GOLD2022

THE LITTLE BIT FOUNDATION

Breaking Down Barriers to Learning

aka The Little Bit Foundation   |   Saint Louis, MO   |  www.thelittlebitfoundation.org

Mission

We are committed to breaking down barriers to learning for students living in poverty through partnerships and programs that serve the needs of the whole child. Our aim is to empower students to achieve their academic goals and dreams for the future, while leaving an imprint of love and hope on young lives for whom a little bit means a lot.

Ruling year info

2006

Chief Executive Officer

Mrs. Miranda Walker Jones

Main address

516 Hanley Industrial Court

Saint Louis, MO 63144 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

20-0126713

NTEE code info

Children's and Youth Services (P30)

Primary/Elementary Schools (B24)

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

As we’ve climbed up and out of the Great Recession, remarkably, a higher percentage of children are living in poverty now than during those turbulent economic years. In St. Louis City, a staggering 40% of children live below the poverty line. Throughout the region, one out of every four children lives in poverty. Poverty robs children in a myriad of ways. It has a particularly adverse effect on academic outcomes, including an inability to concentrate and learn, and far higher dropout rates. The ironic and ultimate consequence is that this lack of education continues the vicious cycle of future generations living in poverty.

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?

The Little Bit Foundation Programs

Essentials: clothing, hygiene items, shoes, coats
Academic Equity and Enrichment: Books, STEM Lingo, First Lego League, Academic Tutoring
Wellness And Family Support: Case Management, Behavioral Health
College and Career Readiness: SOAR Mentoring, What's Next? Career Fairs
Health and Nutrition: Emergency Food Pantry, Mobile Food Markets, Free Family Markets, Health Screening, Vision Screening, and Eye Glasses, Oral Health



Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Economically disadvantaged people

Where we work

Videos

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 served

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

Ethnic and racial groups, Economically disadvantaged people, Children and youth

Related Program

The Little Bit Foundation Programs

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of backpacks filled with school supplies distributed

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

Ethnic and racial groups, Economically disadvantaged people, Children and youth

Related Program

The Little Bit Foundation Programs

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Note: in the 2018-19 school year, we separated backpacks from school supplies in our distrubution. We provided 51,208 school supplies.

Number of grants and research funding awarded to the institution

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

Ethnic and racial groups, Economically disadvantaged people, Children and youth

Related Program

The Little Bit Foundation Programs

Type of Metric

Input - describing resources we use

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of books distributed

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

Infants and toddlers, Children and youth, Ethnic and racial groups

Related Program

The Little Bit Foundation Programs

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

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.

Our goals are to break down the barriers to education presented by poverty:
* Increase attendance
* Decrease discipline issues
* Improve classroom engagement
* Have a positive impact on each child's dignity and self-esteem

We accomplish this by our consistent weekly presence in our sponsored schools, working one-on-one with each child served. We provide necessities such as uniforms, shoes, coats, socks, underwear, hygiene items, school supplies, and books. Our health and wellness programs include emergency food kits, health screenings, vision screenings and glasses and dental hygiene education.

Little Bit is rooted by our volunteers and a passionate and dedicated Board of Directors and Staff. Over 200 volunteers support us working in the schools each week, volunteering in the distribution center, at book fairs and health screenings.

Since 2001 we have grown from an initial delivery of 172 coats to serving 6,000 children providing over 475,000 items.

We will accomplished serving 14,000 children during this 2020-21 school year. Each year we achieve our goal of providing every child in our sponsored schools with the items and services that they need.

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 demonstrated a willingness to learn more by reviewing resources about feedback practice.
done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • Who are the people you serve with your mission?

    We support underserved and under-resourced children, grades PK - 12, in St. Louis City and County. We conduct annual surveys and interviews with school and district administration and school liaisons.

  • 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

  • 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 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, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, It is hard to come up with good questions to ask people

Financials

THE LITTLE BIT FOUNDATION
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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.

THE LITTLE BIT FOUNDATION

Board of directors
as of 11/10/2022
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Mr. Marty Akins

Self-employed

Term: 2022 - 2024

Michael Amann

AG Industries

Suzie Andrews

Stark & Associates

Michael England

St. Mary's High School

Richard E. Fister

UBS

Susan Gausnell

Volunteer Committee Liaison

Becky Vidal

Stark and Associates

Chris Emert

CJ Technology Partners

Andrew Waltke

Edward Jones

Nick Bahn

Bahn Realty

Alicia Graham

Nestle Purina

Karen Grasso

CBIZ

Dwayne James

MU Extension St. Louis County

Pat Johnson

Community Volunteer

Gary Mindel

ColorArt

Meg Riney

Community Volunteer

Kelly Weiss

Brown, Smith Wallace

Sarah Bowman

PNC

Keith Brooks

Big League Impact

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 11/10/2022
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
Black/African American
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 11/10/2022

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 review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
  • 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 have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
Policies and processes
  • We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
  • 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 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.