The Role of Philanthropy

AMIkids needs to invest more dollars per youth than is provided for in our contracts with government stakeholders. This creates a funding gap. We rely on philanthropy to bridge that gap, and yacht donations are our primary source of private funding. 

Unrestricted gifts allow flexibility to direct resources where needed, providing continuing support for all programs. Funding opportunities include:

Vocational Programming:

AMIkids encourages youth to explore and prepare for careers by teaching them workplace readiness skills, providing nationally recognized vocational certifications, and assisting with job placement.

Infrastructure:

As our facilities and systems age, they need the same care and attention we dedicate to the youth served within our walls. The Infrastructure and IT Project Funds help ensure essential maintenance and upgrades are possible in our buildings, networks, and equipment.

Teacher Recruitment and Retention:

Government contracts and grants allow for modest funding for talent acquisition, retention, and development, yet our youth present unique challenges for teachers and direct care staff. AMIkids fundraises to provide professional development and training, to recruit quality teachers, and to increase education performance.

Reach and Service Enhancements:

Whether or not a government contract pays for it, AMIkids continuously innovates to provide the best services possible to youth and families. Private funding helps ensure we can continue offering innovations in family services, education, mental health, and experiential learning to our youth and their families.

Scholarships:

AMIkids continuously challenge our youth to think about what comes next and help them dream about who they want to be. Unfortunately, they don’t always have access to the resources and support network they need to make their desired outcome a reality. The AMIkids Scholarship funds help our youth offset costs to attend college or vocational training, regardless of their socioeconomic background or age when they graduated from an AMIkids program.

Girls Programming:

More girls are becoming involved in the juvenile justice system than ever before, and their needs are different. Stakeholders are not always quick to adjust programming, so donated funds help AMIkids develop and implement gender-specific programming for girls and boys alike.

Experiential Education:

Getting youth out of traditional classroom settings, where they have been less than successful in the past, opens a whole new world of possibilities for them.