Fund trusted support for young people

Help trusted support reach young people earlier.

When young people reach out online, a trained Peer Chaperone can be the first trusted human they meet. Funding helps make earlier trusted connection available to defined youth populations, supported by supervision, safety practices, research, and evaluation that keep the model accountable and continuously improving.

The Chaperone Initiative is a prevention-focused youth-safety initiative. It is not therapy, clinical treatment, diagnosis, crisis counseling, or emergency response. If you or a young person is in immediate danger or crisis, call or text 988, or chat through the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
Two teenagers talking and taking notes together at an outdoor table. Youth access

Access, expanded

For defined communities, schools, and care pathways.

Organizational funding

Fund sponsored access for defined populations.

Foundations, health systems, family offices, and social-impact funders can support sponsored access across whole cohorts, communities, and care pathways. A single funding commitment can expand access for a defined population while supporting the operations, supervision, safety practices, and evaluation needed to deliver the model responsibly.

Communities & youth-serving programs

Fund sponsored support for the young people a community organization already serves, including youth centers, faith communities, mentoring networks, and after-school programs, so trusted connection is available earlier.

School networks

Bring sponsored access to a district or school network, extending student wellbeing supports with prevention-focused peer connection that works alongside, never in place of, school counselors and clinical staff.

Healthcare pathways

Embed sponsored access into pediatric, primary-care, and behavioral-health referral pathways, so children's hospitals and health systems can offer a supported next step after a visit.

Implementation cohorts

Sponsor a defined cohort with a clear start, scope, and shared measurement plan: a structured way to fund access while learning what works for a specific population.

Geographies

Support for a defined region, county, or state can help make prevention-focused support available where vulnerable youth are underserved.

Research cohorts

Fund access paired with UIC-supported evaluation: a defined research cohort that helps build the evidence base for prevention-focused peer support.

Sponsored, not open-ended. Funding supports access for defined youth populations, including communities, schools, healthcare pathways, geographies, and implementation cohorts. It is not unbounded public enrollment. Scope is set with each partner up front.

Impact examples

What different levels of funding can reach.

Illustrative tiers, largest first, show how funding can support sponsored access across different levels of scale, from implementation infrastructure to individual giving.

These examples are planning anchors, not fixed giving levels or guaranteed outcomes. Final scope depends on the population, implementation model, partner agreement, evaluation requirements, and approved funding estimates.

Lead gift

$300,000: Large-scale expansion

Supports significant expansion of sponsored youth access while strengthening the prevention and research infrastructure behind it, including evaluation capacity, supervision, safety practices, and continuous improvement across multiple cohorts.

Major gift

$30,000: Expanded community access

Expands sponsored access for a defined community or program while supporting the evaluation, supervision, and quality review that help keep delivery accountable.

Cohort gift

$3,000: Cohort support

Supports sponsored access for a small defined cohort, creating a meaningful block of trusted human support within an approved implementation plan.

Supporter gift

$300: One year of support for one young person

Supports approximately one year of sponsored access for a single young person: a tangible way for an individual supporter to stand behind prevention.

Giving pathways

More than one way to fund prevention.

From individual giving to multi-year partnerships, there is a pathway that fits how organizations, families, and supporters contribute.

One-time giving

A single gift that supports sponsored youth access. To discuss support for a specific population, cohort, or implementation priority, contact us about giving.

Monthly giving

Sustained support that helps the Initiative plan sponsored access, staffing, and implementation with greater confidence over time.

Major gifts

Leadership gifts that support expansion and the infrastructure that helps keep quality high.

Foundation grants

Program and research grants aligned with youth safety, prevention, and health-equity priorities.

Corporate sponsorships

Social-impact partnerships that fund sponsored access for defined communities and support clear reporting over time.

Planned giving Coming soon

Legacy and estate options to make youth prevention part of a lasting commitment.

Funding transparency

How funding supports access.

Funding supports the people, operations, supervision, safety practices, and evaluation needed to deliver sponsored access responsibly. The goal is to keep the path from support to access clear, accountable, and easy to understand.

  • Youth access: sponsored support for defined populations
  • Peer Chaperones: recruiting, training, support, and supervision
  • Program operations and responsible outreach
  • Quality review and safety practices
  • Research, evaluation, and continuous improvement
See our trust commitments
Two young people working together at a laptop.
Research & evaluation

Research and evaluation, built in.

The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) supports research, evaluation, and continuous improvement for the Initiative, so funders are backing an approach that is measured, not just well-intentioned.

Evidence-informed

Approach grounded in research on prevention and trusted human connection.

Measured outcomes

Evaluation designed to study what works and refine the program over time.

Explore the research

University of Illinois Chicago

Research and evaluation partner. UIC's involvement supports academic rigor and a commitment to continuous improvement across the Initiative.

Stewardship commitment

Your support expands access, not a years-long technology build.

Program delivery runs on Chaperone Health's existing peer-support infrastructure. Because the platform and operational systems already exist, philanthropic support can focus on reaching more young people, supporting responsible implementation, and strengthening evaluation rather than funding years of technology development from scratch.

Infrastructure already exists

Peer-support delivery, training, supervision, and operational systems are in place through Chaperone Health: established infrastructure that partner funding can extend through defined implementation plans.

Funding goes to reach

Funding expands the number of young people who can be served, the populations covered, and the evaluation activities that keep the model accountable.

Efficient by design

Chaperone Health provides program services at cost, so more support can be directed toward sponsored youth access.

Sponsored access

Fund a population you care about.

Partners can fund access for a clearly defined group, so implementation is scoped, measurable, and accountable from the start. The Initiative is about sponsored access for defined youth populations, not open-ended public enrollment.

A specific community

Fund access for the young people one community organization serves.

A geography

Direct access to a region, county, or state.

A school network

Extend support across a district or set of schools.

A healthcare pathway

Embed access into a clinical referral flow.

An implementation cohort

Fund a defined cohort with scope and a measurement plan.

A research cohort

Pair access with UIC-supported evaluation.

A youth-serving program

Fund a mentoring, after-school, or wellbeing program.

A named initiative

Develop a sponsored initiative with your team.

Explore Partnership Options
Individual giving

Every supporter helps strengthen the first encounter.

Institutional funding leads the way, but individuals matter too. A personal gift can help fund approximately one year of support for a young person and signal that a community of people stands behind prevention.

Your contribution joins organizational funding to expand access for defined youth populations, backed by the same commitment to transparency, research, and evaluation.

Contact us to discuss individual giving while the donation pathway is finalized.

One gift, one year

Approximately $300 represents one year of sponsored access for a single young person: a concrete way to stand behind a trusted first encounter.

Fund the first encounter

Fund trusted support that reaches young people earlier.

Help expand trusted human support for defined youth populations. Partner with us to fund sponsored access, or begin a conversation about individual giving.

The Chaperone Initiative is not therapy, clinical treatment, diagnosis, crisis counseling, or emergency response. If someone is in immediate danger or crisis, call or text 988, or chat through the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.