Innovative Impacts
Innovative Impacts is a Kansas-based youth mentoring and educational nonprofit dedicated to igniting curiosity and empowering the next generation of leaders. Rooted in the Six Skills for Success — Observation, Measurement, Classification, Inference, Hypothesizing, and Communication — we help young people use discovery, creativity, and real-world problem- solving to build confident, capable, and community-minded futures.
What We Do
Guided by our tagline, Educate. Empower. Employ. We seek to prepare youth for lifelong success by helping them build confidence, critical thinking, and real-world skills that promote self-sufficiency and community engagement.
Maximum Effort
Elementary/ Middle School
A hands-on mentoring experience that builds responsibility, resilience, confidence, teamwork, and character through STEM challenges and guided discussions. Partnership with Topeka Police Department School Resource Officers and TPS 501.
Young Entrepreneur Training Institute (YETI)
Middle School
Teaches middle and high school youth small-business skills including budgeting, marketing, planning, and customer service. Tempers this with introduction to community groups like Kiwanis, Lions, Rotary, Odd Fellows, Optimists, Masons and more.
Get a Job, Get a Ride, Get a Life
High School
A workforce and life-readiness pipeline:
• Get a Job — Employability and soft skills training with on-the-job experience.
• Get a Ride — Transportation readiness, driver’s education support, and mobility planning.
• Get a Life — Budgeting, cooking, apartment hunting, and planning for adulthood.
Our Mission
Innovative Impacts is organized exclusively for charitable and educational purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
The Corporation is a youth mentoring and educational organization dedicated to igniting curiosity and empowering young minds to apply the Six Skills for Success — Observation, Measurement, Classification, Inference, Hypothesizing, and Communication — to everyday problem solving. Through engaging programs and mentorship, Innovative Impacts encourages personal development, civic participation, and financial aptitude in the next generation of leaders.
Our Vision
Igniting curiosity and empowering young minds with the skills of discovery to prepare the next generation to explore boldly, solve wisely, and shape a brighter future.
Our Values
Curiosity: We inspire the desire to explore, question, and discover.
Empowerment: We equip youth with tools to think independently and problem-solve effectively. Self accountability and strength of character are at the heart of autonomy
Community: We believe learning is strengthened through collaboration and civic pride. Independent people in an interdependent society.
Creativity: We embrace hands-on learning and the power of imagination.
Growth: We build pathways from childhood curiosity to adult capability.
Social Enterprises
Innovative Impacts is intentionally developing revenue-generating social enterprises that also serve as “sandbox” training environments where youth can gain meaningful, on-the-job experience.
These ventures—to be located within walkable or bus-accessible neighborhoods—create authentic learning spaces in retail and service-based industries while promoting independence, employability, and real-world skill development.
Additionally, several of these enterprises will function as safe, supervised “third spaces” open to youth into the evening, addressing a critical community need for accessible environments that support positive engagement and personal growth.