FAQ

What ages are the young people in the community?

At this time, Backrs is focused on young people in tenth grade through post-secondary education, ages 15 - 24, and we do not have younger children participating in the Community.

After an initial pilot, we are currently focusing on established high schoolers and young people in post-secondary education. Following earlier testing, these ages have demonstrated a strong ongoing excitement for the Backrs model and contribute to their teams proactively and regularly.

Over time we may extend the model to additional ages. Stay tuned!

What support do young people receive?

All young people from current school partners receive both connection and cash. Proteges receive affirmation, encouragement, advice, mentorship, and access to professional networks from their diverse team of backrs. New proteges receive a $450 seed cash investment from Backrs throughout their first semester in the community. Once established in the community young people also receive up to $100 per month from their Backrs team to invest in themselves and their aspirations.

What is the commitment for young people?

Young people are recommended by their school. They are expected to complete initial training and set up their profile in the Backrs platform. Once their team launches, a young person is expected to post updates on their life journeys each week. The posts can be big or small, a success or a challenge. A post might be something like “I started high school today!” or “I didn’t do too well on my science test. “Does anyone know where I might be able to get some additional tutoring?” or “I’d love to shadow a vet for an afternoon. Any advice for how to set that up?” Backrs want to support young people along the way, so the more they post, the better their team will be able to support. Young people are also asked to complete periodic surveys and focus groups to help improve the experience.

What roles do parents and guardians play?

Parents and guardians are a young person’s first support system and serve as backrs in our community. They are joined by a diverse team of adults committed to backing their child through affirmation, encouragement, and engagement on our platform. They also complete surveys and participate in focus group interviews.

Parents and guardians with participating children under 18 are encouraged to help their child confirm backr matches to join the young person’s team, serve as a sounding board for content to post on the platform, and work with their children to determine how the money will best be used to support their journey.

How will each young person’s team of backrs be formed?

We’ve done a lot of research about how young people are best back’d. We set teams of 4-8 adults across a range of ages, races, locations, and professions to ensure young people are getting support from those who know them personally, have experience in a similar academic or passion area, and who can help connect them with others.

What information will be shared about a young person?

Young people’s profiles are housed within our Backrs app and are only available to backrs on that young person’s team. To join a team, all backrs must be background checked and will complete an onboarding process. Additionally a protege reviews the backr profile and approves the backr for a team before that backr joins the team and sees a young person's profile.

Information shared within teams of backrs includes things like first names, hometown, interests, career aspirations, and posts on their journeys.

No information is shared outside of our community.

How do you ensure the safety of the online community?

The safety of young people in our community is our top priority and essential to creating an incredible experience for everyone. Prior to any adult becoming a backr, they are required to pass a background clearance. Additionally, 100% of platform engagements are monitored by our Backrs team. All young people, parents, and backrs are educated to alert our team of any conduct that does not match our community standards.

Are there expectations for how young people use the money they receive?

We trust and expect that young people and their families use the money to invest in their journeys and future aspirations. This may include things like tutoring, sports equipment, music lessons, money to pay for transportation to and from school, or art classes. We don’t ever ask for receipts, but we expect young people to share with their team of backrs how they’ve used the money to support their journey.

Who is eligible to become a backr?

Anyone who believes in the potential of young people and is looking for a new way to invest in and empower kids would be a great backr. We are seeking adults who are willing to commit to support and engage with young people digitally through the Backrs platform and are excited about testing out and providing feedback on a new concept.

At this time we are looking for backrs to be at least a few steps ahead of participating proteges in their life journey. As such, we are currently piloting with backrs at least 24 years of age who have completed their formal education.

What support do backrs offer?

Backrs make a difference in the life of a young person. They do this in three ways. Backrs connect, invest, and empower.

First, they help young people make connections to people and opportunities that match their interests and further their aspirations.

Second, each team of backrs collectively contributes financially to the young person so that this young person can invest in their journey and aspirations. While we are in pilot mode, a financial contribution is not required for each backr on the team. If you have the means to invest as part of a team this will ensure that each team can collectively reach the monthly investment goal. The investment is distributed to proteges monthly and a backr signs up for a reoccuring monthly commitment where they are ready to do so.

Finally, backrs affirm and encourage the young person’s successes and challenges, offer advice, and share aspects of their own journeys to empower a young person.

By being part of a team, you as an individual are not expected to do all three of these things in every interaction but to contribute in the most powerful way you can on an ongoing basis. For example, you might be best positioned to simply “like” a protege’s post one week and offer the name of a good program in your town the next. When you have expertise to share “a day in the life” or a story from your lived experience, then you can play a more active role.

How will backrs be matched with a young person?

We have done a lot of research about how young people are best back’d. We set up teams of 4-8 adults across a range of ages, races, locations, and professions to ensure young people are getting personal, professional, and strategic support.

To form teams, adults that join Backrs first complete a profile. Backrs uses profile information to assemble diverse teams for each young person. Strong fit profiles are shared with a protege and the young person confirms each backr to join their team. Once a young person confirms a new backr they are officially matched and join the team.

Why does Backrs use a team model to invest in a young person?

We believe there is power in a networked model. By forming small teams of backrs young people are getting support from those who know them personally, have experience in a similar academic or passion area, and who can help connect them with others.

We hope teaming also helps make backrs a sustainable and effective model for adults to invest in a young person. Teams relieve some of the pressure for an individual backr. It is hard to have the perfect answer to every question or feel like you have the right expertise all the time. Life ebbs and flows and there will be days and weeks where you have more mental bandwidth to give and others where you have less. Being part of a team means the protege benefits from the power of the full team while an individual backr does not feel the pressure to be all things to a protege at all times.

What is the expected time commitment for a backr?

Unlike other mentoring models that require standing blocks of time, the Backrs team model is meant to be a lighter time commitment that can be done on your schedule and from your phone.

Backrs are expected to participate in self-service onboarding, attend a team kick-off to meet their team once matched, and engage with their team through the platform weekly. Most ongoing engagement will take no more than 5 - 10 minutes.

Additionally, as a new company it is helpful for backrs to provide feedback into the offering and how we can improve. We have opportunities for backrs in the pilot to complete a feedback survey every few weeks and participate in 1-2 focus groups over the course of their first few months. Of course, we deeply believe that both backrs and young people get the most out of the experience when they are engaging regularly!

Which proteges are eligible to receive a financial investment?

Young people with financial need receive a financial investment from Backrs. High school proteges attend a Title 1 school and qualify for federal subsidized lunch through their local school districts and post-secondary proteges who are Pell Grant eligible are able to receive a financial investment from Backrs. We partner with schools to verify this information for all proteges.

What is the dollar amount young people receive through Backrs and how was this number determined?

Each eligible young person earns up to $100 in monthly backr investment. The dollar amount and decision to offer a fixed monthly investment was determined through extensive research on direct cash investments programs, increasing higher education costs, and interviews with proteges, families, and backrs. This investment provides young people with a solid foundation for goal-oriented and need-based spending.

What will my protege use the money towards?

Proteges are expected to use the money towards their current goals and future aspirations. We consider everything from high school band fees to dorm supplies to transportation to and from work to saving for college as great uses of the financial investment.

How are proteges expected to verify how they're using the money?

Proteges are expected to broadly share how they are using the financial investment with their backrs on a monthly basis. Backrs does not require proteges to submit receipts or verify use of funds.

Is my personal payments information secure?

Backrs does not collect and store your payments information. We work with secure third-party providers, Donorbox and Stripe to manage your payments and personal information securely. You can read more about their security policies here:

Security at Donorbox

Security at Stripe

Is my investment tax deductible?

Currently your investment is not tax deductible, though we are looking into this in the future.

Does my investment go fully towards a young person?

Backrs is committed to distributing a reoccuring monthly investment to proteges to put towards their aspirations. Backrs have the option to cover payments processing charges from third-party payments platforms Donorbox and Stripe to ensure 100% of their investment goes directly to the young person. Backrs may also add a small investment to Backrs.com to continue to support the cost to make the platform available.

How is the Backrs organization structured and governed?

Backrs is a mission oriented community. Our work is guided by our cadre of Proteges and their existing loved ones. We seek their input on all aspects of our model including through a Protege Advisory Board. The community includes a cadre of trusted non-profit partners, the most import of which are school partners to help qualify and recruit proteges. Community oriented non-profit partners help identify and recruit high quality backrs and, in some cases, help ensure the tax deductibility of larger financial backing. Employers, including businesses, play a key role in helping recruit backrs and amplify their impact.

The community is orchestrated and supported by the Backrs platform including its technology, programming, and administrative processes. This platform is structured as a closely held LLC that relies on investment from backrs leadership and a small number of individual investors with a deep, long-term commitment to our mission. An LLC structure was selected to ensure sufficient capital to develop and scale technology, to access the very best talent, and to eventually achieve full financial sustainability.

What information about members will be shared with the Backrs community?

A handful of attributes are shared within the community (photo, first name and last initial, education, the organization that sponsors you, etc) to facilitate engagement. No contact information or detailed aspects of your profile are shared with any other members of the community. No information about you or your activity is shared outside of our community.

How do you ensure the safety of the online community?

The safety of young people in our community is our top priority and essential to creating an incredible experience for everyone. Prior to any adult becoming a backr, they are required to pass a background clearance. Additionally, 100% of platform engagements are monitored by our Backrs team. All young people, parents, and backrs are educated to alert our team of any conduct that does not match our community standards.

How do you partner with organizations?

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Just like we believe that young people are best supported by a diverse team of adults, we believe that our Backr community is best supported when we partner with institutions already doing great work. Backrs partners with organizations such as schools, churches, and other non-profits that believe in the incredible potential of young people and are excited to work together to provide direct support to kids and families while leveraging the gifts and talents of the adults in their community.

For the pilot, we are partnering with organizations to help us identify and bring into our community young people and adults as well as collaborate in the onboarding process. There would not be any financial contribution obligations during the pilot.

How do organizations help spread the word?

Sharing our website in newsletters, on websites, or in an email blast is the best way to inform an organization’s community about Backrs. A member of our team is also available to speak directly with those in the organization!

How is the Backrs organization structured and governed?

Backrs is a mission oriented community. Our work is guided by our cadre of Proteges and their existing loved ones. We seek their input on all aspects of our model including through a Protege Advisory Board. The community includes a cadre of trusted non-profit partners, the most import of which are school partners to help qualify and recruit proteges. Community oriented non-profit partners help identify and recruit high quality backrs and, in some cases, help ensure the tax deductibility of larger financial backing. Employers, including businesses, play a key role in helping recruit backrs and amplify their impact.

The community is orchestrated and supported by the Backrs platform including its technology, programming, and administrative processes. This platform is structured as a closely held LLC that relies on investment from backrs leadership and a small number of individual investors with a deep, long-term commitment to our mission. An LLC structure was selected to ensure sufficient capital to develop and scale technology, to access the very best talent, and to eventually achieve full financial sustainability.

What information about members is shared with the Backrs community?

A handful of attributes are shared within the community (photo, first name and last initial, education, sponsoring organization, etc) to facilitate engagement. No contact information or detailed aspects of your profile are shared with any other member of the community. No information about you or your activity is shared outside of our community.

How do you ensure the safety of the online community?

The safety of everyone in our community is our top priority and essential to creating an incredible experience. Prior to any adult becoming a backr, they are required to pass a background clearance. Additionally, 100% of platform engagements are monitored by our Backrs team. All young people, parents, and backrs are educated to alert our team of any conduct that does not match our community standards.