Who We Are
The Future is in Your Hands
Mission
Futures and Options empowers New York City's youth, particularly youth of color and students from historically underrepresented communities, to acquire transferable professional skills, pursue higher education, and successfully compete in a global 21st century economy. We collaborate with New York City employers to provide transformative career development opportunities to young people, enabling them to succeed in college and inspiring them to pursue meaningful careers.
Our Values
Impact - We are dedicated to fulfilling our mission and realizing our vision of promoting an enduring and positive impact for our students, partners, and community.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion - We are committed to fostering and sustaining a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion, welcoming others to share their voices and create a thriving, vibrant community that represents and respects diverse perspectives and ideas.
Excellence - We continually look to achieve the highest standards in all we do and to fulfill our promises to provide exceptional services for our students, partners, supporters, and team.
Integrity - Integrity is fundamental to every action and decision we undertake; we uphold the community's trust in Futures and Options to do the right thing at all times.
Respect - We treat all people with the highest respect and utmost dignity and appreciation.
High Expectations - We believe in the potential and talent of people, propelling them to become confident and have faith in their abilities.
Collaboration - We emphasize working together in an atmosphere of trust that supports our commitment to excellence. We rely on teamwork and partnerships to successfully achieve our mission.
Our Approach
Futures and Options believes that all young people deserve a chance to achieve their potential—in life, in school, in careers—and that New York City needs a diverse, prepared workforce. Our programs prepare students to be competitive in the 21st century job market, equipped with the critical thinking, collaboration, and interpersonal skills necessary for success in the working world.
-
We collaborate with nonprofits and school partners to recruit talented, motivated students who aspire to expand their college and career opportunities.
- We support young people on their career-readiness journey, teaching valuable professional and life skills, providing mentorship and coaching, and fostering students' self- confidence and faith in their abilities.
- We creatively partner with businesses to provide meaningful, paid jobs to students, which also brings career exploration, mentoring, and networking opportunities.
- We train other professionals to deliver high-quality career development programs to youth.
History
Founded in 1995 as a pilot project of the Alliance for Downtown New York, our program was incorporated as a nonprofit in 1999 and has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor as a model youth workforce development program.
Through the years, Futures and Options has enhanced its programs to meet the needs of New York City's youth and our communities. In 2007, we designed and piloted a Pre-Internship Program, which has grown to serve over 600 young people and has been renamed Career Essentials. We've expanded our College Guidance Initiative to include a series of workshops for both junior and senior high school students as well as one-on-one college counseling. We also offer Alumni Engagement Programming to help our students build on the skills they have learned in the Internship Program, the Externship Experience, and Career Essentials.
How We Use Our Resources
Link here to our Financials in FY2021
