Program Sponsor
Underwrite the delivery of a Founder Builder cohort end to end.
Fund Phase 1
Help launch the first OMS2 Founder Builder cohort.
You are not funding an abstract national organization. You are funding one specific thing: a free program that teaches a first group of Chicagoland founders how to use AI and modern tools to build a real business.
Pilot fundraising target
Being finalized. OMS2 is completing the pilot budget and will publish the approved fundraising target and use-of-funds detail here once the board approves them. Donations received before then support the same pilot preparation work.
The funding case
Five questions, answered plainly.
- What are donors funding?
- The first OMS2 Founder Builder cohort: a free, approximately eight-week program that teaches aspiring founders to use AI, software and modern startup methods to build a working business. Cohort size, dates and venue are proposed rather than confirmed.
- Who benefits?
- A proposed group of 25–50 Chicagoland-first founders, most of them first-time and nontechnical, who would otherwise have no structured, free way to start. Remote participation is being designed where it is operationally practical.
- What does the money pay for?
- Curriculum development, instructors and facilitators, software and technology, participant support, venue costs, program operations, mentorship infrastructure, outreach, evaluation, the final showcase and the administrative and compliance work that keeps the nonprofit accountable.
- What does success look like?
- Founders who complete the program, conduct real customer interviews, build working prototypes, and in some cases launch a business or reach a first customer—measured and published honestly, including what does not work.
- What happens after the pilot?
- OMS2 publishes what the cohort produced, improves the program, and uses the evidence to build recurring programming, a future accelerator for validated founders and eventually remote and regional expansion.
Use of funds
What contributions pay for.
A line-item pilot budget is being finalized for board approval and will be published when approved. The categories below describe where contributions are intended to go.
- Curriculum development
- Instructors and facilitators
- Software and technology
- Participant support
- Venue costs
- Program operations
- Founder workshops
- Mentorship infrastructure
- Outreach and recruitment
- Evaluation and measurement
- Final founder showcase
- Administrative and compliance costs
What success looks like
Measured, then published.
These are the planned pilot measures. No results exist yet, and OMS2 will not report an outcome it has not measured.
See the full measurement planFounders enrolled
How many founders start the cohort.
Program completion rate
How many founders finish the full program.
Prototypes created
Working prototypes built during the program.
Customer interviews completed
Discovery conversations founders actually conduct.
Businesses launched
Founders who open for business during or shortly after the program.
First customers acquired
Founders who reach a first paying or committed customer.
First revenue generated
Founders who record initial revenue.
Continuation into the accelerator
Founders who move into later-stage OMS2 support once it exists.
Sponsorship
Ways an organization can back the cohort.
Sponsorship categories OMS2 is actively seeking. Amounts and benefits are set per conversation and confirmed in writing. No sponsorship is announced before it is confirmed, and OMS2 currently has no confirmed sponsors to display.
Technology Sponsor
Provide software, AI tools, credits or development platforms for participating founders.
Venue Sponsor
Offer donated or discounted space for workshops, build sessions and the founder showcase.
Founder Scholarship Sponsor
Cover participation support costs so cost is not a barrier for a founder.
Community Partner
Reach and refer founders through community, workforce or neighborhood networks.
Curriculum / Education Partner
Contribute instructors, teaching materials or curriculum expertise.
How the pilot gets funded
A diversified model built for resilience.
OMS2 is pursuing individual and institutional donations, grants, corporate sponsorships, fundraising events, mission-aligned social ventures, and volunteer and in-kind support.
Charitable support
Individual giving, institutional donations, donor campaigns and grants.
Partnership support
Corporate sponsors, professional services, technology, venues and in-kind resources.
Community support
Fundraising events, volunteers, mentors and program advocates.
Earned-revenue exploration
Mission-aligned social ventures developed with separate, documented financial relationships.
A financially responsible pilot.
The pilot is designed to run through donated, sponsored, shared or affordable partner space alongside remote delivery. No venue has been selected, and OMS2 is not seeking a prestigious address.
About the Chicagoland pilotClear payment categories.
Charitable donations, sponsorships, event tickets, earned revenue and commercial transactions are different. Tax deductibility may depend on the nature of the payment and any goods or services received.
See transparency informationFund the first cohort.
Give directly, discuss institutional support, or contribute the people, tools and space a first cohort needs.