named programs · 5 · from sources
What they call their work
Alumni Mentorship Network
Alumni return to mentor current members, create hiring opportunities, and invest in the network, sustaining a lifelong brotherhood.
Career Preparation Program
Resume workshops, interview mastery, internship placement, and direct pipelines to corporate partners for job opportunities.
College Readiness System
Includes HBCU and PWI campus tours, scholarship navigation, application support, enrollment coaching, and professional headshots to prepare students for higher education.
Leadership & Identity Development
Weekly mentoring, leadership labs, character development, and culturally responsive workshops on identity, emotional intelligence, and mental wellness.
The Diamond Standard™
A lifetime membership model with five stages: High School Foundation, College Bound, Career Placement, Entrepreneur Track, and Alumni Brotherhood, providing continuous support from high school through career.
activities · 8 groups
What they do
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Alumni Leadership and Career Support Programs 1 activity
- Alumni engagement and lifelong network developmentEngages alumni in mentoring current members, hiring interns, investing, and expanding opportunities through The Diamond Standard™, a lifetime membership youth development network that fosters brotherhood and civic leadership from high school through career.
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Student Career Readiness and Internship Placement 1 activity
- Career readiness and professional developmentDelivers resume development, interview training, professional headshots, LinkedIn profile building, and dining etiquette workshops to equip students with professional skills. Also includes internship placement and job pipelines through corporate partner networks.
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Community Capacity Building & Leadership Networks 1 activity
- Civic leadership developmentSupports alumni participation in civic leadership activities, including advocacy at city hall, efforts to elect public officials through partnerships with organizations like the NAACP, and community infrastructure improvement initiatives.
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College Access and Success Support 1 activity
- College readiness and enrollment supportProvides college application support, scholarship navigation, enrollment coaching, and financial literacy training—including FAFSA navigation—to prepare students for college. Includes organized campus tours to HBCUs and other institutions to inspire academic improvement.
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Community Festival & Event Production 1 activity
- Community engagement and public eventsOrganizes community events such as the "Up With Downs" awareness event and live telethons, as well as annual parent appreciation events, to strengthen community ties and promote public engagement.
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Youth Entrepreneurship & Financial Literacy Education 1 activity
- Entrepreneurial and financial literacy trainingOffers business training, trade certification programs, startup mentorship, and access to capital for entrepreneurial students, alongside instruction in budgeting, credit management, and investing basics.
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Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Programs 1 activity
- Leadership and character development programmingOffers leadership labs, character development, and workshops on identity, emotional intelligence, and mental wellness to build emotional intelligence, personal independence, and social confidence among young men of color.
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Youth One-on-One Mentoring 1 activity
- Weekly mentoring and academic coaching for high school studentsProvides weekly mentoring and academic coaching to young men of color to support academic achievement and personal development. This includes regular academic monitoring to track progress, goals, and performance.
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financials · form 990EZ · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$189K
Contributions & grants$166K88%
Program service revenue——
Investment income——
Other revenue—
expenses
Total expenses$172K
Program expenses—
Admin / overhead—
Fundraising—
Salaries & benefits$48K
Grants paid out—
balance sheet
Total assets$48K
Cash—
Investments—
Liabilities—
Net assets$44K
4 years on record · 2021–2024 · YoY revenue +69.3%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024
Who runs it
paid leadership · 1
| Name | Title | Hours/wk | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| MARTIN MCDONALD | EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | 40 | $48K |
relationships · 9
Who they work with
- Corporations Partner — Corporate partners that collaborate with BDAS on career preparation and program support.
- Foundations Funder — Funding partners that champion the BDAS model.
- HBCU Partner — Partners with Historically Black Colleges and Universities for campus tours and college enrollment support.
- HBCU Partner — Provides campus tour access and college exposure for students.
- NAACP Partner — Collaborated with the NAACP on civic engagement initiatives, including support for local elections.
- Participating school districts Government — School districts that fund and implement the BDAS college-readiness model.
- districts Partner — Collaborates with school districts to establish local chapters
- school district Partner — Collaborates with local school districts to support student engagement and academic success.
- schools Partner — Partners with schools to implement programs and build chapters
strategies · 5
How they approach the work
Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.
- Brotherhood-Based Support and Collective Advancementmethodology: brotherhood-based_supportBy fostering a structured brotherhood model emphasizing integrity, accountability, and mutual responsibility, we produce sustained academic engagement because peer-based cultural norms reinforce personal commitment to success.
- Culturally Responsive Empowermentmethodology: culturally_responsive_empowermentBy affirming racial and cultural identity through responsive programming, we produce stronger student engagement and academic ownership because young men see themselves reflected in their education and development pathways.
- Lifelong Network Reinvestmentmethodology: lifelong_network_compoundingBy structuring a five-stage, lifelong development model, we produce compounding impact because alumni success fuels future mentorship, hiring, and investment within the network, creating a self-sustaining ecosystem of advancement.
- Prep-School-Equivalent Modelmethodology: prep_school_advantage_replicationBy replicating the academic, social, and leadership development of elite private prep schools at no cost, we produce equitable college and career readiness for young men of color because access to these historically exclusive advantages closes opportunity gaps.
- Scalable Public Partnership Modelmethodology: scalable-public-partnership-modelBy embedding within public school districts through systemic partnerships, we achieve sustainable, large-scale delivery of college readiness because district funding and infrastructure enable replication without dependency on philanthropy.