Once just an idea, then a Tumblr account, then a Facebook group, Rise Out, Inc. is now a nonprofit organization incorporated in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. We will be launching on July 1, 2012. Very exciting!
Rise Out will provide academic counseling to Boston-area teens who want to leave high school (with or without a diploma) in order to create their own individualized, self-designed, one-of-a-kind education — an education where learning is paramount, but school is optional.
We’re currently filling out approximately sixteen thousand tax forms, which we hope will impress the kindly folk at the Internal Revenue Service. If they approve our nonprofit mission and grant us 501(c)(3) status, we — like Gandalf and Yoda before us — will be able to provide sage academic wisdom at no charge to students with financial need, and we’ll be able to give scholarships to students who want to take classes, workshops, or participate in activities around Boston. We’re also setting aside some money to give to financially strapped students who want to design projects of their own, like starting a business, or setting up a home art studio.
Rise Out, The Nonprofit Organization (as opposed to the less impressive Rise Out, The Tumblr Page) is made possible through the generosity of a donor who liked our idea and has agreed to pay our start-up costs. However, we’ll still need to do more fundraising to cover the cost of scholarships. We’ll be starting a crowdfunding campaign soon, but in the meantime feel free to visit our Support page and donate. Even small gifts make a difference!