Through a focus on individual strengths, Future Plans uses a data-driven approach to guide people through self-discovery one person at a time. By removing barriers through partner collaboration, we accelerate the journey that a person travels, thus increasing the likelihood of a lifetime of stability and prosperity.
We believe that communities are best positioned to solve their own problems when provided with the necessary resources and guidance. At Future Plans, we start with listening.
We prioritize practical, pilot-driven solutions over the pursuit of perfection, ensuring that our initiatives lead to tangible results.
When individuals have hope for the future, they are all around healthier physically and mentally thus creating a reliable and dedicated workforce.
Gallup Poll shows that 69% of Americans are disengaged from their work which leads to anxiety, stress and poor mental health. Add the fact that the average person will work over 100,000 hours during the course of their life, and it becomes clear that our random approach to guiding people into the workforce is not effective. At Future Plans, we have a proven method for helping individuals to discover their greatness, align their strengths with the world of work and to then begin taking the steps needed. We call this building Actionable Hope. Here’s how we do it.
Future Plans utilizes a grassroots methodology. We ask questions of community members, such as:
Future Plans provides the technical support, capacity building assistance, and tools to help each community make their vision a reality. Because we believe all economic recovery starts with individuals, we start by working to assess and coach all adults of working age and youth 9th-12th grade so that every community member understands their own individual greatness based on their interest, aptitude, values, and personality and to understand how that greatness is needed in the world of work.
The success of our program is evidenced by the number of individuals who have uncovered their strengths and formed actionable plans for their future, a concept we call "actionable hope." This journey commences with a comprehensive career plan and guidance on navigating the steps toward a fulfilling career. We focus on connecting participants with local resources and workforce training aligned with high-demand jobs that offer a living wage, ensuring sustainable employment and personal growth.
Future Plans goes further by supporting individuals facing historical barriers to workforce participation. Through partnerships with local entities, we empower communities to collaboratively find innovative solutions to these challenges, enhancing local capacity for sustained success. Our efforts have resulted in positive impacts, showing success rates 14-25% higher than similar programs across Ohio, demonstrating our commitment to effective and life-changing outcomes.
Future Plans believes that the members of the communities we serve are in the best position to identify priorities and to inform strategy. As a result, we have a policy of hiring from the communities we serve. These community outreach partners convene the grassroots coalitions, partner with the schools, collaborate with the other providers, businesses and agencies to help each community set their priorities.
We staff our work with all populations including re-entry and recovery populations who have shared experiences and who live in the region. Finally, Future Plans hires a large number of youth interns as a part of our commitment to building experiences that launch youth into the world of meaningful world work.
