For six years, Level has worked to make education and workforce development accessible to people in prison by providing printed learning modules that are delivered directly to incarcerated people at more than 1,000 prisons across the country. Today, we are sharing the difficult news that Level is ending our primary program of creating and physically distributing printed education and workforce development modules for people in prison. This also means family members and supporters will no longer be able to enroll incarcerated loved ones in Level’s prison education program. This is not the decision we wanted to make.
This decision is being made because we have not been able to secure the ongoing funding needed to sustain this program. The cost of developing content, printing educational and workforce development modules, distributing those materials to facilities across the country, and troubleshooting the many documented and undocumented content restrictions that can prevent materials from being delivered to learners by their facilities has become more than Level can continue to carry.
We know this program matters because people in prison and their families on the outside have told us so again and again. We developed Level’s prison education program because many incarcerated people have no or little access to education and workforce development programs at their facilities. We have received heartfelt notes from people in prison describing how rare and important this kind of access is. We have heard from sponsors and family members who are deeply grateful to see their loved ones learning, growing, and completing meaningful work. We share that love for this program. Our team is heartbroken to end it.
What this means for current learners and sponsors
We are committed to continuing to serve existing incarcerated learners through July 31, 2026. Through that date, we will continue to communicate with sponsors about modules delivered and certificates earned.
What will happen to certificates and records of educational progress
Level will continue to keep our website active, including online digital versions of certificates that learners have received. Sponsors and learners can use the eight-character certificate numbers on the Certificates page of our website to download and print certificates. Sponsors and learners may also continue logging into the website using their phone number or email to view completed modules and certificates earned.
What will happen to all the educational modules Level has developed
Although the printed distribution program is ending, we are working to preserve and share as much of Level’s educational content as possible. We are committing to making our education modules available under an open Creative Commons license so that other programs can use, distribute, and adapt them.
What will happen to Level’s new AI career mentor program
We are also continuing work on our offline AI career mentor program and building a community of distribution partners for it. We do not have a specific launch date or timeline to announce. We will share more when we are able.
We still believe in a world where people in prison build brighter futures through transformative education. We still believe every person has the potential to contribute to thriving communities. We still believe education can help reshape the story we tell ourselves about what is possible ❤️
– Sarah, Mark and Alex at Level
What remains true
We are not abandoning our belief in what is possible. We still believe in a world where people in prison build brighter futures through transformative education. We still believe every person has the potential to contribute to thriving communities. We still believe education can help reshape the story we tell ourselves about what is possible.
What remains uncertain
We want to be honest about what we know and what we do not know. The future shape of Level is still uncertain. We are working hard to preserve the parts of Level that we believe have the strongest chance of continuing, but we are not making promises we are not sure we can keep.
What can be done together
Here is a call to action. Programs like this do not continue through awareness alone. They continue when a dedicated and diverse community actively sustains them. That can mean donating. It can mean volunteering. It can mean partnering. It can mean voting. It can mean helping others understand why complex problems require sustained support, not just good intentions. Together, we can prevent other important programs from reducing services or ending.
Thank you
To our learners in prison: thank you for trusting us with your time, your effort, your goals, and your hope. To sponsors and family members on the outside: thank you for believing in your loved ones and helping make this work possible. To donors, partners, and supporters: thank you for helping Level reach people who are too often overlooked. Together, we have impacted 7,052 incarcerated learners at 1,067 prisons in all 50 states with 17,275 workforce and educational modules and 10,550 earned certificates. This is not the ending for this program that we wanted, but we are committed to communicating it with honesty, care, and respect for everyone who has been part of this work.
Answers to questions you may have
What is happening?
Level is ending its primary program: the physical distribution of printed education and workforce development modules for people in prison. Family members and supporters are no longer able to enroll incarcerated loved ones in Level’s prison education program.
Why is this happening?
The program is no longer financially sustainable. Level has not been able to secure the ongoing funding needed to continue developing content, printing materials, distributing them to people in prison, and troubleshooting facility restrictions.
Is this what Level wanted?
No. This is not the decision Level wanted to make. The team cares deeply about this program, the learners, and the families and supporters who have made the work possible.
How long will existing learners continue to be served?
Level is committed to serving existing incarcerated learners through July 31, 2026.
Can family members still enroll loved ones?
No. Family members and supporters are no longer able to enroll incarcerated loved ones in Level’s prison education program.
What happens to certificates learners have already earned?
Level will continue to keep the website active, including online digital versions of certificates that learners have received. Sponsors and learners can use the eight-character certificate numbers on the Certificates page of Level’s website to download and print certificates. Sponsors and learners may also continue logging into the website using their phone number or email to view completed modules and certificates earned.
Will Level’s educational content still be available?
Level is working to make its education modules available through an openly licensed Creative Commons license, so other organizations can use, distribute, and adapt them.
What is happening with the AI career mentor project?
Level is continuing work on the offline AI career mentor project and building a community of distribution partners. There is no specific launch date or timeline to share yet.
Is Level shutting down?
The future shape of Level is still uncertain. Level is ending its primary printed distribution program, continuing to serve existing learners through July 31, 2026, working to make its educational content available for others to use, and continuing work on the offline AI career mentor project. Beyond these clear commitments, Level is not making promises we cannot guarantee.
Are there alternatives to Level?
Level is not aware of another program that provides the same service. Some facilities may have their own education programs or other available resources.
How can people help?
Programs like this require active community support. People can help by donating, volunteering, partnering, voting, advocating, and helping others understand why education for people in prison matters and why complex social problems require sustained support.
Sarah, Mark and I are so proud of the community of people in prison, sponsors on the outside, funders who believed in the mission, the subject matter experts who guided the content creation and the dozens of volunteers who helped transcribe completion forms. Together, we remain proud of the entire community that came together to deliver over 17,300 education modules to more than 7,000 incarcerated learners at 1,000+ prisons in all 50 states, with more than 105,000 hours of learning inside some of the most difficult environments imaginable. Accomplishments like this only happen when a community comes together and is invested in a shared vision of what is possible. We’re thrilled to have been a part of that happening 💙
Couldn’t you guys keep it open if inmate supports paid for each module or quarterly or something ? I often wondered how you guys sent so many modules for the small price we paid at the beginning I know I would be willing to pay for them. Just a thought.
Thank you, Sonja. Your support over time has been so powerful. We tried increasing the price and few afforded it. The cost of developing content is significant. We have tried every angle we know of. It’s just too expensive to run a program like this considering the declining revenue from funders.
Managing Level’s primary distribution program has been an incredible privilege, personally and professionally. It is rare to see direct evidence, everyday, that what you do matters, but that’s exactly what it has been like to do this work with this community. I’ve been honored to communicate with so many learners and sponsors about their experience in this program, and proud to be a part of a team that has risen to every challenge with curiosity and determination. What we’ve achieved is incredible, and as Alex said, I’m thrilled to have been even a small part of it. ✨
What if the modules were emailed to the family members who enrolled their loved ones? That way the family member is responsible for printing out and sending the content as well as the certificate.
Thank you for that input. At this time, that change would not be sufficient to reduce costs in line with reduced philanthropic funding.
Thank you for all your efforts and for remembering the people that are incarcerated. For honoring their humanity in spite of difficult times.
Thank you for your kind words, Yvette, and for supporting your loved one’s educational journey. 🙏🏼💙
How can I be a vollenteer .
Thank you for your offer. At this time, we are unwinding our volunteer program but you can check back on our website to see if it resumes.
I am truly heartbroken to hear about the closing 💔 thank you LEVEL(SARAH/MARK AND ALL THE OTHERS INVOLVED) for all of the support you guys have given so many people!! Especially hope and a outlet to a better future! If there is anything I can contribute I will because this has absolutely help my son in so many ways. Thank u guys and I know God will make the impossible, POSSIBLE!!
BEST REGARDS
CONCERNED FAMILY MEMBER OR LEVEL
Thank you so much for the well-wishes, Karla! We’re very grateful that you and your son have been a part of the Level community. 🙏🏼💙
Your program helped my son so very much. I hate that the program is shutting down. I wish there was more I could do.
Our hearts are broken too, Laurie. But we are so glad to hear that we made a difference for you and your son. We’re very grateful that you both have been a part of this journey with us. 🙏🏼💙
I’ve been a regular donor to Level through my employer’s matching program, and I enrolled a loved one in this program because I believed in what you were building. That context matters for what I’m about to say.
This announcement is a disappointment delivered like a press release. The people most affected — incarcerated learners and the family members who funded their enrollment — did not receive a direct, personal notification. We got a blog post.
The survey you referenced in your recent impact report had 159 respondents. Across 7,000+ learners at 1,000+ facilities, that is not community input. That is a data point.
What stings most is the trajectory. You were building something genuinely rare: an AI-powered educational tool designed specifically for an offline, restricted environment where almost nothing else reaches. That is an extraordinarily hard problem, and you were one of the only organizations attempting to solve it at scale. Walking away from that — not pivoting, not transferring the infrastructure, not finding an acquirer — and replacing it with “we’ll share more when we are able” is not a responsible wind-down. It’s an exit dressed in mission language.
The people inside those facilities don’t get to be disappointed on a blog. They just lose access.
That asymmetry is worth sitting with.
I hope whatever Level becomes next takes that seriously in a way this announcement did not.
Hi Derek, thank you for your input. We are as disappointed as you are. We did email or text every sponsor (including you) a personal message this morning. Hundreds of them. To your question about the survey, that was only sent to sponsors like you. We did not then (and do not now) have the funding to send and process physical paper surveys to all the active incarcerated learners we serve. The response rate for the sponsor survey was significant and gave great data into how a program like ours could improve. To your comments about sustaining the future, we have done our absolute best to sustain this program, putting in beyond overtime. I cannot tell you how much fundraising we have gone after. And we’ve had a lot of support, including your employer. But, it’s not enough to sustain the program. To your comments about what is possible in the future, we are also doing our best to adapt to new opportunities. We are not making any promises, and we’re keeping this post focused on the changes to this program. Feel free to give me a call at the number in the footer of our website. Happy to talk further. Thank you for your feedback.
Thank you for bringing educational content that was otherwise unavailable to my Son. I truly appreciate the efforts of Sarah, and all of the other wonderful human beings whom cared enough about my loved one to give it your all. I wish there were something I could do to help Level stay in production. I do wish Level all the best moving forward. Thank you kindly.
Thank you so, so much for your generosity of heart and spirit, Jillita. We wish you and your son the absolute best moving forward as well, and we’re grateful to have shared this community of learning and growth with you both. 🙏🏼💙