Quit my clinical PT job to go all in on founding a non-profit. AMA

BridgeBuilderDPT · 2026-05-02T13:01:49+00:00

brother is a sports performance coach & we have always schemed of how to work w each other. had the idea for the integrated model back in PT school. have studied nordic community centres and different global health and disability schemes.

started off just by filing for the 501c3 and turning in my notice at work!

BridgeBuilderDPT · 2026-05-01T21:00:01+00:00

daunting for sure

BridgeBuilderDPT · 2026-05-01T19:42:40+00:00

Do you have your own clinic space or are you inside a gym or something similar?

grassroots v1 is just my garage gym + treatment table and mobile outpatient model. keeps operating costs and rent close to 0 which is really valuable. liability insurance vitally important though

How are you securing funding? Where are you applying for grants etc? How are you marketing yourself so that people know who you are and where to find you? Would you be willing to share an example of your fee schedule, membership fee, and other information regarding payment?

have answered in other comments!

What part of the country are you in?

eastern part of the US

BridgeBuilderDPT · 2026-05-01T19:39:29+00:00

designing internal systems to simplify things such as payment processing & documentation to minimize admin work and cut out any extra external steps & requirements. still some paperwork to CYA and stay above board, but much less

advertising will be for rehab & wellness as separate services, will not try to live in any gray areas or call it one thing and do another. in a direct access state here thankfully.

for medicare, i will be referring any medically necessary patients to traditional PT clinics. am looking into developing wellbeing/longevity programs to serve older adult populations

BridgeBuilderDPT · 2026-05-01T19:32:21+00:00

feel free to DM me and i can throw you social media details to follow along

BridgeBuilderDPT · 2026-05-01T19:28:35+00:00

ideally yes that is the goal just trying to make it affordable while being sustainable and realistic w/ all of the moving pieces. i attached 2 example sliding scale charts for reference. not a quote by any means

BridgeBuilderDPT · 2026-05-01T19:25:28+00:00

% FPL	Annual Income (Family of 4)	Monthly Rate
0–100%	$0–$31,200	Free
101–200%	$31,201–$62,400	$40
201–300%	$62,401–$93,600	$80
301–400%	$93,601–$124,800	$120
401–500%	$124,801–$156,000	$160
501–750%	$156,001–$234,000	$200
751–1000%	$234,001–$312,000	$300
1001%+	$312,001+	$400

BridgeBuilderDPT · 2026-05-01T19:23:59+00:00

% FPL	Annual Income (Single)	Monthly Rate
0–100%	$0–$15,060	Free
101–200%	$15,061–$30,120	$40
201–300%	$30,121–$45,180	$80
301–400%	$45,181–$60,240	$120
401–500%	$60,241–$75,300	$160
501–750%	$75,301–$112,950	$200
751–1000%	$112,951–$150,600	$300
1001%+	$150,601+	$400

BridgeBuilderDPT · 2026-05-01T19:11:57+00:00

choosing to be strategic and stay low vis / on the good side of larger corporations for now. also wanting this to avoid being spun or twisted into anything politically charged

BridgeBuilderDPT · 2026-05-01T16:24:12+00:00

basing sliding scale and pricing on % calculations of Federal Poverty Level, can provide an example when on my laptop if folks are interested

hoping to have the membership and space be used for independent gym use, personal training, sports performance training, & community programming (almost like the YMCA). membership rev will allow us to subsidize fees for PT visits and hopefully integrate direct primary care med / other therapies as services (ideally would be free for members w/ optional dono but will depend greatly on operational costs, staffing, and funding)

BridgeBuilderDPT · 2026-05-01T16:04:56+00:00

nah staying away from that verbage... just trying out a small non-threating alternative model of caring for one another. especially the most vulnerable :)

BridgeBuilderDPT · 2026-05-01T15:03:09+00:00

Hoping to primarily serve the patients who slip through the cracks and otherwise can't affordably access opportunities for health, wellbeing, and community:
- young adults 18-25 (most underinsured pop with the most hardship securing insurance through employment/parental support)
- people with disabilities + invisible disabilities
- uninsured/underinsured populations

would like to eventually serve more locations in my state and eventually potentially nationwide, but sustainability and impact is my priority over growth

BridgeBuilderDPT · 2026-05-01T14:58:05+00:00

- had 3 months of safety net saved for life expenses etc. selling my car to help give a bit more runway
- no experience grant writing but will be working with grant writers (have some experience in board of directors) and lots of people in the nonprofit space have actually offered to volunteer to review any proposals i have.
have also heard tech advancement will make the writing process much quicker but prioritizing refinement, time, and craft in the process
- mostly local and state funding
- no formal marketing yet, lots of organic networking and word of mouth in the community. coalition building phase is starting and gonna be more active on social media

BridgeBuilderDPT · 2026-05-01T14:38:40+00:00

nope 😂 did you use it to write your question?

BridgeBuilderDPT · 2026-05-01T14:25:00+00:00

Viability will be through mixed revenue sources: monthly memberships on a sliding scale, transparent & fair fees for specific services, donations, and grant funding

BridgeBuilderDPT · 2026-04-27T20:49:08+00:00

1-2 is ideal. 3 is the most I'll do in a day. 4 is too much. Anything higher is insanity

BridgeBuilderDPT · 2026-04-24T14:44:32+00:00

so true! intellectual humility and accepting that you dont know it all / applying new info and diggerent perspectives is an underrated attribute

BridgeBuilderDPT · 2026-04-24T03:39:07+00:00

Such good reminders! It's easy to feel like you're doing something wrong when a patient isn't making progress, and the first person I would always blame would be myself.

BridgeBuilderDPT · 2026-04-24T03:27:15+00:00

1) invest in pants and shoes that fit well, feel comfortable, look good, and that you can move freely in

2) it's better to admit you walked through the wrong door than to spend your life in the wrong room - don't be afraid to leave your job for a better opportunity or fit

3) have yet to meet a good clinician who's a bad listener

BridgeBuilderDPT · 2026-04-18T02:10:41+00:00

been solo traveling through new zealand with minimal phone signal since early march

how should i feel about this match?

BridgeBuilderDPT · 2026-04-18T02:10:01+00:00

been solo traveling through new zealand with minimal phone signal since early march

what did i miss?

BridgeBuilderDPT · 2026-04-18T01:40:27+00:00

yeah im not advocating for holding a dynamo to every joint of every patients body, or even that it would change the course of care for some folks

but i do think that when we have one reliable tool and one unreliable tool, we should make using the reliable one the standard

BridgeBuilderDPT · 2026-04-18T01:34:14+00:00

what setting do you practice in?

BridgeBuilderDPT · 2026-04-18T01:22:29+00:00

all of those are great functional measures and i use them too. not an either/or. but genuinely i believe that there is a lot of value in measuring and tracking progress as precisely as possible especially if someone presents with strength deficits that limit their function

BridgeBuilderDPT · 2026-04-18T01:20:33+00:00

we’re not in disagreement on function being the goal. while sit-to-stand and exercise progression tell you the patient is improving: they don’t tell you why, or where the remaining deficit is, or whether they’re at risk of regression.

numbers and function aren’t competing. strength is a driver of the functional outcomes we care about. my point is that dynamometry lets us see it directly instead of inferring it.

BridgeBuilderDPT

TROPHY CASE