ABOUT US
Imagine thousands of billboards near high schools across America, sharing a proven message—seen by millions of students every day. All it takes is one civic group, under $2,500 per year, and a four-week campaign to create lasting change in your community.
Choose To Not Be Poor, Inc. is dedicated to equipping every high school student with evidence-based facts that can shape their future. Grounded in research from the Brookings Institution, the American Enterprise Institute, and the Institute for Family Studies, our mission is to empower teens with the proven “Success Sequence”: graduate high school, wait until marriage to have children, and avoid marrying as a teenager. These three choices reduce the risk of becoming poor as an adult by 97%.
Why Our Work Matters
Our approach is inspired not just by data, but also by stories. In the visionary novel, The Solution?, one phrase stood out and changed everything for our founders:
“If you keep doing what you do, you’ll keep getting what you got.”
This plain truth underscores the power of new choices and timely, honest information. It reminded us that showing young people a different path can truly change their outcomes.
How We Operate
The nonprofit can make the first move, but the primary goal is for local communities to step up—taking the initiative after seeing or hearing about the campaign. We fund the first billboard in each new area to spark awareness, but true success comes when civic groups, alumni, and community leaders adopt a high school and repeat the campaign year after year, sustaining the message for less than $2,000 annually.
What this means for you: This strategy ensures the campaign spreads organically and becomes self-sustaining, with the nonprofit acting as a catalyst while real momentum comes from local community ownership and repeated action.
What Sets Us Apart
• 100% of every donation is spent on billboards—never on overhead.
• Donor support launches a legacy, as one billboard inspires a cycle of local commitment.
• Our campaign is nonpartisan, nonreligious, and strictly rooted in research and real-world impact.
• As an IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit, all gifts are tax deductible.
Our Philosophy
For decades, the data has been clear, yet few are putting this proven “success sequence” where teens can see it. Three life choices make the difference: graduate from high school, don’t have children unless married, and don’t marry during your teen years.
These aren’t opinions—they’re hard facts. Nobody ever plans to be poor when they grow up—it’s never anyone’s life strategy. Many teens have never even heard of this sequence, but if they did—and saw it daily—they’d likely pay attention and think differently about their future.
Think of the impact if thousands of communities across America simply placed one billboard near their local high school for just one month each year—year after year. How many young people would grow into more productive, independent, and stable adults?
This message isn’t about blame; it’s about giving every student the chance to avoid a future of struggle, no matter their start. Choose To Not Be Poor, Inc. delivers these truths on bold billboards beside schools—daily reminders that real freedom and opportunity begin with three simple, data-backed decisions.
AND YOU CAN TOO!