Copyright © 2019 · All Rights Reserved · Razing The Bar
CONTACT US
1400 Parkmoor Avenue, Suite#240
San Jose, CA 95126
(669) 215-5310
information@razingthebar.org
Copyright © 2019 · All Rights Reserved · Razing The Bar
CONTACT US
1400 Parkmoor Avenue, Suite#240
San Jose, CA 95126
(669) 215-5310
information@razingthebar.org
02. About Us
About Us
Who We Are
Give Now
Razing the Bar is a Santa Clara County nonprofit, built by people with lived experience, that walks beside emerging adults experiencing homelessness on the road from Survival to Sufficiently Self™.
Our Mission
Razing the Bar believes that relationships are the key to successful youth development. Through mentorship and housing support, we help transition-aged youth achieve permanent connections and self-sufficiency.
Our Vision
A Santa Clara County where every young person has a home, people who stay, and the chance to build a life they belong in.
Our Name
Tear it down. Build it right. Raise the bar.
Razing
To raze is to tear something down to the ground so it can be rebuilt. The name expresses our commitment to rebuilding, from a systems standpoint, how agencies serve young people.
…the Bar
A play on “raising the bar”: high expectations, matched by high support, for every young person we walk beside.
Sufficiently Self™
From the Latin sufficere, “to lay a foundation under; to be enough.” A sufficient self is a supported self, never an unsupported one.
Our Story
We started with a point to prove.
Razing the Bar began in 2017 on a shoestring, self-funded budget, with a simple belief: invest in young people, be genuine in your approach, and they will start to invest in themselves.
That same year, we opened our first home for six young people. They helped write their own house rules, and with them, the model we still follow today.
Today, Razing the Bar is a partner in Santa Clara County’s Coordinated Entry System, walking beside young people who arrive from every road that leads to homelessness.
“Invest in young people, be genuine in your approach, and they will start to invest in themselves.”
Our Values
For us. By us. With us.
For us.
We exist for emerging adults in Santa Clara County experiencing homelessness, whatever road brought them here.
By us.
We are built by people with lived experience. We know this road from the inside. Lived experience is valued, and never required to be disclosed.
With us.
The young person is the builder. Always. We walk beside them, not above, not ahead, with every mentor, neighbor, partner, and donor who chooses to stand with them.
For each of us.
Every young person is a specific, rights-bearing person who shapes their own goals.
People who stay.
Our relationship with a young person does not end when they move on. Former mentees are always welcome at our community gatherings.
Not perfect. Not alone. Enough.
The goal is not a perfect life. It is a life a young person can build, sustain, and belong in.
Sufficiently Self™
A life you build and belong in.
Every life is built in order, like a house. Safety is the footing. Trust is the foundation. Belonging is the frame.
Every young person travels the road one sign at a time, from Survival to Sufficiently Self™, and at every sign, someone needs to be standing beside them.
Accountability
Every gift, accounted for.
Independently audited
Our financial statements are reviewed each year by an independent auditor.
Open books
Our most recent financial statements and IRS Form 990 are available on request.
Donor rights
We honor the Donor Bill of Rights. Every gift is used for the purpose for which it was given.
Request financial information at information@razingthebar.org, or view our profile on Charity Navigator.
Go Deeper
Keep walking the road with us.
The people beside them.
Meet the staff and mentors who walk the road every day.
Our Governance
The people who hold us accountable.
Our Board of Directors and how Razing the Bar is governed.
Our Approach
Housing first. Relationships next.
How we house young people and walk beside them.
Theory of Change
Why we believe it works.
The outcomes we work toward and the reasoning behind them.
Logic Model
From inputs to outcomes.
What we put in, what we do, and what changes.
Our Impact
What the numbers show.
The results we measure and report every year.
Razing the Bar, Inc. · 1400 Parkmoor Avenue, Suite 240B, San José, CA 95126 · A California nonprofit public benefit corporation and 501(c)(3) public charity · EIN 80-0441705 · Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.