A Boys To Men USA Program

Boys To Men University

Preserving and sharing our learnings
for generations to come

Scalability - Reliability - Sustainability - Legacy

Boys To Men USA serves our regional centers with training opportunities, program and administrative best practices, and technology support.

We are committed to fostering sustainable growth for our Centers by collaborating, documenting, evolving, protecting, and sharing what we learn.

Boys To Men University is the embodiment of everything Boys To Men USA was originally created to do. This is how we accelerate and scale the growth of this critical work.

We now are in our fourth year of active Boys To Men University development, and it’s time to shift into a higher gear.

We invite you to be a part of the exciting new future we are creating for our boys and the Centers that support them.

—The 2026 Boys To Men USA Board of Directors

BOARD OFFICERS

Dave
Bolduc

Chair

Scott "Corky" Sigurdson

Vice Chair

Walter Augustine

Secretary

John
Davis

Treasurer

MEMBERS AT LARGE

Michael Bonahan

Mirabai Galashan

Al
Nodarse

Joe
Sigurdson

Tom
Steger

Attila
Tota

The Problem

The Boy Crisis Is Real

Teen boys get real when mentors offer kind, patient, and non-judgmental listening.
Houston RTF Training, August 2025.

Boys are falling behind—and the data is unambiguous:

1½ years

behind girls in reading by age 15¹

42%

share of college students who are male²

~80%

youth suicide deaths under 25 are male³

70%

of school suspensions
are boys⁴

93%

sentenced prison population is male⁵

1 in 4

children grow up without a father⁶

These aren’t isolated statistics. They represent a systemic crisis affecting boys’ development, mental health, and life trajectory.

Meanwhile, Big Brothers Big Sisters carries a 30,000-child waiting list.⁷ The demand for what we do has never been higher.

Early intervention through mentoring can dramatically alter these outcomes—Boys To Men Mentoring has been proving this since 1996.

WHY A PROGRAM FOR BOYS?

Supporting Boys Benefits Everyone

OUR FOCUS

Focusing on boys doesn’t mean ignoring girls. Many excellent programs serve girls—and they should. But boys face a distinct set of challenges that have gone unaddressed for too long.

Boys need safe space where they can be honest and drop their defenses. Boys operate differently in all-male spaces—they’re more willing to be vulnerable, to admit struggles, to drop defensive postures.

Research shows boys behave differently when girls are present, particularly around emotions and perceived weakness.⁸ They “perform” strength as an “act”. They suppress what they actually feel, and often do not even have language to describe their feelings.

HOW IT WORKS

Boys To Men Mentoring’s precepts—Listen, Accept, Model, and Praise—shift a teen boy’s sense of himself and his place in the world.

Our methodology rewires default teen behavior patterns, creates psychological safety, and allows boys to process and understand their emotions in ways that produce profound changes for a better life.

When boys feel better, they do better

Making a difference since 1996

Impact Statement

We’ve come a long way from a humble backyard football game.

This work has taken on a life of its own.

It’s been 30 years now, but we’re just getting started.

BTMUSA Total Network Impact

BTMUSA State of the Network, 2024/2025

1,898

youth served

348

mentors

118

mentoring circles

157+

Journeymen*

117

schools & community sites

$3.36M

annual budget

Reflects 2024/2025 combined network data for 13 centers.⁹

*Excludes Journeymen for San Diego center.

The current challenge

How do we scale?

What we’ve built works.

What we haven’t fully solved is how to scale without losing what makes it powerful.

When a new community wants to launch, they’re navigating a complex multi-year process without a clear and complete roadmap.

Before the pandemic, there were 32 Boys To Men centers operating in the US, but in 2026, we are down to 11 operational centers.

We’ve lost good people, but we haven’t lost what makes this program great…

Boys To Men Network Centers, 2026

#	Center	Location	Status
1	Boys To Men San Diego	San Diego, CA	✅ Operational
2	Boys To Men Hawaii	Hawaiian Islands	✅ Operational
3	Boys To Men Mentoring Virginia	Richmond, VA	✅ Operational
4	Journeymen Triangle	Raleigh, NC	✅ Operational
5	Our Greater Good	Valparaiso, IN	✅ Operational
6	Boys To Men SW	Southwest Colorado	✅ Operational
7	Journeymen	Vashon, WA	✅ Operational
8	Boys To Men NorCal	Sacramento, CA	✅ Operational
9	Boys To Men Tucson	Tucson, AZ	✅ Operational
10	Boys To Men Mentoring of Greater Washington	Washington, DC	✅ Operational
11	Mentoring To Manhood New England	New England	✅ Operational
12	Boys To Men Mentoring Michigan	Wayne, Oakland & Macomb Counties	🌱 Startup
13	Boys To Men Texas	Houston, TX	❓ TBD
14	Boys To Men Denver	Denver, CO	❓ TBD
15	Boys To Men Phoenix	Phoenix, AZ	❓ TBD

If you work with a Boys To Men Mentoring program that’s not on this list, we would love to hear from you!
Please reach out to us via our Contact form.

To train effective new facilitators and mentors, we need to capture and convey all the nuance and intention that comes from the vision and deep inner commitment of our senior leaders. Simply “writing down what they said” does not begin to do it justice.

Because in 50 years, we don’t want people guessing what our co‑founders Craig McClain and Joe Sigurdson said or meant.

We also need a way to ease the common administrative and training burdens of every center while allowing for center autonomy and innovation. The level of effort it takes to deliver this program can be overwhelming. Burnout is common. And the impact of failure is devastating.

The methodology is only as strong as our ability to pass it on.

The Solution

What is Boys To Men University?

Joe Sigurdson co-leads the 2025 August RTF in Houston with a senior BTMUSA team.

Boys To Men University is a national online mentor training and Center resources portal—purpose-built for existing and emerging BTM Centers. It’s a platform that helps mentors, facilitators, and center leaders with critical training, operations, and ongoing community development.

Key advantages include:

30 years of experience, in one place, for everyone

Everything in one place, on your computer, tablet, or phone .

Train from anywhere, to anywhere

Less dependence on expensive travel and limited availability.

New centers start strong

And existing centers get stronger.

Better results, less friction

Easy to find, easy to use, easy to learn—accelerates growth for new leadership.

It’s a critical resource for mentors, facilitators, and center leaders—so they can spend less time on administration and more time with the boys.

Boys To Men University is a program of Boys To Men USA.

What Boys To Men University isn't...

Boys To Men University
Training & Development Tracks

Mentor Track

Level 1 Mentoring Fundamentals

Facilitator Track

Level 2 / Facilitator Training

TTT Track

Train The Trainers

Governance

Board Development
Operations Library
Center Leader Peer Community

Supplemental

Fundraising
Suicide Awareness
Data Collection & more…

Community

Mentor Support Community
National Calls

Success Stories

Boys To Men Virginia sees +197% growth

Boys To Men Virginia (BTMVA) created +197% growth in the 6 years since the pandemic (~20% per year), and continues to grow for the 2025/26 school year.

Some key metrics:

BTMVA has seen +197% growth in the 6 years post-pandemic.

650

boys served annually¹⁰

schools across 8 divisions¹⁰

75%

better control over emotions¹⁰

85%

feel part of a community¹⁰

BTMVA bounced back after the pandemic by focusing on what they knew worked: regular mentor training; a team development orientation; strong partnerships with local school systems, colleges, and law enforcement; consistent circle facilitation; and a board unified behind the vision.

The numbers tell part of the story. What happens in the circle tells the rest:

"You guys are an amazing group. My son has had a lot of heartache in his life and didn't feel his life was worth living and felt that everyone hated him. He attempted suicide twice before finding Boys To Men Mentoring.

"Since he started we have seen a major change in his attitude towards life. He is actually making plans for his future again! He walks with his shoulders up instead of down and his head held high.

"Thank you all for all of your hard work this year in helping my teen see that he is worth so much more than he knows. What you have done for him and our family is priceless."

— Parent of a Mentee, BTMVA, 2025

"If it was not for Steven bringing me to Boys to Men, getting me involved with these circles, I could be spending twenty-five to life right now."

— Jeff, BTM Virginia alumnus

"I just love the organization so much. This is my whole life. When I had nothing, I had them."

— Robert, BTMVA Mentor

Lasting Impact

Robert joined Boys To Men Virginia 14 years ago as a boy. He now has a son of his own, has stopped the cycle in his own family, and now volunteers as a BTMVA Mentor.

BTMVA is just one success story, and there are more.

We can use success stories as templates to replicate those successes.

Boys To Men University is the container for that know-how.

The Plan

The Development Roadmap

Boys To Men University will be built in four phases over three years.

Boys To Men University—Project Timeline

Projected kickoff Q1 2027 · Father-Son Weekend fundraising Oct 2026

Phase	Q1 '27	Q3 '27	Q1 '28	Q3 '28
Phase 1Mentor Track—RTF L1	Mentor Track (RTF L1) · 6 months
Phase 2Facilitator Track—L2		Facilitator Track (L2) · 6 months
Phase 3Governance Track			Governance Track · 6 months
Phase 4Ongoing Operations				Ongoing Operations -->
Level of Effort	1.25 FTE	1.25 FTE	1.25 FTE	0.5 FTE
Budget	$71,000	$65,000	$65,000	$32,500 / yr

Phase 1—Mentor Track (RTF L1)

Phase 2—Facilitator Track (L2)

Phase 3—Governance Track

Phase 4—Ongoing Operations

Phase 1 · Q1–Q2 2027 · $71,000

Mentor Track—RTF L1

The foundation. Builds and launches Level 1 mentor training, delivered live and virtually with pre-recorded segments.

Phase 2 · Q3–Q4 2027 · $65,000

Facilitator Track + Supplemental Workshops

Level 2 for circle facilitators, plus advanced courses on fundraising, suicide prevention, and more.

Phase 3 · Q1–Q2 2028 · $65,000

Governance Track

Trainer Track plus board development, operations library, school partnerships, center launch resources, and a private peer community for center leaders.

Phase 4 · 2028+ · $32,500/yr

Ongoing Operations + Virtual Mentor Community

Content maintenance, platform updates, and regular national calls across the network.

Phase 1 is where it begins. It doesn't start until it's funded.

PHASE 1 FUNDING

Help us close the gap

$40K

Father-Son Weekend
(projected) — 56%

$31K

Funding Gap
for Phase 1 BTMU

$71K

Phase 1
Goal

Father-Son Weekend contribution

Your donation closes this gap

Please support Boys To Men University via the today. Even a modest monthly gift helps us meet this critical fundraising goal.

Father-Son Weekend is a BTM University fundraiser, projected to get us more than halfway to our Phase 1 target.

Your donation closes the gap and gets Boys To Men University Phase 1 off the ground.

Notes & Sources

OECD (2022). PISA 2022 Results: Factsheets. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
National Center for Education Statistics (2023). Digest of Education Statistics. U.S. Department of Education.
CDC WISQARS (2022). Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights. Civil Rights Data Collection, 2021–22.
Carson, E.A. (2023). Prisoners in 2022. Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice.
U.S. Census Bureau (2023). Current Population Survey: America’s Families and Living Arrangements.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. 2023 Annual Impact Report. bbbs.org.
Way, N. (2011). Deep Secrets: Boys’ Friendships and the Crisis of Connection. Harvard University Press.
Boys To Men USA. 2024 Network Center Survey. Internal data.
Boys To Men Virginia. 2024–25 Annual Program Report. Internal data.