Two grant proposals for character formation in America's middle schools
Prepared by ND Enterprises LLC in partnership with Nehemiah Center Kauaʻi Integrative Christian Counseling and Services, for submission to the Templeton Foundation's Character Virtue Development funding area under its 2026 Intelligence topic. Both proposals are presented below in full, with complete budgets, for your review.
The proposals
Each is a three-year Programs and Applied Research project built on Brian C. Alston's published frameworks, delivered through task-force curriculum development, mentor-led virtual teacher training, and evaluation by graduate and doctoral researchers.
Developing Social Intelligence Through Relationship Literacy
A middle school curriculum for character, connection, and collective intelligence — piloted and scaled across fifteen diverse schools in Hawaiʻi and the mainland United States.
Moral Intelligence for Middle Schools
A national character formation curriculum for moral discernment, responsibility, and human flourishing — distributed free of charge to five hundred middle schools, ten in each of the fifty states.
The role of Nehemiah Center Kauaʻi
Both proposals name Nehemiah Center Kauaʻi as the 501(c) nonprofit partner, led by Dr. Valerie Willman, Clinical Director. In this partnership, Nehemiah Center:
- Provides nonprofit standing. The Templeton Foundation funds charitable organizations; the partnership places a 501(c) nonprofit at the center of the application. Leadership will be asked to confirm whether Nehemiah Center serves as the applicant organization of record on the Templeton portal, with ND Enterprises executing the programs as partner.
- Helps provide facilitators. Qualified counseling professionals from Nehemiah Center's network support program delivery and student mentorship — strengthening the community of caring adults at the heart of both program models.
- Brings clinical leadership. Dr. Willman, a Clinical Psychologist licensed in the State of Hawaii and Board Certified Professional Christian Counselor, serves as Nonprofit Lead across both projects.
What happens next
The Foundation's process has two stages; nothing is submitted until leadership review is complete.
Leadership review
Nehemiah Center leadership reviews both proposals and confirms the partnership structure and applicant of record.
Funding inquiries submitted
Two short Online Funding Inquiries — one per proposal — are submitted through the Templeton Portal ahead of the 11:59 PM EDT deadline.
Full proposals
The Foundation invites selected inquiries to submit full proposals. The complete documents above stand ready for that stage.
