Frequently Asked Questions

Any 6-12th graders (with an adult advisor) in the United States are able to participate in the program. A student team can be made up of 3 or more students with an adult advisor. If you're interested in setting up a student team, click here and someone from our team will be in touch!

The Lead4Change Challenge is open for submission all year long. The two challenge deadlines are typically the second Friday in February and the second Friday in May each year.

When your students complete the lessons and submit their challenge project, your student team will receive Certificates of Completion and the option to order Graduation Honor Cords for seniors.

Full Lead4Change Challenge Rules are here.

Yes! When a student team completes the lessons and submits a project to the Lead4Change Challenge, that team will be entered to win up to $10,000 toward their cause (school or community nonprofit). A suite of winners is selected for each Challenge Entry deadline, and we grant more than $150,000 every school year to honor the amazing work that students accomplish!

Check out our Virtual Project Ideas or in-person Project Ideas under the resources tab at Lead4change.org.

To enter your team’s project into the Lead4Change Challenge, you will partner with a local charity or public organization. This certifies that they are a US registered qualifying organization and can accept a grant if your team wins.

Many 501c3 organizations do work globally, so where you serve is not limited to the US. To help in finding a registered 501c3 in your area, Charity Navigator is a helpful website.

For questions, contact us here.

We understand that many schools have rules about using social media. There is an option to post on social media or upload a document for a social media post that is not actually posted on public channels.

The program provides an insights-driven approach to leading people and achieving a big goal — by meeting a need in their community or globally. Skills like collaboration and teamwork, problem solving, creativity and communication are all key components of the program. Many states require civic learning and student volunteer hours for graduation, and many school boards have built in “Responsibility to the Community” as part of their academic goals. Lead4Change can qualify for that program according to state and district requirements.

Lead4Change is aligned with national education standards. You can find standards alignment guides and subject integration guides in the Member Resources section.

Lead4Change also meets the community service requirement for many associations, clubs, and school districts.

As a teacher or youth club adviser, you will find that Lead4Change helps shape your own leadership skills. You can also lead your student teams to enter the Lead4Change Challenge, where they can win a grant for your charity or school. We also offer you a free, fully prepared set of lessons that will meet curriculum requirements for most subject areas. Those can be found here.

You can enroll for free here. From there, you'll immediately be able to access the member dashboard and view the lessons. You can download and print or import them into your school’s e-portal. Our simple facilitation guides make it easy to administer the lessons to students. You can review a sample lesson here.

Working in teams is a key part of this leadership training that ultimately helps your student team create a project to address a community need. Teams should consist of at least three students (grades 6-12) — there is no limit to team size. Each team must have a teacher/adult advisor.

Yes! There are many ways to do community service right in your school. And, there is no fundraising requirement to participate. Invite a few of your local charities to come and talk about ways you can help without cost or transportation.

Yes! there are many registered 501c3 organizations doing work globally. Previous Lead4Change teams have worked with Water for Haiti, Stop Hunger Now, and many other charities. Check out our project idea document. In addition, see our In the News page for the latest projects students are doing from coast-to-coast.