Express Interest in Volunteering
Fill out this form and we'll follow up within a few business days with more information and next steps. There's no commitment required at this stage.
If you have business experience and want to make a meaningful difference, Option C Foundation pairs experienced volunteers with adults building their first small businesses. Most of our roles are 1-on-1 mentorship; we also welcome designers, marketers, developers, and other skilled volunteers who can contribute to participant launches. Remote and flexible — built around your schedule.
Most Option C participants are building their first business without a professional network, without a support system, and without anyone in their corner who has actually run a business. Your experience fills that gap — and that gap is usually the difference between a business that launches and one that stays an idea.
Most participants don't have access to anyone who has actually built and run a business. Your experience with real-world decisions, obstacles, and growth provides something no class or guide can replace.
The biggest reason new businesses stall is the absence of someone to check in with. A mentor who asks "how did it go?" and "what's your next step?" can make the difference between a business that launches and one that stays an idea.
A successful small business built by an Option C participant doesn't just change their life — it can create stability for their family, contribute to their community, and demonstrate what's possible for others in similar situations.
You're not being asked to invent the curriculum from scratch. Every Option C participant moves through the Business Building Machine — a structured 6-stage operating system that takes someone from "I have an idea" (or no idea at all) to a real, functioning small business with customers. Volunteers plug into a structure that's already doing the heavy lifting.
Stage 0 (Research), Stage 1 (Strategy), Stage 2 (Offer), Stage 3 (Visibility), Stage 4 (Delivery), Stage 5 (Optimize & Grow). Every stage produces approved deliverables — you're guiding someone through a real plan, not coaching abstractly.
Participants receive a 20+ page custom business plan, custom logo, custom website, hosting, SEO, Google Business Profile, Google Analytics, and Facebook + Instagram pages — all built by Option C alongside the participant. Mentors don't have to produce these themselves.
Volunteers are not on their own. The Option C team handles intake, professional execution, and program operations. Your role is the human element — perspective, accountability, judgment — on top of the structure we provide.
Mentoring with Option C is structured, purposeful, and designed to fit around a working schedule. The goal is not heroic time investment — it's consistent, honest support over the period a participant moves through the framework.
Meet virtually with your assigned participant on a regular schedule — typically every 2 to 4 weeks. Sessions are focused on progress, obstacles, and the next concrete step.
Provide feedback on the participant's stage outputs — their business plan, their offer, their pricing, their website copy — not as a formal review, but as someone who has built something and can spot gaps and ask good questions.
Share what you've learned the hard way — about customers, operations, pricing, marketing, cash flow, or whatever is most relevant to the participant's specific business type.
Good mentorship balances realistic feedback with genuine encouragement. Participants need someone who believes they can do it — and who will also be honest when something isn't working.
Most of our volunteer capacity is 1-on-1 mentorship, but we also welcome professionals with specific skills who want to contribute on a project basis — particularly in the areas where participants typically need the most polish.
Logo design review, brand identity feedback, web design polish, marketing collateral. Visual professionalism is one of the strongest credibility signals for a new small business.
Marketing strategy review, ad creative critique, sales-page copy improvements, email funnel feedback. Many participants come from non-marketing backgrounds and benefit hugely from professional input.
Custom website extensions beyond the standard build, basic automation setups, integration help, technical troubleshooting that goes beyond a typical small-business need.
Help participants set up basic bookkeeping, separate personal and business finances, understand tax obligations for self-employment, and prepare for the first tax season as a business owner.
If you have deep experience in a specific business category — trades, food, online services, e-commerce — you can advise participants in that vertical without taking on a long-term mentorship role.
One-time, project-based reviews of participant outputs — pricing, plan, website, brand — can be enormously valuable. Lower commitment than mentorship, but still meaningful.
If a non-mentor role fits you better, mention it in the form below and we'll figure out a way to put your skill to use.
You don't need to be a nationally recognized entrepreneur or have built a unicorn. You need to have built something, learned something, and be willing to share it honestly.
You've started, built, or managed a business of any size — a solo service business, a small company, a side business you ran for years. Size doesn't matter. Hands-on experience does.
You're invested in the success of someone who has faced real challenges — not as a project, but as a person trying to build something legitimate and meaningful.
You'll show up when you say you will, follow through on commitments, and be consistent with your participant — even when your own schedule gets busy.
Option C participants come from a wide range of backgrounds, including disability, prior incarceration, and long-term unemployment. We ask volunteers to focus on where participants are going, not where they've been.
All volunteer work is conducted remotely — video call, email, shared documents. You need to be comfortable with basic tools like Zoom, Google Meet, or similar.
Mentors typically commit 2–4 hours per month — one scheduled check-in plus prep and follow-up. Skill-based volunteers commit on a project basis. Designed to be sustainable alongside a full-time career.
A simple, low-friction path from interest to impact.
Tell us about your background, the kinds of businesses you've worked with or in, your availability, and whether you're interested in 1-on-1 mentorship or a skill-based role.
We schedule a brief virtual call to learn more about your experience, answer your questions, and explain what to expect from the volunteer relationship.
Mentors are matched with a participant whose business type, goals, and background align with the volunteer's experience. Skill-based volunteers are matched to specific projects as they come up.
You receive an orientation on the participant's situation and goals, and then begin your regular check-ins with support from the Option C team as needed.
No. All Option C volunteer roles — mentors and skilled volunteers — are unpaid. Volunteers contribute their time and expertise as a way of supporting the foundation's mission.
For mentors, typically 2–4 hours per month: one scheduled check-in (about an hour), plus prep, occasional follow-up messages, and time for reviewing any documents the participant shares. Skill-based volunteers commit on a per-project basis — some projects are a single review session, others span a few weeks.
It happens. Some participants pause or leave the program for life reasons; some matches just aren't the right fit. When that happens, the Option C team rematches you with another participant when one becomes available, or pauses the assignment until the timing works.
No. Option C is remote-first. Volunteers and participants can be located anywhere in the United States. Most check-ins happen by video call.
Yes — once you've gone through the onboarding and have one mentee for at least a stage or two, you can take on additional matches if you want and have the capacity. We don't require it.
Mentorship roles are designed for people who have hands-on business experience. If that's not you, the most impactful way to support the foundation is by donating — donations directly fund the deliverables (business plan, logo, website, etc.) for the next participant.
Yes — we review each volunteer interest form, schedule an intro call, and evaluate fit before matching. We're selective about who we place with participants, in particular for the 1-on-1 mentor role, because the trust the participant places in their mentor is significant.
Fill out this form and we'll follow up within a few business days with more information and next steps. There's no commitment required at this stage.
The people who come through Option C are motivated, capable, and serious about building something legitimate. They just need someone in their corner who's been there. That could be you — for an hour or two a month.