The Mission
It wouldn't be a problem if everyone truly decided they didn't want marriage at all.
But that's not what's happening today.
What is happening is an individual and social crisis — not just in the US, but all over the modern developed world.
People who want marriage and family are finding themselves unable to experience either, despite decades of waiting, hoping, and trying. The generation that did what they were told hoped and dreamed for futures that promised to include every major milestone. But instead, the rewards faded and slipped beyond their grasp.
The basic, primitive ability to mate has been warped beyond recognition. But the pure, fundamental desire for love, family, and belonging haunts us all. It's wired into our DNA; we are Created for this. The longing weighs on our souls, echoing down hollow paths that were meant to be filled with vibrant new experiences.
For those adult singles who tackle this challenge with the same grit that carried them through years of pushing the grindstone, victory is wrested from a dystopian maze of increasingly invasive and expensive solutions. None of which are as ideal as building a family when it's comparatively cost-efficient and easy to do.
How do we help a generation that did everything right — everything they were told — yet find themselves denied the precious intimacy of marriage and family?
How do we better equip future generations?
How do we rescue the privilege of deciding your future while you still have real choices?
The Problem At Scale
Critically, the U.S. birth rate crisis is not driven by married couples having fewer children — that rate has held relatively steady for decades. It is driven by fewer people getting married at all.[17] In China, marriages crashed 55% from their 2013 peak to just 6.1 million in 2024, driven by economic pessimism among young adults and deepening distrust between men and women.[18]
The privately-owned fertility intervention complex has grown into a billion dollar industry, thanks to the rise in later-in-life marriage. Our data reflects that the age at which women in their 20s plan to be married and bear children has increased from 35 years old to 40 years old in the last two years alone. Meanwhile, the age at which women undergo egg retrieval and freezing has decreased from the early-to-mid 30s, to the mid-to-late 20s. Women are paying to opt into “motherhood at menopause” instead of taking advantage of the natural window of opportunity.
For the lucky later-in-life couples who are successful in achieving a live birth, the average monthly cost of infant and childcare exceeds $2,400 — up 32% since 2019.[4]
Many later-in-life mothers battle infant care, high-level career demands, and menopause simultaneously - a trifecta that puts increased pressure on husbands and aging parents alike. Later-in-life couples also find themselves facing more difficult questions about long-term care for their children.
The Cost
The emotional cost of long-term adult singleness may be immeasurable, but the financial cost is not. The opportunity costs compound over time, across multiple areas.
Research consistently finds a "marriage wage premium" for men — married men tend to earn more, be perceived as more stable and productive by employers, and advance further professionally than their unmarried counterparts.[6]
Health data shows that married men have a lower risk of depression, better cognitive function as they age, reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease, and better outcomes when hospitalized.[7] A 2024 cross-country study found that unmarried individuals showed higher rates of depressive symptoms than their married peers across all seven countries studied — with the effect especially pronounced among highly educated men in Western nations, including the United States.[8]
The financial bias towards marriage isn't just a matter of single versus married. The "persistent pooling gap" describes the phenomenon of couples who cohabitate without marriage, keep their finances separate, yet still experience negative financial effects post-cohabitation. This adverse effect multiplies with each cohabitation arrangement.[9] Yet this is the cultural norm today; how young professionals and adults plan to spend their 20s and 30s.
The Plan
Good Hearts Meet is a non-profit campaigning to help adult singles achieve their family goals, while giving the next generation a fighting chance to seize their window of opportunity.
We have counseled singles across the country; hosted workshops and support groups, attended singles events, and conducted research inside churches and communities. We are now launching a rigorous, multi-disciplinary research initiative aligning with statistical standards in psychology and sociology — alongside a growing network of ministry partners in churches and schools.
A dynamic, tech-forward curriculum that addresses relationship and family planning alongside career and financial planning. Our biggest current need is funding for operating expenses to enable more structured research and expert help.
We invite married couples to speak into the ways marriage has impacted their lives — in career, finances, stability, and network. Our goal is to give singles a meaningful look behind the veil, a reminder of what they're really fighting for.
The Board
Good Hearts Meet is building its founding Board of Directors: a group of community members and strategic advisors who have a heart for the mission and the ability to lean in through this next phase of growth.
This is a ground-floor role that will shape the governance, strategy, and culture of a nonprofit addressing one of the most urgent social challenges of our time.
What We Ask
About the Founder
Hello! I'm Helen, a veteran educator, community organizer, and advocate of alternative learning methodologies. My work spans topics touching the immigrant community, democratic ideals rooted in Christian principles, and academic/scientific efforts to understand and define God's Creation.
Tough challenges are my call to action. I have spent the last two decades steeped in the social dynamics and pressures that are driving the current marriage and family crisis.
I've conducted research, fieldwork, and interventions in the pursuit of addressing these issues on a policy level. My prayer in this mission is for more hands, more workers, and more hearts filled with love to heal, share, and lead.
Joining the Good Hearts Meet board means leading the fight against isolation and a fractured community. If you are reading this, it is because someone who knows you thought your talents and abilities would be a good fit for our mission.