CONCRETE SAFARIS INC
Youth Transforming The World Starting In Their Own Backyards
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Green Exercise Days
Green Exercise Days are single-day, garden-based obstacle courses that have served over 13,000 second to fifth grade children through seasonal field trips involving gardening, urbanism, outdoor play, and environmental health.
City Surfers
City Surfers is a 5-day/week after school program in which K - 5th graders exercise outdoors and transform their neighborhoods into active living space.
JungleGym
JungleGym is a multi-date, multi-block outdoor play and healthy living fair.
Outdoor Leadership Academy
An environmental health internship program for 14-24-year-olds
PlacemakingCorps
Concrete Safaris’ PlacemakingCorps is a grantee of Public Health AmeriCorps and receives funds from its State and National program. In the 2022/23 class, twenty-four individuals, ages 18+, will serve for 6 - 10.5 months exploring a career in public and environmental health and placemaking, while supporting youth development and community building. Through direct service, planning, and leadership of child and youth-centered environmental health service learning projects, AmeriCorps members will gain skills and confidence to develop as leaders. Public Health AmeriCorps members will educate children and youth on environmental health, facilitating implementation of their visions for a healthy neighborhood through gardening, outdoor play, and art interventions for neighbors. Public Health AmeriCorps members will also provide much-needed, local referrals for medical and public health services.
Where we work
External reviews

Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of free participants on field trips
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, Multiracial people, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Green Exercise Days
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Total number of acres of area indirectly controlled under cultivation
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, Ethnic and racial groups
Related Program
Green Exercise Days
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of students receiving homework help
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Related Program
City Surfers
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of youth who demonstrate motivation to learn
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adolescents
Related Program
Outdoor Leadership Academy
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of clients placed in internships
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Outdoor Leadership Academy
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of job skills training courses/workshops conducted
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Outdoor Leadership Academy
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Our mission is to prepare youth in East Harlem and beyond to lead healthy lives and shape their environment through outdoor play, education, exploration, and community engagement.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Our strategies involve children and youth in outdoor programming during after school, internships, summer, and single-day programming on courts, streets, and within underutilized spaces in the public housing projects of East Harlem.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Over the next three years, Concrete Safaris will focus on expanding its existing programs to meet demand in East Harlem through increasing its fundraising capabilities and deepening its resource capacity to more effectively serve a greater customer base.
Demand for programming: Concrete Safaris will expand its direct-service programs to simultaneously reach a broader number of students more frequently and employ a greater number of interns in the community.
Fundraising capability: The organization will focus on securing larger government and foundation funding, increase participation from individual and corporate donors, and explore alternative methods of generating revenue while improving brand recognition.
Staff capacity: Underpinning the success of its strategic objectives, Concrete Safaris will hire additional highly-qualified staff able to oversee the management of its programs and improve talent retention, while growing its leadership teams with members possessing the expertise necessary to lead the organization to success.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Concrete Safaris has grown steadily from an after school workshop series serving 16 children twice per week in 2008 to a 4-program organization serving 7-24-year-olds through after school, internships, single-day field trips, and an annual event -- getting over 4,750 participants outdoors, active, and educated -- in 2017.
In 2019, the organization opened its Outdoor Leadership Academy internship program to over two hundred 14-15-year-olds and over thirty 16-24-year-olds for six-days per week of professional development workshops, trainings on how to lead community events for thousands of local residents, and site visits to corporations and government agencies in the field of healthcare, media, business/professional, construction, and food services.
Also in 2019, Concrete Safaris opened its City Surfers after school program to 72 children at PS 57 for a five/day/week after school program offering gardening, cycling and fitness, photography, obstacle race design, advocacy, field trips, nature adventures, and camping.
Now in 2022, the organization expects to serve 72 children in after school and summer camp, nearly 300 youth through school year and summer internships, a dedicated group of school children from 3 schools and local NYCHA residents at its gardens, and a wide variety of community members at its street-based obstacle event series.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild 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.
CONCRETE SAFARIS INC
Board of directorsas of 11/04/2022
Mr. Michael Woolley
Retired Attorney
Mac Levine
Concrete Safaris
Mike Woolley
Retired Attorney
Anthony Edgar
Citadel
Brooke Stover
Walmart Connect
Daniela Morales
John Snow
Mandy DeRoche
Earthjustice
Jerren Holder
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
David H. Kaufman
Morrison Foerster
Janine Nedd
Morrison Foerster
Nicole Nelson
Mizuho Financial Group
Lorenz Schmid
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Christopher Consalvo
Mount Sinai Health System
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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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
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
No data
Gender identity
No data
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data