Our Work
What the Foundation does, in its own name.
Cultivar Foundation delivers structured, no-cost programming nationally, helping families move from an open account to one they understand and keep using.
Our charitable programs
A three-part program built to reach families.
The Foundation runs an activation program that reaches families through the young adults who already know their communities. It works in three connected parts.
- 01
We train young adults as Activators
The Foundation recruits and trains adults ages 18 to 26 to lead the program in the communities they come from. Training is charitable youth and workforce development in its own right, and it is how the program reaches families at scale.
- 02
We lead activations with families
Activators lead hands-on activations with children, then bring in an older sibling or a parent. Families come together at in-person Family Nights held once or twice per activation.
- 03
We help families open and keep using accounts
The goal is a 530A account opened for the child and a family that knows how to keep using it after the activation ends. Follow-through is the measure that matters to us.
The stake
Enrollment is the whole game.
of families enrolled when enrollment was opt-in.
of families enrolled once enrollment became automatic.
Same money, same families. The difference is whether someone walked them to it.
Maine's Alfond Grant. 530A accounts are opt-in.
Who we serve
Families where an open account is most likely to sit unused.
Our work is national in mission and reach. We focus on families that federal policy reaches but does not fully activate, in communities where an open account is most likely to sit unused. Our programs are delivered at no cost to the families who take part. We are building nationally through active pilots in Austin, Texas and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Dr. Frank Arce, Ed.D., our academic advisor, is a dean at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the creator of the model we teach. The Bayou District Foundation has committed to bringing this work to New Orleans, coming soon.
How an activation runs
One activation, three ways to run it.
Every partner runs the same activation. What changes is the setting.
- Venue
- A trusted place hosts. The partner convenes families they already know, and the Foundation runs the activation on site with trained Activators.
- Chapter
- A school gives a slot. The school selects its own students as Activators and we train them, or we bring a trained group to run it.
- Pop-up
- The lightest touch. Activators meet families where they already are, a practice sideline, a pickup line, a community market, in the flow of something already happening.
We also tailor the activation to a partner's setting beyond these three.
What we report back
We tell partners what happened.
- Children who started
- Children who completed Learn, Build, and Grow
- Children certified at graduation
- Families with a recurring contribution running
- Families still contributing at the final check-in
- Who we reached by neighborhood
About the 530A account
What it is, and how we relate to it.
A 530A account, also called the Invest America account or Trump Account, is a long-term investment account a family can open for a child. Any child under 18 can have one. Children born between 2025 and 2028 receive a one-time $1,000 federal seed deposit. Children outside those birth years do not receive the federal seed, and they can still open and grow an account.
The Foundation is independent. We guide families to and from the official federal process and to their chosen account provider. We are parallel to the U.S. Treasury and to Robinhood. We do not represent them, we are not connected to them, and we are not part of any federal agency.
How to take part
Join an activation, train as an Activator, or bring us in.
Families who want to join an activation, and young adults who want to train as Activators, can find the program at cultivarcommunities.com. If you want to support this work or bring it to your community, start below.