Stories that LEAD
What we are learning, including the parts that did not work.
A young foundation, working in public. Notes on Idaho scholar-athletes, on getting girls into sport and keeping them there, and on the things we got wrong the first time.
Looking for the individual stories instead? IX Stories is the collection of first-person accounts — what stood in the way, what we funded, and what happened next, in their words rather than ours.
Read IX StoriesChange Make*Hers Gala by The Taylor LEAD Foundation is back on February 10
Tables and sponsorships are now open for the 2027 Change
Make*Hers Gala, returning February 10 at Boise Centre West
after a sold-out first year.
What $115 actually buys
It is registration season in Idaho. Here is the arithmetic of one girl's season, what a grant covers, and the number we still cannot tell you.
What LEAD Means, and What a Strong Application Actually Looks Like
Four criteria, explained the way a reviewer reads them, with the common mistakes that separate a finalist application from a recipient application.
A Counselor's Guide to the LEAD Scholarship, and to the Students Who Will Not Apply
The students most likely to qualify for this scholarship are often the least likely to submit. Here is the timeline, the criteria, and the specific intervention that changes that.
Camps Are Not About the Summer. They Are About Ages 12 to 14.
The case for girls' sports camps is usually made in adjectives. Made in numbers, it is narrower, more specific, and considerably more urgent.
The Second-Biggest Barrier in Girls' Sports Is an Adult Who Did Not Show Up
Allyship in girls' sports is usually described in feelings. The national data describes it in behaviors, and one of them ranks as the second-most-reported barrier women name.