Mentors

About Mentors

Mentors centers grantmaking on people who have been nominated by a mentor and otherwise would not have access to financial support for education or a business plan. That nomination-based model appears across scholarships, grants, support, and mentoring, with a stated emphasis on self-sufficiency, economic independence, and sustainable income generation. The foundation’s recent awards show that approach in practice: a $49,250 grant to English Language Learners at Home supported ELL and citizenship-prep tutoring in Carson City, while $40,000 to United Action for Children funded culinary arts training scholarships, vocational training scholarships, and English-language and work-readiness scholarships for displaced youth. Smaller awards follow the same pattern of individualized support. A $35,000 scholarship for Brayden King covered University of Miami tuition, and $25,500 to One Thread Project supported educational and vocational scholarships. The foundation also funds organizations when their programs connect directly to education, entrepreneurship, or job-readiness. Examples include business education and financial development scholarships through Echo Collective, internships at Inner City Arts, and college-prep mentoring through Monarch Effect Foundation. Across these grants, Mentors uses both direct student support and program funding to help recipients move toward education, employment, and self-support.

What Mentors Funds

Mentors funds education and training across several specific pathways. For language and integration support, it gave $49,250 to English Language Learners at Home for 10 citizenship-prep learners and 350 tutor hours, and another $25,000 for 100 literacy learners on 12-month scholarships. In vocational and workforce training, the foundation awarded $40,000 to United Action for Children for culinary arts training scholarships, 25 vocational training scholarships, and 9-month English-language and work-readiness scholarships for displaced youth. It also supported $15,000 in surgical tech scholarships for Children's Hospital. Business education is another clear thread: Echo Collective received $25,000 for business education and financial development course scholarships, plus partial scholarships for a second cohort. In arts and career development, Inner City Arts received $20,000 for 10 internships and 10 scholarships, and another $17,000 for two internships.

How Mentors Gives