Big Brothers Big Sisters of America® | 2015 ANNUAL REPORT

Our partners move us closer to our goals

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Positively impacting the lives of children through mentoring is a team effort. Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and our national network of affiliates are grateful for our partnerships with numerous organizations, including the federal government, foundations, and corporations.

Meet our Government Partners

Government Partners

Federal, state, and local governments are key partners in our mentoring mission. At the federal level, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) have been important partners for many years. Our organization faced challenges stemming from our administration of DOJ grants from 2009 to 2011. The quality of the work done by our affiliates or their commitment to meeting the needs of those communities served by the grants was never in question; it was an issue of the national office’s adherence to the grant guidelines.

Our new leadership team addressed the issues directly, making a commitment to the highest standards in grant administration. BBBSA implemented new stringent policies, procedures, and controls to go along with strict adherence to government accounting and grant administration standards.

We reached an agreement with DOJ that resolves the issues from 2009 to 2011 and today administer $10.3 million in OJJDP grants. Over the next two years, 55 affiliates across the country will use these funds to mentor at-risk children, including those with an incarcerated parent or one serving in the military.

We are also working with the Department of Labor on a program focused on transitioning young people into the workforce straight out of high school. Nine affiliates are helping our youth through this major phase of their lives by matching them with a Big Brother or Sister to help make their move from school to career a success.

BBBSA takes seriously its responsibility to be a good steward of any funds entrusted to our organization, including those granted from the public sector. We expect to be a gold standard for grant accountability and performance, always striving to produce results while exceeding expectations for accountability, administration, and governance.

We are grateful for the support and trust of our federal partners and hope to make them proud with our unwavering emphasis on accountability, professionalism, and positive outcomes.

see how foundations fuel success

Foundation Partners

The developmental and educational needs of children across the country are widespread, and so is our gratitude to our foundation partners helping to meet those needs.

Altria Group

Through its long-standing partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Altria Group has supported mentoring in many ways. One collaboration, Success360, has used our evidence-based, one-to-one mentoring to impact the educational outcomes of middle-school youth in targeted communities across the country. It has resulted in new and deeper partnerships with complimentary service providers that allow us collectively to offer holistic programming and systems of care for our most at-risk populations. Altria’s support has also helped grow our capacity to support STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) programming, Military Mentoring, our Healthy Youth Initiative, and Mentor2.0 programming.

Annie E. Casey Foundation
Duke Endowment
Oak Foundation

Together, these three foundations have contributed to the Promoting Enhanced Resiliency and Learning (PERL) project. The PERL project identifies and assists youth who are at risk for educational challenges. Bigs are trained to promote self-advocacy skills for participating children. Annie E. Casey Foundation supports the piloting and validation of key program tools, Duke Endowment enables program assessment, and Oak Foundation facilitates development of staff and Big trainings and other resources to support students with learning differences.

Bank of America Charitable Foundation

Funded workforce engagement as part of the Youth Workforce Opportunity Initiative.

S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation

Created a new customer-relationship management system to develop online mentor training.

Caesars Foundation

Launched a new LGBTQ Youth Empowerment project, with a Community of Practice for agencies.

Cargill Foundation

Enhanced tools to serve Hispanic communities and impact elementary school education through Big Start.

Dollar General

Increased reading skills and attitudes toward academics among third-grade Littles through a literacy program.

Goizueta Foundation

Established new local and national partners, and developed resources to better serve Hispanic communities.

Head Family Foundation

Developed materials to effectively communicate child sexual abuse and exploitation warning signs.

Humana Foundation

Expanded the Legacy program, an intergenerational mentoring effort to increase mentor matches.

MetLife Foundation

Fueled Hispanic mentoring for 20 affiliates by encouraging more volunteers and children as well as increasing family engagement.

Stavros Niarchos Foundation

Grew Military Mentoring by engaging partners and employing marketing recruitment efforts.

Thrive Foundation for Youth

Maximized positive youth development through its “Step-it-up-2-Thrive” concept and national study.

meet our corporate partners

Corporate and Community Partners

Our corporate partners play an essential role in our mission to make a positive and lasting impact on children. Last year, a number of these partners went above and beyond in support of our cause. The following companies and organizations are just a few that have committed their time, financial, and/or fundraising support.

Comcast NBCUniversal

Comcast NBCUniversal, a dedicated partner since 2008, provided more than $65 million in cash and in-kind support to Big Brothers Big Sisters, including airtime to broadcast public service announcements. Comcast hosts our largest workplace mentoring program, “Beyond School Walls,” with approximately 325 company employees volunteering as Bigs in 16 cities. In addition, Comcast supports Big Brothers Big Sisters’ Annual National Conference and partners with us to identify and recognize the outstanding Big Brother and Big Sister of the Year.

Watch a video about Beyond School Walls See photos of Comcast Bigs & Littles

Nerium International

Since becoming a corporate partner in 2012, Nerium International has fully embraced our mission, as their core philosophy is also based on the power of mentorship in helping others to achieve their full potential. The company contributed more than $3 million to our work in the past three years and hundreds of Nerium Independent Brand Partners and staff serve as Bigs. Nerium’s impact is felt in local communities across the country through fundraising involvement in initiatives such as Bowl for Kids’ Sake, Lemonade for Littles, and the Get Real conferences.

Watch a video featuring a Nerium Big See photos of Nerium Brand Partners

CST Brands

Using fun events to spread awareness of our mission has been at the core of CST Brands’ partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. In 2014, CST produced an annual eight-city, 5k run series called the Corner Store Country Run. In its first year, the event raised $500,000 to assist both affiliates and the national office.

Watch a video about the CST Country Run See photos from the CST races

Do It Best Corp.

Do It Best Corp. has been a Big Brothers Big Sisters partner for over 30 years. Its employees step up to not only fundraise, but to volunteer and mentor children in their communities. Each year, Do It Best Corp. challenges its vendors to donate to our work. Through annual corporate donations and vendor support, the company raised more than $2.1 million for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.

See photos of the Do It Best team

Jack in the Box® Foundation

A national sponsor since 1998, The Jack in the Box® Foundation provides financial and program support through corporate, employee, and franchisee donations, fundraising events, and services. Its efforts include grant support for the Military Mentoring Program, product sales at participating Jack in the Box® restaurants, and the annual Jack in the Box® Charity Golf Tournament. Since 2004, the foundation contributed over $7 million in monetary and in-kind support.

See photos of Jack in the Box’s support

We would also like to thank the many other corporate and community partners that played an important role in propelling our success over the past year. We appreciate their valuable contributions toward growing our brand awareness, as well as the funding they have donated to our affiliates.