2025 Believe in Me Annual Report
2025 Believe in Me Annual Report: What Community Made Possible for Young People in Washington
In 2025, generosity became useful in the hands of people closest to young people’s lives: a warm coat, a meal, a birthday gift, a college-readiness workshop, a STEM mentor, an art class, an adaptive sports experience, and a trusted place to belong.
Across Spokane, Seattle, the Palouse, Puget Sound, the Inland Northwest, and communities throughout Washington, Believe in Me connected donor support with youth-serving partners who know their communities and show up in practical, dignity-first ways.
What your support made possible
Young people felt the difference in practical, everyday ways.
For donors, sponsors, volunteers, partners, and community supporters, the story of 2025 is simple: when people brought what they could, young people gained more access to stability, belonging, guidance, and opportunity.
Basic support reached real life.
Meals, hygiene supplies, winter clothing, family baskets, and shelter-connected support helped young people and families get through moments when practical help mattered.
Belonging showed up in personal ways.
Birthday gifts, Love Box deliveries, mentorship, and facility-dog support reminded young people and families that they were not moving through hard systems alone.
Next steps became clearer.
College tours, FAFSA/WASFA help, scholarship workshops, STEM mentoring, music, art, camp, and adaptive sports gave young people more ways to explore what could come next.
Partners carried support into trusted places.
Believe in Me’s community partners helped support reach shelters, schools, families, studios, camps, courts, gyms, and resource spaces where young people already had trusted connections.
Five Pillars of Caring
The Five Pillars helped support reach the whole young person.
The Five Pillars help Believe in Me keep support connected: Basic Human Needs, Love & Belonging, Community Support, Education, and Enrichment. A young person’s life is not divided into neat categories, so the support system cannot be either.
1,263
410
15
396
758
Basic Human Needs
Meals, hygiene supplies, winter clothing, case management, and practical help that protect dignity and stability.
1,263supports & engagements
Love & Belonging
Birthday gifts, Love Box deliveries, mentorship, family support, and relationship-centered care that help young people feel seen.
410supports & engagements
Community Support
Community partners, volunteers, sponsors, donors, and trusted organizations working together around young people’s needs.
15supports & engagements
Education
College tours, FAFSA/WASFA help, financial-aid sessions, scholarship workshops, and STEM mentoring that make next steps easier to understand.
396supports & engagements
Enrichment
Art, music, camp, adaptive sports, and creative experiences that give young people room to play, create, lead, and explore.
758supports & engagements
Basic Human Needs
ROOTS Young Adult Shelter
- 182 case-management hours
- 70 meals served
- 40 young adults participated in shelter support
Basic Human Needs
Spokane Youth for Christ
- 600 winter-clothing items
- 148 hygiene items
- 748 practical supports shared
Love & Belonging
Spokane Angels
- 168 birthday presents
- 90 Love Box deliveries
- 26 Dare to Dream mentorship participants
Love & Belonging
Partners with Families & Children
- 126 courthouse facility-dog support engagements
- Support during difficult systems navigation
Education
Palouse Pathways
- 33 college-tour participants
- 55 FAFSA / WASFA attendees
- 108 financial-aid session participants
- 64 scholarship workshop participants
Education
Washington Alliance for Better Schools
- 136 STEM4Good mentoring and career-connected learning engagements
Enrichment
Kids In Concert
- 56 participants in music programming
- 22 instruments supported
Enrichment
Crossroads Carnegie Art Center
- 205 ArtSpeak participants
- 25 classes supported
Enrichment
The Bronze Chapter
- 96 camp participants supported
Enrichment
Seattle Adaptive Sports
- 265 adaptive sports engagements
Enrichment
Arts Corps
- 83 youth participants
- 31 teaching-artist residency sessions
Why partnership matters
Partnership is how the Five Pillars become real in a young person’s day.
Believe in Me’s role is to help community support move through partners who already understand the young people, families, schools, neighborhoods, and programs closest to the work. That is how the Five Pillars become more than a framework. They become a coat handed to someone who is cold, a mentor who keeps showing up, a college workshop that makes the next step less confusing, or an art class where a young person can breathe and create.
This community-centered approach is also supported by youth-development research. Integrated support works better together, family and community engagement, expanded learning opportunities, and collaborative leadership are stronger when they work together. The same is true in Believe in Me’s Five Pillars: practical needs, belonging, support, education, and enrichment are connected parts of a young person’s life.
Integrated support works better together
The Learning Policy Institute points to the strength of coordinated supports, expanded learning, family/community engagement, and shared leadership.
Opportunity is shaped by real-life conditions
The CDC’s social determinants of health framework reinforces why stability, education, safety, and social connection matter.
Relationships help young people grow
Search Institute’s developmental relationships research shows the importance of care, support, possibility, and shared power.
The moments behind the numbers
Impact becomes real when you can picture the moment.
The 2025 numbers matter because they point to real moments: a creative studio opening its doors, a rainy evening when a young person finds a resource connection, and a donor conversation that helps more support move into the community.
A place to create
In art studios, music programs, camps, and adaptive sports settings, young people had room to create, explore, play, lead, and discover who they are becoming.
A trusted connection at the right time
Sometimes the most important support is not complicated. It is a trusted person, a safe place, and a resource that arrives before the next step feels impossible.
A clearer line from giving to impact
Donors and sponsors deserve to see how generosity becomes practical support. In 2025, gifts helped fund work that partners could put to use in the lives of young people.
Washington communities
Support moved through communities across Washington.
This year’s impact includes examples from Spokane, Seattle, the Palouse, Puget Sound, the Inland Northwest, and statewide partners. Each place brought different needs, relationships, and opportunities. Believe in Me’s job was to help community support stay close to those local realities.
Spokane
winter supplies, family support, volunteer setup, and partner collaboration
Seattle & Puget Sound
adaptive sports, youth resource connection, and donor support
Palouse
college readiness, FAFSA/WASFA support, financial-aid sessions, and scholarship workshops
Inland Northwest
art studio enrichment, camp, creative programming, and youth-centered experiences
Local trust matters.
Community partners help Believe in Me listen first, fund responsibly, and support young people through programs that already understand their communities.
People-powered support
Every kind of supporter had a role in 2025.
Believe in Me’s work is strengthened by people who give, volunteer, sponsor, introduce partners, share expertise, and keep young people at the center of the mission.
Volunteers helped make the mission practical
Volunteers contributed time, skills, setup support, professional expertise, and behind-the-scenes effort so more energy could stay focused on young people.
Businesses helped widen the circle
Business sponsors and corporate supporters helped bring resources, visibility, employee engagement, and community investment to youth-centered work.
Leadership stayed focused on dignity
The strongest support did not ask young people to perform hardship. It protected dignity, respected community expertise, and kept the focus on opportunity.
A word from our CEO
This is why Believe in Me keeps building with community.
“Young people do not need to be rescued. They need communities willing to remove barriers, build belonging, and keep showing up.”
Stay connected to the work
Choose the next step that fits how you want to support young people.
Make a nonprofit donation
Make a gift that helps Believe in Me connect resources with youth-centered programs and trusted partners.
Donate your expertise
Contribute professional skills, project support, outreach, technology, events, or community expertise.
Corporate giving and sponsorships
Explore sponsorships, employee engagement, visibility, event support, and community investment opportunities.
Transparency and stewardship
Review governance, annual reports, IRS filings, policies, and stewardship information.
Community investments
See how Believe in Me invests in community partners and youth-centered opportunities.
Believe in Me mission
Learn more about the mission, Five Pillars, events, programs, students, nonprofits, and ways to give.
Help a young person keep moving forward
The next moment of support can start with you.
Your gift, sponsorship, expertise, or introduction can help a young person experience more stability, belonging, guidance, education, and joy through trusted community partners.
Bring what you can. Believe in Me will help connect it to the mission.
A donation, sponsor conversation, volunteer hour, professional skill, or shared connection can help expand the network around young people.
Questions about this annual report
What donors, sponsors, volunteers, and partners often ask.
What is the 2025 Believe in Me Annual Report?
It is Believe in Me’s public summary of 2025 community impact: how donors, sponsors, volunteers, and partners helped young people through the Five Pillars of Caring.
What are the Five Pillars of Caring?
The Five Pillars of Caring are Basic Human Needs, Love & Belonging, Community Support, Education, and Enrichment. They help Believe in Me organize support around practical needs, relationships, trusted networks, learning, and joy.
What 2025 impact numbers are highlighted?
The report highlights 2,827+ youth and participant engagements, 15 organizations and recipients, $76,700 paid out to youth-centered work, and $111,650 in total 2025 support reflected in this report.
Where did Believe in Me support young people in Washington?
This report includes impact connected to Spokane, Seattle, the Palouse, Puget Sound, the Inland Northwest, and partners serving young people across Washington.
Why does Believe in Me work through community partnerships?
Community partners know the young people, families, neighborhoods, schools, and programs closest to the work. Partnership helps resources move through trusted, locally informed support networks.
How do donations to Believe in Me help?
Donations help Believe in Me support programs aligned with the Five Pillars and connect generosity with youth-centered organizations, practical support, and opportunities for young people.
Can businesses sponsor Believe in Me?
Yes. Businesses can support Believe in Me through sponsorships, employee engagement, event support, visibility, and community investment.
How can I volunteer with Believe in Me?
You can donate your expertise through skills-based volunteer roles in technology, finance, fundraising, outreach, content, events, cybersecurity, data, and community engagement.
