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For Individuals

The trades taking care oftheir own.

You don't need a company behind you to put tools in someone's hands. Individual supporters give what they can, and every name on the wall counts the same regardless of the amount.

TurnToTrades exists to give people clear, unbiased information about careers in the skilled trades, and to put tools in the hands of those who choose that path.

See how you're recognized → Sponsoring as a company?

Status: TurnToTrades Apprenticeship Foundation Inc. is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, EIN 42-4909202. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

About the foundation

One mission, two steps

TurnToTrades Apprenticeship Foundation Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. We help people find a trade, then help them afford to start it. The free information on this site and the apprentice awards your gift funds are two parts of the same path, not two separate missions. turntotrades.com is a program of the foundation, not a separate organization.

Inform
Clear, unbiased trade-career guides, salary data, and planning tools at turntotrades.com, open to everyone and always free. Donations never gate the content.
Equip
Fixed-dollar awards toward the tools, gear, and program fees that starting a trade requires, for people entering registered apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships, and accredited trade-school programs nationwide.
Where your gift goes
Contributions fund the Skilled Trade Awards, selected under the foundation's published award guidelines. No donor can direct who receives one, and the information stays free regardless.
Where it goes

Same fund, same purpose

Individual gifts go into the same pool as company sponsorships, funding awards toward tools, gear, and program costs for people entering registered apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships, and accredited trade-school programs. Fifty dollars covers a pair of boots somebody isn't going to have to skip a week's groceries for.

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No minimum

Give what makes sense. There's no tier ladder for individuals and no amount printed next to your name.

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Recognized by trade

You're listed by your trade and your town, not by what you gave. That's the part worth putting on a wall.

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Nationwide

The wall sorts by state. Watching it fill in across the country is the whole point.

The supporter wall

Listed by who you are, not what you gave

Every individual supporter is listed the same way: first name, last initial, trade, and town. No dollar figures anywhere on the page. A retired machinist giving fifty dollars sits beside everyone else.

★ Founding Supporter

The wall is empty. That's the good part.

Everyone who supports the foundation before our first scholarship is awarded carries the Founding Supporter mark permanently. It's given once and never again.

How names will appear Dave M. — Journeyman Electrician, Toledo, OH Rosa V. — Welder, Bakersfield, CA Jim K. — Retired Machinist, Erie, PA

Prefer not to be listed? There's a checkbox for that when the time comes, and leaving it unchecked changes nothing about the gift.

Straight answers

A few things worth saying plainly

No merchandise
No stickers, decals, shirts, or mugs. Sending something back would only create paperwork for both of us.
You can't pick a recipient
Not you, and not a sponsoring company either. Gifts go into a pool the foundation controls, and selections are made under the foundation's published award guidelines.
Your listing, your call
List your trade and town, list your name only, or stay off the wall entirely. Any of the three is fine.
Where the money goes
Awards are a fixed dollar amount toward tools, gear, and program costs, paid to the recipient's school or training program where there is an account to pay into, and directly to the recipient otherwise. Published annually by trade and state.