About Us
Legacy Builders Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that brings literacy, financial education, and practical life skills directly to youth and families.
Why Legacy Builders exists
Too many families work hard and still feel locked out of financial stability, not because of effort, but because no one ever taught them how money, credit, insurance, and opportunity actually work. Children who read below grade level carry that disadvantage into every classroom and, later, into every paycheck.
Legacy Builders Foundation was created to change that pattern. We pair literacy with financial knowledge and practical life skills so that youth and families gain tools they can use immediately and pass on to the next generation.
Who We Serve
Legacy Builders Foundation serves youth and families in Aurora, Illinois, with a focus on communities where access to literacy support, financial education, and practical life skills can create meaningful long-term opportunity.
Through Read to Wealth, the foundation is designed to serve 75 at-risk youth in grades 3 through 6 from underserved Aurora neighborhoods, including students reading below grade level and English Language Learners.
We are community based, working with youth across Aurora-area school districts, including East Aurora School District 131, West Aurora School District 129, and Indian Prairie School District 204. The funded cohort is projected to be predominantly Black or African American and Hispanic or Latino, while also serving white and multiracial youth.
Our Mission
Legacy Builders Foundation equips youth and families with literacy, financial knowledge and practical life skills that help create stronger, more economically secure futures.
Our Vision
Communities where people, regardless of socioeconomic background, have the knowledge and opportunity to achieve financial well-being and contribute to stronger communities.
Building Knowledge. Creating Opportunity. Strengthening Futures.
Sdahrie Howard
Founder, President and Executive Director
Sdahrie Howard leads Legacy Builders Foundation with a clear conviction: knowledge is the most durable inheritance a family can receive. She holds two degrees and has long been passionate about empowering children, teens, and adults whenever they need support.
Her professional journey, including firsthand frustration with poor leadership in the workplace, pushed her to create her own path and to build an organization that leads differently. Along the way she saw how financial illiteracy quietly limits families, shaping decisions about housing, credit, protection, and business ownership for generations. That realization led her to found Legacy Builders Foundation.
Her educational focus includes financial literacy, life insurance awareness, credit education, and business funding and entrepreneurial knowledge. Through the foundation, she is helping the next generation build generational wealth and stronger opportunities for their families and communities.
What guides our work
Education
Strong learning foundations open doors, so we make learning accessible, relevant, and welcoming.
Financial Knowledge
Understanding money early creates confidence that lasts across a lifetime and across generations.
Youth Empowerment
Young people develop the skills, voice, and self-belief to lead in their own lives.
Family Support
Learning grows strongest when families are engaged, informed, and supported alongside their children.
Community Partnership
We work with schools, organizations, and funders who share our commitment to lasting change.