What we do


Financial Life Skills

Closing the opportunity divide through economic self-sufficiency mindsets and skillsets

Mentoring Support

Guiding, directing, and inspiring mentees through influencers of trust.

Personal Branding

Empowering participants to maximize and monetize their marketable value proposition.

Emotional Wellness

Helping at-risk populations break free from what's holding them back.

About LFYO

LFYO offers empowerment-based programs and learning experiences to close the troubling opportunity, academic, and economic gaps in our society. This can be achieved through the following programs and content areas: financial wellness, personal branding and development, professional success, college and career readiness, mentoring guidance and momentum support, violence prevention, social and emotional learning, and brain development exercises.


Mission

To improve the life prospects and legacy pathways of vulnerable populations through targeted programming in the areas of personal, educational, nutritional, financial, and emotional wellbeing.


Vision

Our cutting-edge programs provide the impetus for at-risk populations in Central and Appalachia Ohio to change the trajectory of their lives, and more importantly, transform their legacies one vision upgrade at a time.


Organization History

LFYO started in 1998 and has impacted the lives and legacies of more than 30,000 youth and families across the country. We have conducted programs in Sacramento, Houston, Atlanta, Chicago, and in our home base, Columbus, Ohio. Through LFYO, our founder and president, Lawrence Funderburke, has received numerous awards from city officials and organizations, including the NBA’s first Hometown Hero of the Month award for our non-profit’s work with inner-city youth. LFYO has also received extensive media coverage as an empowerment crusader and bridge-builder organization.


Collaboration

LFYO partners with nonprofit organizations, school districts, community centers, government agencies, and after-school programs throughout Central and Appalachia Ohio (and throughout the region) to improve the life prospects of disadvantaged communities.


Racial Makeup of Board

Asian
African American
Middle Eastern
White (Non-Hispanic)

Racial Makeup of Population Served

African American 60%
Hispanic 10%
White (Non Hispanic) 30%

Economic Status of Population Served

*low-to-moderate income

We define low income if a family’s gross annual earnings is 200 percent below the poverty line. Moderate income would be between 200 to 400 percent below the poverty level. On average, seventy-four percent of participants served are considered low income, and 26 percent are moderate income (combined household annual gross income typically less than $90,000).

Disability Categories That Apply to the Population Served

  • Mental Health Conditions
  • Intellectual Disability
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder
  • Physical Disability