In 1993, the Minneapolis Jaycees Charitable Foundation (MJCF) established a task force of representatives from Hennepin County Probation, Operation De Novo (Hennepin County's diversion program), the Minneapolis Police Department, public school authorities, and other citizens from the community to conduct a needs assessment of high-risk youth in the Minneapolis. The task force agreed unanimously that a void in one-on-one mentoring opportunities existed and recommended the formation of a youth mentoring program utilizing structured activities and athletics to motivate at-risk youth.

Bolder Options became an independent 501(c)3 in June of 1998. In 2003, the program was expanded from 4-months in length to a year-long, comprehensive program including case management and social work services for the entire family. With the purchase of a main headquarters in Minneapolis in 2004 the Bolder Options program solidified a place as a mainstay in youth-servicing organizations for Minneapolis and began to entertain requests for expansion into other communities. A growing need for quality mentoring and intervention programs in St. Paul drove representatives from St. Paul Public Schools (SPPS), SPPS Truancy Intervention Program (TIP), the St. Paul Police Department Juvenile Unit, and Ramsey County Attorney's Office to meet with representatives from Bolder Options to discuss the possibility of expanding. Following recognition from the Today Show as one of the best charities in the nation in 2006, Bolder Options gained the capital funding and community support needed to pursue expansion into the St. Paul Community. Bolder Options began serving St. Paul youth in 2007.

In continued expansion efforts, Bolder Options received earmarked federal dollars to open an office in Rochester in 2010. Rochester's rising population and increasing need for youth-servicing agencies was on the radar of Bolder Options staff several years prior. Following a needs-based assessment, community meetings, and garnering support from Rochester Area leaders and youth-servicing authorities, Bolder Options hired a Regional Director and began serving youth in June 2010.

As the Bolder Options program has grown, staff has worked to implement every industry established best practice - truly becoming a leader in the field. Bolder Options is now recognized as an expert partner by Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota and hailed nation-wide for the innovative, one-of-kind programming. To date, Bolder Options has matched over 1100 youth with mentors and continuously achieved a success-rate 20% higher than the national average.