Message from founder & CEO Connor Archer

I would like to welcome all you into 2017. We are now able to celebrate lots of milestones, because of our work concluding 2016. 

On Wednesday December 28th, 2016, I officially signed the necessary paperwork to send to the IRS, to claim tax exemption (non-profit) status under section 501(c)3. This was a huge goal of mine, and i'm happy that we can now begin 2017 in the right direction. 

At this time, we are accepting pledges for donations and sponsorships which will become tax-deductible once we recieve our designation through the IRS. When you pledge, you don't have to send your donation and sponsorship immediately. The individual or organization can do that once we notify the individual or organization that our organization has received the designation letter from the IRS.

With an attorney who has been in the field for almost 25 years, a board of directors with tons of experience in non-profit governing, and with a CEO who is devoted to making sure that we are furthering the charitable purposes of The Courageous Steps Project, I am confident that we will receive our status in no time. 

You can also just send your sponsorship or donation to: The Courageous Steps Project, P.O. Box 1, Stillwater, ME 04489. Once we do receive our designation letter, we will make sure to notify all of our donors and sponsors that we are officially tax-exempt. All tax-exempt donations and sponsorships will be retroactive back to July 25th, 2016 when The Courageous Steps Project became an independent corporation. 

I am excited to kick off 2017 with a new comprehensive plan that builds on the accomplishments from 2016. I encourage you to email us at: info@thecourageousstepsproject.org, if you have any questions. To email one of our initiatives, please visit our website at: www.thecourageousstepsproject.org, and find that information under our CONTACT page. 

The Courageous Steps Project will be hosting a benefit dinner on Tuesday December 27th, to conclude 2016. 

The benefit dinner will take place at Governor's Restaurant in Old Town, from 4pm to 8pm. 10% of proceeds will benefit Courageous Steps endeavors. 

At Governor's, we will also be selling stress balls and other Courageous Steps products, as we head into 2017. We will of course also accept a general donation, which will help close 2016. 

If you have any questions about the upcoming year, please contact our fundraising initiative at: fundraisers@thecourageousstepsproject.org. 

It has been definitely a year full of adventures for The Courageous Steps Project, as we now close to closing out some of 2016. To show you how our organization has grown in the past year, I would like to provide you with some increases in our initiatives. 

In 2016, we experienced much growth in our Charitable Giving Initiative. From 2015 to 2016, our Charitable Giving initiative donated approximately 40.5% more funds. $11,100 went to organizations in Eastern Maine that continue to help children and young adults with developmental challenges. 

The Wishlist Initiative, launched this year, helped two classroom teachers in Maine. 

Our Back-To-School Drive allowed eighteen schools to benefit from our efforts. From 2015 to 2016, we increased our donors to 66% from 50% in 2014-2015. 

In regards to our 'One Word' Challenge, we added seven schools from last December, to this December. In January, we are gearing up for an intense beginning for our 'One Word' Challenge. 

These are just some of the exciting numbers that we are able to provide to you, as we transition into next year, running as a soon-to-be 501(c)3 non-profit organization. 

Of course, if you have any questions, please feel free to email me at: connor.archer@thecourageousstepsproject.org. 

Happy Holidays!

With Appreciation, 

Connor Archer
Founder & CEO of The Courageous Steps Project, Inc.

Since 2014, The Courageous Steps Project has served many individuals with developmental challenges. In 2016, we began the transition into a non-profit organization, by completing necessary paperwork. We are proud to say that we are close to this necessary step, and that we will be moving forward with our comprehensive transition plan as we head into 2017. 

In 2016 alone, we released our new Scholarship Fund, aiming to support many more communities in Eastern Maine. We have also launched the Charitable Giving Fund, Wishlist Inititaive, and Sensory Learning Inititaive, to help with enforcing our policies of the organization, voted on the board of directors in 2016. 

Our board of directors and I have worked countless hours to transition this organization into it's next stages. With that said, we are asking that you are patient with us as we do so. 

It is my hope, to release our comprehensive plan for 2017. This plan will include our first events of the year, our timeline of events as of December 2016, and our future as an organization. 

If you have any questions about this transition, please feel free to contact me at: connor.archer@thecourageousstepsproject.org. You can also mail a letter with questions or comments to our organization: The Courageous Steps Project, P.O. Box 1, Stillwater, ME 04489. 

As founder & CEO, I am invested into continuing to expand initiatives of The Courageous Steps Project, as we continue forward in our transition. 

On Saturday December 3rd, The Courageous Steps Project hosted it's first table at the OTES PTC Holiday Bazaar. 

With help of board members, and volunteers, the event helped launch our Yankee Candle deals, and stress balls, our newest addition to our product line. 

Each person who made a purchase, also was eligible to enter in a $50+ gift package with Yankee Candle products. The announcement of the winner of that package took place on facebook Saturday night, and is now with the recipient. 

"We definitely plan on doing this again next year, and we will probably have Yankee Candle products at that event once again too" said founder & CEO Connor Archer in a brief statement earlier this week. 

The Courageous Steps Project has a benefit dinner planned for Tuesday December 27th, at the Old Town Governor's Restaurant from 4pm to 8pm. 10% of proceeds will be donated to The Courageous Steps Project, and other products will be sold up front. Stay tuned to the facebook page for more annuoncements on that. 

The Courageous Steps Project launched it's Charitable Giving initiative this past summer, with having bigger organizations apply for the grant. 

On Monday December 5th, the Brewer School Department Special Education program received $1,000.00 from the Charitable Giving fund. Earlier this fall, the RSU #19 Autism Leader Team received $600.00 from the Charitable Giving fund. 

Standing with founder & CEO Connor Archer, is Brewer Special Education director Angela Moore, and the Brewer School Board. Archer also took the opportunity to talk about the upcoming 'One Word' Challenge at the Brewer Community School. 

"Brewer will become a support system for us as we transition into our next phase" says founder & CEO Connor Archer. Archer is also working with staff in Brewer, to get Brewer High School involved in the 'One Word' Challenge, to make it a community effort. 

"I would like to see Brewer be apart of this transition, and make a statement for our organization. It will be amazing to see what happens!" added Archer.