Budo Accelerator
Budo Accelerator

Budo Accelerator

$5,000
Goal
$0
Raised
0
Donors
0%
Funded
SUGGESTED DONATION
$50
Covers transportation costs for a student who otherwise would not be able to come to the dojo
$75
Provides a student with a uniform for the full program year
$150
Outfit 2 students for the entire year
$250
Supports our instructors, UC Irvine accredited curriculum, and national mentor portal
CHOOSE YOUR OWN AMOUNT
OUR STORY

Budo Accelerator serves 260+ students across Orange County each year, at no cost. We integrate weekly martial arts training in Aikido, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Filipino Kali with a UC Irvine-accredited leadership curriculum, professional mentorship, and mental wellness support. Students learn a skill, practice it under real pressure on the mat, then reflect with peers and mentors.

Our programs run year-round for students ages 13-22 from under-resourced backgrounds; 60% are female and 90%+ are first-generation and/or low-income. Cohorts are consistently full and we maintain a waitlist.

Our fall cohort begins the week after Giving Day. Every student who walks in gets a uniform, a ride if they need one, and the supplies to train for the year. No student is ever turned away for inability to pay. 

Only $75 outfits a student for their full program year. In this way, each student wears the same uniform, everyone starts at the same level, all markers of socio-economic status are removed, and everyone on the mat becomes an equal.

We run programs at our Irvine dojo and with partners including UC Irvine, Project Hope Alliance, Simon Scholars, the Irvine Public Schools Foundation, and the Tiger Woods Foundation's TGR Learning Lab.