Funders & Grantmakers — Dream Chaser Kids
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For foundations, United Way & city grants

The outcomes
are measured.
The cost is justified.

Dream Chaser Kids delivers validated, measurable youth development outcomes at $25–$54 per student — well below market comparables — with a reporting layer that produces funder-ready summaries within 7 days of program close.

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Pathways & agency gain · Children's Hope Scale
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools · 35 students · 12 weeks
78%
Project completion & presentation rate
YMCA of Greater Charlotte · 3 campuses · semester
80%
Problem-solving improvement · Dean's List cohort
TMSA QueenCity STEM · 18 students · full semester
60%
Cost per student vs. market comparables
$25
DCK one-day
workshop
vs
$37
Comparable
half-day avg.
vs
$87
National day-camp
average
Deployed with support from
What you fund — and what you get back

Every dollar produces
documented evidence.

Dream Chaser isn't a program that asks you to trust the anecdote. The reporting layer is built into the model — so every cohort you fund produces the quantitative and qualitative evidence your grant cycle requires, automatically.

Pre/post outcome data
Validated instruments (Children's Hope Scale + custom SEL add-ons) measure confidence, agency, career awareness, and leadership growth. Exported by student ID for your reporting system.
Attendance & completion rates
Daily attendance, TalentExplorer completion, project plan completion, and StoryBuilder page creation — tracked automatically and exportable as CSV.
Student voice quotes
3–5 direct student quotes on leadership, confidence, and community impact — sourced from reflection forms and Dream Circle sessions. Ready for grant narratives.
StoryBuilder portfolio links
Every student's completed project at a shareable URL. Embed links in your annual report, funder presentation, or website without asking anyone to write a case study.
7-day summary report
A formatted, funder-ready summary within 7 days of program close — attendance, outcome scores, talent distribution chart, quotes, and completion rates. Forward it directly.
Methodology documentation
Full methodology available for grant applications — instrument validation, sample size, pre/post timing, and data collection protocols. YMCA, CMS, and TMSA case studies serve as precedent.
Cost-per-student benchmark

Strong outcomes.
Below-market cost.

Dream Chaser sits significantly below comparable youth enrichment programs on a per-student basis — while producing validated outcome data that most competitors cannot match. Here's how the numbers stack up against common market comparables your grant committee will recognize.

Program Per student vs. DCK
DCK One-Day Workshop
3.5 hrs · talent + project intro + reflection data
$25
Baseline
DCK Summer Strand
4-day afternoon strand · full project + pre/post data
$43–$54
Baseline
Comparable half-day youth workshops
Market average · no outcome reporting
$37.50
+50% vs. DCK
National day-camp average
Per day · limited outcome documentation
$87/day
3.5× DCK
Camp SWAG STEM-X Discovery Lab
4-week series · 26–30 students
$1,950/cohort
~$75/student
Engineer Your World curriculum license
Annual · before training and materials
$2,000–$5,000/yr
No student limit
Why the cost holds up under scrutiny

Four reasons the cost-per-outcome argument is unusually strong.

Validated instruments. The 78% CMS metric was measured using the Children's Hope Scale — a peer-reviewed, published instrument used in academic research. This isn't a proprietary survey designed to produce favorable results.
No trainer cost. The facilitator-ready model means Dream Chaser never charges travel, lodging, or on-site trainer fees. Your grantee runs it. Every dollar goes to curriculum and data infrastructure.
Recurring at no additional cost. Once a kit is built for a grantee, it reruns every semester or season. Your funding produces compounding returns — the second cohort costs nothing extra to deploy.
Multi-site at one price point. The YMCA ran three campuses from one kit. If a grantee has multiple sites, the per-student cost drops further with scale — without a proportional increase in fees.

All cost comparison data sourced from publicly available pricing from Camp SWAG (STEM-X Discovery Lab), Engineer Your World, Rising Up Together, and Youthworks. Per-student calculation for DCK assumes 20 students per one-day workshop and 28 students per 4-day strand.

Funding source alignment

Dream Chaser maps cleanly
to six major funding streams.

The program's outcomes — SEL growth, career awareness, STEM application, financial literacy, civic engagement — align with the priority areas of the most common youth development funding sources. Here's how to position Dream Chaser in your grant narrative.

United Way
Community Impact Grants
Dream Chaser's community service and Social Venture track directly maps to United Way's education and economic mobility focus areas.
Education attainment & engagement
Youth leadership & workforce readiness
Measurable community outcomes
Title I / 21st CCLC
Federal Education Funding
After-school and summer enrichment formats align directly with 21st Century Community Learning Centers program requirements.
Academic enrichment after school
SEL and career awareness outcomes
Underserved community focus
City / County
Youth Development Grants
City and county youth bureaus fund programs demonstrating measurable workforce readiness, civic engagement, and leadership outcomes.
Workforce development pipeline
Entrepreneurship & economic mobility
Pre/post outcomes documentation
Promise Neighborhoods
Place-Based Initiatives
Dream Chaser's integration with partner orgs like ABF and Southside Promise aligns with the place-based, multi-sector model Promise Neighborhood funders require.
Community asset-building
Shared measurement across partners
Multi-year scaling pathway
Corporate Foundations
Workforce Pipeline & CSR
Corporate foundations funding workforce pipelines and STEM engagement find strong alignment in Dream Chaser's Career Pathway and Entrepreneurial tracks.
STEM career awareness
Financial literacy & entrepreneurship
Diversity in workforce development
Faith-Based Foundations
Stewardship & Formation
Foundations tied to faith communities fund Dream Chaser through the lens of calling, stewardship, and preparing the next generation for purposeful contribution.
Faith-shaped identity formation
Community service & generosity
Measurable discipleship outcomes
The reporting timeline

From funding approval
to report in hand.

This is what the full cycle looks like — from your grant approval to the summary report landing in your inbox. No chasing down data. No reformatting spreadsheets. Just a clean, documented outcome you can use.

01
Week 0 — Grant approval
Grantee completes the scoping form
We design a program matched to the grantee's setting, student population, and your grant requirements. Turnaround: 2–3 business days.
02
Week 1
Grantee receives the full facilitator kit
Slide deck, scripts, TalentExplorer access, pre/post survey tools, and all print materials. Grantee's staff runs the program — no additional Dream Chaser involvement required on-site.
03
Weeks 2–12 (program duration)
Program runs, data collects automatically
Pre-survey administered on Day 1. Post-survey on final day. Attendance and completion flags tracked session by session. No additional admin burden on your grantee.
04
Program close
Student showcase — StoryBuilder pages go live
Every student presents their project. Every project becomes a StoryBuilder page at a shareable URL. Your funder report can link directly to student work — the most compelling grant evidence there is.
05
Within 7 days of close
Summary report delivered
Formatted, funder-ready: attendance rates, pre/post outcome scores, talent distribution, completion percentages, 3–5 student quotes, and StoryBuilder links. Forward it directly to your grants team.
What the summary report contains

Every metric your grant report requires.

Attendance & session completion rates
Pre/post outcome scores by section
Talent distribution across cohort
3–5 direct student voice quotes
StoryBuilder links for every completed project
Exportable CSV for your own reporting tools

Delivered within 7 days of program close. No additional fees. No follow-up required.

Request a program proposal

If you're a program officer or foundation evaluating Dream Chaser for a grant cycle, we'll prepare a tailored proposal — including program scope, per-student cost, outcome measurement plan, and sample report format — within 3 business days of your scoping form submission.

Request a proposal
Ready to fund Dream Chaser in your community?

Measurable outcomes.
Documented results.
A model that scales.

Submit the scoping form and we'll respond with a tailored program proposal — program design, outcome metrics, cost breakdown, and reporting timeline — within 3 business days.

Request a program proposal View all case studies