PLATINUM2022

Chess-in-the-Schools, Inc.

Helping kids grow, one move at a time.

aka CIS, Chess in the Schools   |   New York, NY   |  www.chessintheschools.org

Mission

Chess in the Schools fosters the intellectual and social development​ of low-income youth through chess education.

Ruling year info

1956

President

Ms. Debbie Eastburn

Main address

520 Eighth Ave. 22nd floor

New York, NY 10018 USA

Show more contact info

Formerly known as

American Chess Foundation

EIN

13-6119036

NTEE code info

Other Youth Development N.E.C. (O99)

Education N.E.C. (B99)

Other Recreation, Sports, or Leisure Activities N.E.C. (N99)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

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Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

The need for youth from low-income, underserved communities to have access to educational programs to build their intellectual and social skills.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

School Program

The School Program brings chess into classrooms and after-school chess clubs. During the summer, students continue to hone their skills in our summer camps. All elementary and middle schools served by the School Program are public and have low-income populations

Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Economically disadvantaged people

The Scholastic Tournament Program offers free, year-round, competitive chess tournaments in New York City. On weekends and school holidays, tournaments draw between 400 and 850 players from kindergarten through high school. Chess in the Schools organizes and directs 25 tournaments annually ensuring students are challenged and encouraged

Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Economically disadvantaged people

The College Bound Program serves approximately 100 high school students who have participated in the School Program. Students are generally the first in their family to aspire to attend college. The College Bound Program provides comprehensive college readiness services, employment and other opportunities to help our students graduate high school on time and attend college.

Population(s) Served
Adolescents
Economically disadvantaged people

The Teacher Training Program, offers workshops, chess materials, and support to help classroom teachers implement a comprehensive chess program in their own schools.

Population(s) Served
Adults

Where we work

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of children taught

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Economically disadvantaged people, Children and youth, At-risk youth

Related Program

School Program

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of teachers trained

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

Teacher Training Institute

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Percent of high school students graduating from high school

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Adolescents, At-risk youth, Economically disadvantaged people

Related Program

College Bound Program

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Percent of high seniors matriculating to college

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Adolescents, At-risk youth, Economically disadvantaged people

Related Program

College Bound Program

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Percent of classroom teachers reporting that chess improved students' analytical and logical reasoning.

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Children and youth, At-risk youth, Economically disadvantaged people

Related Program

School Program

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Improving children's thinking skills as a path to academic achievement.

Teaching chess in elementary and middle schools.
After-school chess clubs.
Weekend chess tournaments.
College readiness program.
Teacher training for public school teachers.

We train and manage a staff of chess instructors and college readiness leaders.

To date, we have taught over 500,000 NYC public schoolchildren chess.

Our College Bound Program regularly achieves high school graduation rates of 100% and college matriculation rates over 95%.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • Who are the people you serve with your mission?

    We serve elementary, middle, and high school students. We also serve teachers.

  • How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?

    Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Paper surveys,

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals,

  • What significant change resulted from feedback?

    Based on the findings of SEL (social and emotional learning) student surveys in our College Bound program, we added leadership opportunities for students.

  • With whom is the organization sharing feedback?

    The people we serve, Our staff, Our board, Our funders,

  • How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship?

    Especially in our College Bound program, we have become more responsive to student feedback and more mindful of the social and emotional learning potential within the program.

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded,

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection,

Financials

Chess-in-the-Schools, Inc.
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

Chess-in-the-Schools, Inc.

Board of directors
as of 10/14/2022
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Mr. Mark Maher

Spotify

Term: 2021 - 2022

Debbie Eastburn

President & CEO, Chess-in-the-Schools

Cody Smith

No Affiliation

Mark Maher

Spotify

Lawrence Benenson

Benenson Capital Partners LLC

Mike Walsh Peissis

Vetta Inc.

Kwadwo Acheampong

PIMCO

Praju Doshi

Credit Suisse

Chun Lin

Bank of America

Jon Zald

PJT Partners

Dann Ryan

Sincerus Advisory

Andy Lerner

IA Capital

Dhruv Sharma

PwC

Andy Smith

Pillsbury

Dave Stein

Adobe

Richard Wagner

ABILITY Network

Anthony Sandrik

Carta

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 10/14/2022
info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

Disability

Equity strategies

Last updated: 10/14/2022

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
  • We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
  • We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
  • We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
Policies and processes
  • We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
  • We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.