Our Mission

Facing the Future engages students in learning by making academics relevant to their lives. We empower students to think critically, develop a global perspective, and participate in positive solutions for a sustainable future.

We do this by providing educators with the tools and resources they need to ignite their students’ interest in complex global issues while helping them achieve academically. Our approach is positive and solutions-oriented, and our business model is systemic and leveraged: Facing the Future programming reaches hundreds of thousands of students each year at a cost of less than $2 per student.

Programming Designed to Help Students

• Understand global issues and sustainability in a way that shows the connections between population, environment, consumption, poverty, conflict, and other global issues
• Develop a global perspective
• Learn critical thinking skills
• Be inspired to take personal action

Mission-Driven Evaluation

Facing the Future assesses the degree to which we are successfully achieving our mission against four strategic objectives. Objective-specific metrics allow us to quantify our progress on an ongoing basis.

• Create transformational change by reaching a critical mass of youth in the United States with meaningful global sustainability education that produces informed and capable young adults.
  • Success Metric: Reach >=25% of U.S. K-12 students yearly by 2020.
  • Success Metric: At least 75% of students reached with Facing the Future programming show meaningfully increased knowledge of the complex and interconnected global issues of environment, population, poverty, consumption, and conflict.
  • Success Metric: At least 75% of students reached with Facing the Future programming show increased global perspective.
• Improve the critical thinking capabilities of youth
  • Success Metric: At least 75% of students reached with Facing the Future programming show improved critical thinking skills.
• Influence a major segment of our society to be highly motivated to positively address and impact the local and global sustainability challenges of coming decades.
  • Success Metric: At least 75% of students reached with Facing the Future programming show increased willingness to become active in their communities.
  • Success Metric: At least 75% of students reached with Facing the Future programming are hopeful and confident about their ability to positively impact their future.

Mission-Driven Planning

Based on 10 years of experience and 2 years of extensive planning, Facing the Future has developed a plan for achieving our strategic objectives.

How We're Doing...

Read what educators are saying about our curriculum.

Learn about our impact on student achievement.

Watch a short clip of Jack Edgerton, Facing the Future's new Executive Director, to learn more about Facing the Future's mission and ultimate goal.