What does Leaders of Today do?
About
Leaders of Today is a non-profit organization that was created to help high schoolers and college students achieve their highest potential. The goal of Leaders of Today is to encourage students to create a habit of working to improve their community and being generous with their time, talents & resources.
We do this by entrusting them with a micro-grant, along with a mentor to help guide them, to propel them forward on their journey of helping others. We would like to be one step in helping them cultivate leadership habits.
What we do
Micro-Grants
Leaders of Today allows students to apply for micro-grants which are awarded to students who complete a multi-step application process. Micro-grants can range from $250 to $1000. After students apply, complete their viability exploration, and submit their final budget, students may be awarded their micro-grant. Not all students are awarded a micro-grant but all are encouraged to dream big and finish what they started! You can start your application to win a micro-grant today by using the button below!
Mentorship
As soon as students submit an application, they are assigned a mentor! This mentor will help each student to fine-tune their idea. Mentors also help keep students on track and complete all of the tasks needed to win a micro-grant. However, a mentor is not a babysitter. Students will still be required to work towards their dreams using skills they’ve acquired. If students are awarded a micro-grant, their mentor will follow their student to help them complete their goals in changing their community. You can learn more about becoming a mentor by clicking the button below.
Curriculum Development
Leaders of Today is currently developing our own curriculum! Our first season of the Leaders of Today Podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts! We also have our blog that is published on the second Tuesday of each month.
Coming this year, Leaders of Today is publishing our first video series highlighting our board and amazing community leaders. We are also working on a workbook to help you grow in your leadership using our 7 values.
Leadership Conference
Leaders of Today is hosting our first annual Leadership Conference on April 28, 2023. This event is for students ages 14-25 who show leadership qualities and want to grow in their leadership. At this conference, we will cover the topics of leadership, Service, Innovation, and networking. We will have some amazing guest speakers, including Jordan Davis (Executive Director of Smart Columbus), Rachel Muha (Executive Director of Run the Race), Rob Smith (Former President and CEO of Capital Waste), our very own Jordan Reeves, and some other special guests. We are excited to have a fun and meaningful day with you!
Why was Leaders of Today created?
Jordan Reeves, our founder, and current Executive Director had the vision to create Leaders of Today in 2018 after attending Central Ohio Leadership Academy (COLA), a six-day intensive leadership program for rising high school juniors and seniors. Motivated by COLA’s emphasis on the importance of youth-driven initiatives, Jordan realized the significance of his leadership potential and had an overwhelming desire to create a nonprofit to aid and empower the students in his community. After two years of working on that vision, Leaders of Today was born.
Throughout Middle and High School, Jordan had many ideas of things that he wanted to do to change his community. He dreamed of all kinds of things, from creating a community garden to hosting a Ted-X event but was never able to complete them because he didn’t have the funds to make the changes or the knowledge to complete the task well. This is why we give micro-grants along with assigning a mentor for students to complete their initiatives.
So often young people are told that they are the ‘leaders of tomorrow." At leaders of Today, we accept you are not the leaders of tomorrow but the leaders of TODAY! Young people have the ability to make very real and impactful changes in the present. Community leadership is something that can be achieved in many ways and our mission is to give students a way to achieve their goals.