And yet, this season has challenged us to grow. The needs of this moment are too great for us to shrink from this challenge. Our community is calling us to be big and bold; that is how we will continue to show up.

We’ve restructured internally to operate more efficiently. We welcomed a new VP of External Relations to help strengthen our partnerships and elevate our impact. I’ll be focusing more time out in the field connecting with leaders, donors and schools to champion the mission I believe in so very deeply.

As you may know, Youth Frontiers operates on a 50/50 model: schools cover roughly half the cost of a retreat, and corporate, foundation and individual donations support the rest. With rising expenses and increasing need, your continued support is critical because it ensures no school is left behind because of cost. 

Over the past 40 years, we’ve weathered storms — times of challenge that could have slowed us down. But with the support of friends like you, we’ve always emerged stronger and more determined to serve students. We’re in a defining season — one that calls for clarity, commitment and courage. 

Thank you for standing with us.

Respectfully,

Joe Cavanaugh