Our Story
Dare To Dream Fund began with a deceptively simple question: Why do students drop out?
Our founders, Dawn Verdick and Nina Rosete, spent years working at the intersection of business strategy and social impact. Through their research and fieldwork, they arrived at a powerful insight: most young people don't lack dreams—they lack an educational and community environment effective enough to keep them on track.
Children dream naturally. They imagine becoming astronauts, doctors, artists, and leaders. But somewhere between that first spark of imagination and the reality of adulthood, too many young people lose their way—not because their dreams faded, but because no one helped them build a bridge from aspiration to action.
That realization became the foundation of Dare To Dream Fund. Established as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Monterey, California, we set out to create that bridge: a structured, supportive pathway that helps every young person transform their dreams into achievable goals.