We bring foster youth's career dreams to life.

THEY NEED US RIGHT NOW.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the foster youth community to its core. Now months into this shelter-in-place mandate, our scholars continue to worry about how they will pay their bills, buy groceries, focus on school, and stay connected in this digital world.

This fund gets much-needed cash into their hands – money to offer some financial relief and address their basic needs. Your support also ensures our team of Pivotal coaches continue providing daily support and guidance to the high school and college students we serve.

Our scholars know they can turn to us in their time of need. Thanks to the generosity of many, we’re helping our community’s most vulnerable youth navigate this crisis. Meanwhile, we are bracing for greater need. In the months ahead, we know that more foster youth will turn to us for consistent, reliable support. With your help, our team will wrap them up in a blanket of love and support.

TOGETHER, WE'LL GET THROUGH THE CRIPPLING EFFECTS OF THIS PANDEMIC.

DONATE TO THE EMERGENCY FUND

HOW WE'RE OPERATING.

We are closely monitoring the evolving situation and taking guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local health authorities. Protecting the health, safety, and well-being of everyone on Team Pivotal is our top priority.

We’ve adjusted our programming and operations to adapt to the recommendations from local, state and federal agencies:

Pivotal’s San Jose headquarters and satellite offices are officially closed. All Pivotal staff are working remotely.
If you need to reach us, please call 408.484.1095 or email info@pivotalnow.org.
All coaching sessions and group workshops are offered virtually. We created an all-virtual Summer 2020 Experience that included virtual internships and paid professional development workshops, social justice dialogue events, and one-of-a-kind graduation celebrations.
We’ve also taken our fundraising and supporter events to a whole new creative level!

We will continue to achieve our mission. While our work is rooted in relationships, we aren’t letting the lack of face-to-face contact stop us from keeping our youth focused on the future.

Our development and communications team will continue to report back frequently and transparently about the use of the Emergency Assistance funds we distribute. We promise that you will know your money is getting to the kids who need it.

We welcome your ideas, offers of partnership, and support. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. Our (virtual) doors remain open!

We help young people in foster care create the life they want.

Kids from the foster care system need more help than the average youth does to succeed. Pivotal has a strong reputation in Silicon Valley for guiding foster youth to career success. With Pivotal support, foster youth are proven to graduate from high school and college at significantly higher rates than their foster youth peers.

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THE ISSUES WE’RE TACKLING.

IT’S NOT
THEIR FAULT.

No kid wants or chooses to be in foster care. Family circumstances - abuse, incarceration, the death of a parent - are the main reasons why kids end up in "the system."

Without active and dedicated parents to inspire and support their goals, most foster youth give up and stay in a cycle of poverty and hopelessness. Put yourself in their shoes and imagine the odds stacked against you.

Read some of their stories here.

20%

ARE HOMELESS WITHIN 18 MONTHS OF EXITING THE SYSTEM

50%

DROP OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL

25%

ARE INCARCERATED WITHIN 2 YEARS OF EXITING THE SYSTEM

OUR GAME-CHANGING APPROACH.

LIFE CHANGING OPPORTUNITIES.

Our academic and career readiness tools for foster youth include 1:1 coaching from trauma-informed experts, STEM classes, subject-specific tutoring, college scholarships, professional development workshops, and summer internships. We open doors for foster youth so they can succeed in life.

We stick with them through thick and thin.

As soon as foster youth hit high school, we pair them up with a coach who will look out for their academic success and help them to navigate the most critical years in their life.

Change is good.

Everyone agrees that the foster care ecosystem needs to respond better to foster youth's realities. Our impact speaks for itself. With over 20 years of experience in consistently increasing graduation rates among foster youth, our public and private partners support our mission and help us lead those change efforts.

DEFYING
THE ODDS.

Pivotal is the only agency in Silicon Valley to offer a blend of trauma-informed coaching, workforce development, college scholarships, and summer internships that are specifically geared to foster youth. Our programs are data-driven, optimized for success, and always evolving to better suit the needs of this vulnerable population.

PIVOTAL SCHOLARS EARN A BACHELORS DEGREE AT 10X THE RATE OF OTHER FOSTER YOUTH.

Explore What Makes Us Pivotal.

GET INVOLVED.

ANY OF US CAN BE PIVOTAL TO A FOSTER YOUTH IN SILICON VALLEY.

Time, money, talents. Consider sharing one, two, or all three with foster youth. All kids deserve to have someone out there cheering them on. Be that person for one of our foster youth.