History
Great Rain Youth Centers, Inc., is a nonprofit organization incorporated in 1939 and founded by then police chief, Frank Sullivan. At the time of its incorporation, Youth Centers programs operated from a 40-acre Camp Sullivan and an inner-city youth center on Finney Street. It is believed to be the first or second program in the nation to combine personal-growth activities for at-risk inner-city youth with police-officer supervision, coaching, mentoring, and friendship. A 1942 issue of “The Saturday Evening Post” chronicled Youth Centers' early success in reducing the incidence of crime and delinquency among Great Rain's young people.
In 1953, Youth Centers expanded its services when it built the Westside Center. In 1958 it closed the Finney Street location and opened in its stead the Foster Center at 139 Crofton on the city's southeast side. Foster Center is still operating, but the Westside Center was demolished in 1989, and Youth Centers' programming in that area of the city moved to Southwest Elementary School.
Throughout the past 60 years, Youth Centers has provided a safe place for area youth to interact with, learn from, and become friends with police officers, and to find positive outlets for their energy and interests.
Since 1995 Youth Centers has had a new, enthusiastic and dedicated director who has breathed new life into the organization, its mission and its program. Under his leadership, Camp Sullivan now has a year-round camp director and camping program and greatly improved grounds and facilities. Both Foster Center and the Southwest School program have new programming, and, for the first time, an emphasis on programming for girls. The new Great Rain Police Chief strongly endorses the program and takes every opportunity to express his support, including giving a brief speech at half time of a professional basketball game at the City Arena last fall and participating as honorary co-chair (with former President of the United States), in the capital campaign to rebuild a Westside Center and renovate Foster Center.
Services
In 1997, Foster Center averaged between 600 and 1500 monthly contacts with children between the ages of seven and 17. During the same period, the Westside center at Southwest School logged nearly 1800 contacts per month. To be admitted to the facilities, youth must be members. A recent log of memberships indicated 600 current and active members. More than half of the members are teenagers, the other portion are pre-teens.
In addition to its daily recreational/educational programming at its centers, Youth Centers has, since 1991, provided police-officer and volunteer coaches for three Great Rain Rocket football teams, and in 1996 established three additional Youth Centers teams on the city's west side.
Camp Sullivan has an estimated 4,500 young people from low-income families each summer for the past nearly 60 years. Camp is a five-day residential program that operates from early June through August each summer and is now provided off-season leasing by community organizations and businesses. Some of the campaign cabinet members are former Camp Sullivan or Youth Center “alumni,” who are eager to ensure that today's youth are afforded the same life-changing experiences they experienced as children.
Now in its 60th year, Youth Centers is poised on the edge of an exciting future, which includes recent improvements to Camp Sullivan and its programs, hiring of a year-round camp director and the creation of a year-round camping program, and some improvements to Foster Center and its programs. Programming for girls has grown by 500 percent in the past two years. Girls may now select from six activities (rather than the one offered previously) developed especially for them.
In addition, in the past year, Youth Centers has been approached by six other youth-service organizations requesting our collaboration on their projects. Currently, Youth Centers works with Native American Prevention Services in designing and offering a camping and youth leadership program for Native American teens, with Boy Scouts of America, and the Great Rain Recreation Department. The organization is considering offers to work as well with Latin American Services and United Methodist Community House.
As an organization, Youth Centers faces an issue common to other nonprofit organizations in that it must substantiate the prevention outcome of its programs. All staff and volunteers are being trained by outside professionals in outcome measurement, and staff are currently developing and implementing outcome measures for programs. The police officers on staff are eagerly learning education and prevention approaches as an alternative to what one officer calls, “the cuff and stuff” mentality many officers have. The community has also embraced the prevention approach as individuals have become more aware of the expense and loss associated with incarceration and treatment.
Another important issue facing Youth Centers is that of multiple service providers, particularly among those providing residential or day camp for special populations and/or low-income children. As a result, Youth Centers has established linkages and is sharing calendars and programs with several other camping programs and with the Great Rain Parks and Recreation Department.
As a member of the community, Youth Centers is an integral partner in combating a growing community crisis: currently one out of four juvenile arrests is female. These crimes are becoming more violent as well, but Youth Centers and its officer staff are developing programs intended to prevent delinquency among girls in the inner city.
The next stride toward a stronger future for at-risk youth in Great Rain, is improvement to the inner-city youth centers and expansion of programs for youth on the city's southeast and west sides.
Commitment to Diversity
The Board of Directors of Youth Centers is 22 percent minority; 22 percent female. The eight administrative and police officer staff are 38 percent minority; 38 percent female. Foster Center attracts neighboring youth most of whom are African American. The west side program at Southwest School draws participants from its neighborhood, which is 50 percent white, 30 percent Hispanic, 1 percent Native American, and 19 percent African American. In 1998, Camp Sullivan (which is an existing program of Youth Centers, though not the subject of this proposal), provided a 5-day camping experience for 329 youth as follows: 75 percent white; 25 percent minority.
Affiliations and Partnerships
Youth Centers operates as a partner with the Great Rain Police Department, and is the Department's most long-standing effort to develop relationships with youth and community members. Youth Centers will provide space for special programs of the schools, neighborhood organizations, and others near the new facilities, and will continue its strong relationships with area schools. The County Sheriff has recently offered to send two officers twice weekly to provide tutoring to youth involved in the Youth Centers' after-school academic program.
In addition to the collaborations and potential collaborations named above, Youth Centers has teamed with Great Rain State College (GRSC) to provide a youth soccer camp at which students and staff from GRSC provide coaching and Youth Centers program parameters and facility.
Maintenance Policy
Both current physical sites (Foster Center and Camp Sullivan) have maintenance budgets and depreciation schedules for buildings and equipment, which will be adjusted to accommodate the expansions when completed. A preventive maintenance plan is in place for the two vehicles owned by Youth Centers.
The maintenance and replacement budget has been tripled in the last three years, but still would not be considered “over and above” normal replacement expenses. It is Youth Centers' practice to use half of its depreciation and half of any surplus at year's end for capital purchase and replacement. Currently, Youth Centers depreciates $24,000 annually, although, other than the new bathhouse at Camp Sullivan, its buildings are nearly fully depreciated. A facility audit has not been performed.
Board of Directors
Member |
Occupation |
Company |
A |
Officer |
ABC Bank |
B |
Director |
Youth Centers |
C, Treasurer |
Retired |
Accountant |
Chief D |
Police Chief |
GRPD |
E |
Exec. V.P. |
Manufacturing |
Member |
Occupation |
Company |
F, President |
Probate Attorney |
Law Firm |
G |
Reg. Director |
Realty Trust |
H |
Owner |
Vending |
I |
Owner |
Steel Mill |
J, Secretary |
Owner |
Sporting Goods |
K |
Crime Prevention Org. |
Neighborhood Assoc. |
L |
Retired |
|
M |
H.R. Manager |
Plastics Co. |
N |
Retired officer |
GRPD |
O |
Attorney |
Law Firm |
P |
Radio host |
WWWW |
Q |
Commissioner |
City of Great Rain |
R, Vice President |
Owner |
Wood Products |
S |
Director of Admissions |
Business College |
T |
Management |
Merchants Service Bur. |
U |
CPA |
Self-employed |
Project information
Project Description
Foster Center is 40 years old and in need of renovation and a 2800 squarefoot expansion. The Center also needs to be equipped to provide new programs that meet the needs of today's youth — with technology access, an emphasis on educational goals and attainment, sports and recreation facilities and teams for at-risk girls, a fitness room, and opportunities for youth to develop leadership skills.
Renovation and expansion of Foster Center will enable the following new programs and offerings:
A “learning center” where tutors — volunteers from the community and officers sent by the County Sheriff Department — can be matched to children in need of additional educational help. Boys and girls at the Foster Center need a quiet place to do their home-work after school. The current facility has been overtaken by recreational needs and there are few “quiet areas” where students can concentrate on schoolwork. Youth Centers currently has a standing offer from the public school system that is willing to match trained tutors with at-risk children if Youth Centers can allocate space. Additionally the Great Rain Public School Special Education Program is interested in leasing this classroom during school hours when children are not using the center.
Locker storage space and expanded bathroom and shower facilities for boys and girls. Currently there are no shower facilities for girls at the Foster Center, and neither boys nor girls have locker facilities for storing personal items. On any given night, one can walk into the Foster Center and find walls lined with the shoes and coats of dozens of youth that have no space to store these items.
A computer lab where youth could become more familiar with emerging technologies (such as the Internet). Currently the inner city public schools in Youth Centers' areas of service are without much computer access and none of the schools have Internet access available to the children. The creation of a computer lab would take the first step in addressing this need.
A youth meeting room where children could meet with police officers, counselors, parents and adult mentors to discuss school performance, family or personal and/or behavioral problems. The newly formed Youth Advisory Board would use the room for their meetings with a police officer to assist in planning activities for the center. The room would also serve neighborhood groups who need space for meetings and gatherings.
Exercise/workout facilities to accommodate increasing demand. Cost for facilities such as these is prohibitive for inner city youth and located outside acceptable walking distance.
A catering kitchen to serve staff and groups who use the center for banquets and other events that involve food.
Furniture, fixtures, computer, and sports equipment would be needed to accompany those changes. In order to operate throughout the summer months and to make both floors accessible by all children, the Foster Center would also need air conditioning installation and an elevator.
The original Westside Center was torn down in 1989 due to age and deterioration of the building. Westside programming, which is currently housed in the Southwest Elementary School, has outgrown the capacity of the school building. The Southwest School, while serving honorably as a temporary facility, has several problems. The Southwest location lends to the perception that Westside programming is restricted to elementary aged youth in Southwest School immediate area. Structurally, the school building is not designed for supervision of children engaged in a variety of educational and recreational activities. The gymnasium is extremely small and inadequate for older participants. As a result, youth between the ages of thirteen and seventeen rarely use the facility. This is the same demographic group that is likely to commit juvenile crime and is in need of safe alternative activities.
The planned Westside Center would offer many of the same amenities to the west-side community that the Foster Center offers to its neighboring community — high quality recreational and educational facilities in a safe, supervised environment. The new center is being built on property already owned by Youth Centers and will house the organization's administrative offices when completed. In addition to the same program offerings planned for Foster Center, the Westside Center will offer indoor and outdoor basketball courts. The indoor gymnasium will accommodate 150 seats for arts programs and large community meetings.
Youth Centers also seeks as a part of the capital campaign, two years' operational support for expanded programming. In both neighborhoods, Saturday and summer programs for at-risk youth are limited. Youth Centers would use most of the operational support to increase staffing and pay overhead expenses for these expanded hours at both centers.
The Youth Centers Board of Directors established a five-year strategic master plan in late 1997, which calls for the following outcomes, most of which are contingent on adequate facilities:
Increase overall program quality through ongoing training for staff, increasing staff numbers, and developing outcome-based measures for program quality.
Increase prevention component of programming.
Locate and focus programs and service locations to match juvenile criminal activity according to local law enforcement data.
Increase effectiveness in building character in youth and reducing juvenile criminal activity by providing consistent year-round programs and tracking individual youth through our programs. (Currently, Southwest School and Foster Center are closed in summer; Camp Sullivan will begin operating year-round for the first time this year).
Serve more youth (currently approximately 2000 contacts per month between both centers)
Serve a full range of ages from 7 to 17, focusing particularly on 13 to 17. (Currently, the Southwest School site serves very few adolescents and teens).
Increase services to girls to equal those available to boys. (Currently, we have one woman officer assigned to the facilities, but no locker/shower facilities for girls' programs).
Increase use of law-enforcement staff in full-time assigned positions and in part-time, volunteer and intern capacities. (The new Chief of Police has encouraged his police officers to become involved by offering on duty time weekly for them to volunteer at Youth Centers).
Develop a youth-advisory board, youth newsletter, and “junior staff” program to provide more opportunities for youth voices in programming and operations.
Involve parents and families in the programming as volunteers and/or advisors. (The new study centers and computer labs will assist in this effort.)
Increase collaboration with other service providers, including schools to provide a wrap-around approach to the youth in our neighborhood locations. (New or expanded facilities should include other service and linkages to other resources).
Status of Architectural Plans
Plans for construction and renovation of both buildings are in the construction document phase. Foster Center plans are approximately 80 percent complete and are expected to be finalized by April 21, 1999. Plans for the Westside Center are approximately 20 percent complete and are expected to be finalized by the end of May, 1999.
Basis for Cost Estimates
Cost estimates are based on market conditions, R.S. Means Cost Data 1999, and verification by general contractors.
Regulatory Approvals
Local government requires only two approvals: site plan and zoning and approval by the inspections department. Both will be scheduled when construction documents are complete.
Effect of Completed Project on Overall Budget
Youth Centers' operational budget is broken into four cost centers. Two of the cost centers: administration and Camp Sullivan, (which comprise 82 percent of the annual budget) will be nominally affected by the campaign. Youth Centers' strategic plan calls for a part-time fund development officer to be hired after the campaign and the building plan calls for increased office space to accommodate additional staff.
The two youth centers constitute the other two cost centers. The current operational budget for Foster Center (the larger of the two programs) is $37,205. All operational expenses for the centers, including program and maintenance, are expected to increase approximately 185 percent. The cost projection of $68,500 per center is based on several factors, including:
Staff is projected to increase to include four more part-time staff at 15 hours per week at a cost of $11,500 per year per center.
Use of the centers six days a week, rather than five, year-round rather than just school-year months, increases center use by 150 percent.
Costs for two years' operations for both centers is included in the capital campaign budget.
Initial increases will be handled for approximately four years with the additional funds from the capital campaign and funds recently confirmed from a one-year Local Law Enforcement Block grant (LLEBG), which will pay for all four part-time staff and $10,000 for administrative and program costs. As community awareness raises over the next year through the capital campaign information, donor opportunities, and several planned 60th anniversary celebrations, we believe Youth Centers will benefit with a comparable increase in both the number and amount of annual donor giving. These increases will be used to sustain the operational budget for the centers within two to four years after completion of the buildings.
Drawings
See Attached Fund Raising Information
Previous Fundraising
In 2005, Youth Centers received $225,299 in contributions; in 2006, it received $228,412. Contributions from semi-annual appeals comprise approximately $40,000 per year or 16 percent of the annual budget. Grants, an annual radiothon sponsored by the Variety Club, and other special events generated nearly 10 percent of the 2005 annual budget and 28 percent of the 2006 budget. Special events in the coming year are expected to generate approximately $80,000 as Youth Centers celebrates its 60th Anniversary.
Youth Centers has not attempted an endowment effort or capital campaign in the last four decades. However, it has completed two significant capital projects in the last three years: In 2006, $100,000 from the Variety Club radiothon and grants from local foundations allowed construction of a new bath house at Camp Sullivan; in 2007, it received $30,000 from Toys for Tots for construction of an adventure ropes course at Camp.
Youth Centers' annual appeal generates approximately $15,000 each year. Since the new director began his work at Youth Centers revenue has increased more than 160 percent: from $189,396 in 2005 to $283,052 in 2006, and to $306,428 in 2007.
Capital Campaign Goals
Youth Centers' campaign fundraising consultant developed the following budget for the capital campaign:
Private Contributions |
$800,000 |
Corporate Contributions |
753,000 |
Foundation Contributions |
1,000,000 |
City/State |
600,000 |
In Kind |
210,000 |
TOTAL: |
$3,363,000 |
Youth Centers has approximately 1,000 annual donors, and expects that the capital campaign will assist in expanding that base of reliable funders. To date, it has 19 gifts totaling $232,310 from donors who have not given previously or in the last ten years. Staff have been gratified to find that previous donors, after a tour and an explanation of what Youth Centers intends to implement in the coming year, appear genuinely interested in becoming involved with the organization again.
In the next several months, more than 40 volunteers are approaching 250 corporations and small businesses, more than half of which are new contacts, on behalf of the capital project and Youth Centers. We expect at least 50 percent of these businesses to respond favorably to a request for assistance and that these businesses, combined, will generate approximately $100,000 in gifts in the coming months.
Youth Centers has several strategies planned for reaching the public. Three 60th reunion or anniversary events are planned and 500 individuals are invited to attend one or more of the events. A video and historical exhibit of Youth Centers' first 60 years is on display at the City Museum Center and provides take-away materials regarding the organization and the capital campaign.
Rather than “selling a brick” as many organizations have done successfully, Youth Centers is generating “police badges” that, for a $25 donation, will bear the name of the donor and/or donor family and an I.D. number and will be mounted at the Westside or Foster Center as the donor chooses. Youth Centers projects that it will “sell” 1,000 badges, and that approximately 60 to 75 percent of those donating for a badge will be new donors to the organization. Because they will have a personal interest in the buildings and their programs, and their names will be added to the donor mailing list, many, staff believes, are likely to become regular donors.
Five Largest Gifts
To date, the five largest gifts include individual, foundation, corporate, and government donors, as follows:
State Senator and Mrs. Senator |
$250,000 |
Corporate Foundation |
$250,000 |
City of Great Rain |
$200,000 |
Clothing Manufacturer |
$150,000 |
Private Donor |
$102,900 |
Expected Progress - Short Term
The capital campaign has generated $1.56 million in its first six months, to the date of this submission. The public kick off event was held in early March, 1999. A proposal for $105,000 is pending decision at the ABC Foundation and is likely to be determined — and hopefully awarded at least in part — in the next four to six months. Another proposal has been invited from the DEF Family Foundation. This organization was a donor for many years until approximately ten years ago, and younger family members appeared interested in renewing their involvement. The request for $150,000 is expected to result in a grant of at least $100,000 toward the capital campaign. Youth Centers has submitted a proposal to the State at the request of Board member and State Senator, requesting $500,000. The likelihood of the request being successful is difficult to determine at this time.
Forty volunteers have agreed to approach approximately 250 area businesses, approximately half of which have previously supported Youth Centers at some level. This effort is expected to generate approximately $100,000 in donations in the next few months. If all goes as expected, the remaining balance of the campaign by September, 1999 will be $1,053,000.
Youth Centers currently has an active grant with The Great Rain Foundation, which supplements the salary of a full-time, year-round camp director until revenues from rentals of the camp support his entire salary. When the grant closes (December, 2007), Youth Centers will be eligible — and has been encouraged — to apply to the Foundation for capital funds.
Constituencies Likely to Respond
A challenge grant from the Kresge Foundation would be extremely helpful in leveraging new donors from among the public and businesses that have not previously supported the organization. The Kresge Challenge would be used to leverage giving in the following areas:
Donor Constituency/Event |
Anticipated Match |
Parties hosted by cabinet members |
$5,000 |
Program Alumni (requested at reunion events and through mailing) |
$15,000 |
Second gifts from lead donors per their request |
$175,000 |
Social Service Organizations (Kiwanis, Optimist, Black Social Workers Association, neighborhood organizations particularly in Youth Centers service areas) |
$50,000 |
African American churches and congregations |
$10,000 |
Smaller Foundations |
$25,000 |
Businesses |
$20,000 |
TOTAL: |
$300,000 |
Campaign Committee
The 76-member campaign cabinet is 21.05 percent female; 18.42 percent minority, and is composed of friends of the organization and community leaders as follows: (names withheld from sample)
Effects of the Campaign
One of the goals of the capital campaign is to raise community awareness of Youth Centers and its programs, in the belief that this will increase the level of giving and provide a stable base of donors. The three most important effects of the fundraising effort are:
To significantly raise constituency and financial involvement in the local youth centers. An intentional “push” in the final campaign targets neighborhoods near the centers and alumni of the centers or camp in the hope that Youth Centers will attain critical “grass roots” support for its programs.
To build and strengthen relationships with current board members and alumni (or families of alumni) of the 60-year-old board, who represent a wealth of financial and personal support for Youth Centers.
To establish Youth Centers as a vital and expanding youth-service entity in its community. Great Rain Youth Centers has not run a significant capital campaign in more than four decades. The success of this campaign and the accompanying publicity will demonstrate to the funding community and the larger community the credibility and value of Youth Centers. Our ability to initiate and sustain this major increase in programming and fundraising should yield comparable increases in future annual support.
Portion of Larger Campaign
The project is not a part of a larger campaign.
Naming Opportunities
N.A.
4. ATTACHMENTS
Most Recent Audit
Attached
Long-Term Financing
Youth Centers will not require long-term financing.
Accreditation
Only Camp Sullivan, which is not a project for which capital funding is requested, has an opportunity for accreditation. As a part of its five-year strategic plan, Youth Centers will seek accreditation by 2001 from the American Camping Association. The Director has managed other camps so accredited and is familiar with the procedure and requirements to attain this accreditation.
IRS Ruling
Attached
