Made for Greatness

A Case for Support for the First Phase

of the Authentic Leadership Foundation’s “Campaign Towards Greatness”

in our Young People, and a Nation Reborn

“The world offers you comfort.
But you were not made for comfort.
You were made for greatness.”
- Pope Benedict XVI

The Crisis of Our Times

History shows us that liberation of a people is never the hardest part—rather it is formation of people. When Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, the Exodus was the beginning, not the end. The real challenge came after, of “...getting Egypt out of the Israelites,” which required forty years of wandering, purification, and the rise of a new generation capable of entering the Promised Land.

In much the same way, our world today is experiencing collapse—not just of institutions, but of meaning itself. False idols of consumerism, secularism, technocracy, and materialism are failing. Economic instability, political distrust, and cultural fragmentation expose the fragility of systems that were never built on the rock of truth.

The symptoms are visible everywhere:

• Rising crime and violence destabilizing communities.

• Deadly drugs like fentanyl claiming thousands of young lives.

• A diminished work ethic and loss of civic responsibility.

• A culture of narcissism and distraction, hard-wired into daily life through smartphones.

• Education systems that deconstruct more than they build.

• The fastest-growing “faith” in America being no faith at all.

These realities reflect more than just a social downturn. They mark a deeper moral and spiritual crisis—a desert moment for our culture.

With Our Kids Trapped in the Middle…

The cultural desert we find ourselves in is not abstract—it shows up in the lives of our young people in measurable and heartbreaking ways. Since 2010, national surveys reveal:

• Anxiety is soaring among young adults. Its prevalence has increased by 92% among ages 18–25 and 62% among ages 26–34, while older generations show little or no increase.
• Teens are losing their sense of meaning. A growing percentage of U.S. high school seniors agree that “Life often seems meaningless,” with especially sharp increases since 2015—most dramatically among girls.
• Major depression is climbing at alarming rates. Cases have risen by 145% among girls and 161% among boys in just over a decade.
• The trend is generational. Older adults report little change or even decline in anxiety, underscoring the unique vulnerability of today’s youth.

These sobering realities reveal the cost of a culture that has lost its bearings. A generation is being formed without anchors in truth, family, or faith, and the results are written across their faces in anxiety, despair, and a desperate hunger for purpose.

Our Solution: The Path to Greatness

The Authentic Leadership Foundation (ALF), a 501(c)(3) organization, exists to show both students and educators how to discover their individual path to greatness. We believe that every person is made for greatness—and that with guidance, formation, and community support, they can live integrated lives that fully realize their God-given gifts.

How do we define greatness?

1. A path paved with principled decisions, strong character, and clarity of personal mission.
2. This Path integrates and supports continuous growth in three dimensions:

• Professional – getting schoolwork and future preparation right.
• Spiritual – grounding one’s life in faith and meaning.
• Personal – developing character, discipline, and self-knowledge.

Integration elevates academic, spiritual, and personal development, leading to Authentic Leadership—greatness or integritas—which is the hallmark of an integrated life.

How the Program Works

Through Path to Greatness training (delivered by each school’s teachers), students engage in a structured process built around three ideals:

• Making principled decisions.
• Building strong character.
• Developing and executing a unique mission of service.

These ideals give deeper meaning to faith and work, provide new ways of optimizing performance, and unlock an internal wellspring of motivation. Backed by contemporary neuroscience research, the program infuses these ideals into the daily academic, athletic, and service work of schools.

Educators receive a train-the-trainer program and an ongoing community of support, equipping them to guide students in discovering and living their Path to Greatness.

Benefits for Schools

Schools that adopt the program differentiate themselves in the marketplace. They become communities where:

• Students learn to integrate faith, academics, athletics, and service.
• Donors, parents, and educators are drawn to a mission that emphasizes wholeness.
• Graduates emerge equipped to lead integrated lives marked by purpose and service.

The Process: From Design to Growth

ALF supports schools through a comprehensive design, training, and support process for both educators & students:

• Growth Assessments
• Planning for Growth
• Program implementation with accountability
• Results measurement

Support is delivered through content creation, peer review, training, community-building events, and ongoing digital engagement via our IntegratedLife.Network platform.

Investment and Sustainability

To date, more than $200,000 in direct investment and $750,000 in in-kind contributions have built the foundation: curriculum, training, program processes, and technology backbone.

Phase 1 Goal $600k: Secure the resources to reach more students and scale for growth.

Phase 2 - Goal $6 million: By 2033: 30 schools, 12,000 students engaged annually, with 3,000 graduating each year as Authentic Leaders equipped to live integrated lives of greatness.

A Time of Purification and Opportunity

Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.
—Psalm 127:1

Our Constitutional Republic, remarkable as it is, was “made only for a moral and religious people” as John Adams wrote. It cannot sustain a society that has lost its virtue.

As our nation experiences a rebirth, focused on personal liberty, responsibility and a return to the Constitutional principles that are the seeds of greatness, the growth of this “nation reborn” will depend upon the character and virtues of the next generation.

God often allows old forms to die so that new life can emerge. Just as Israel needed a generation purified in the wilderness, we stand at the threshold of history, awaiting younger, better-formed generations—rooted in God, family, and the foundational principles of human dignity and ordered liberty.

A question before us: will we look back longingly at “Egypt,” or move forward in faith as a Promised Land generation, ready to rebuild with courage and conviction?
With this question in mind, we invite you to join us on this Campaign Towards Greatness. With your partnership, we can expand this transformative program, reach more students, and build a generation of leaders who know who they are and they were made to be great.