UNSTOPPABLE FOUNDATION
Empowering Lives Through Education
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Poverty is rooted in multiple social and economic obstacles. If you only tackle one issue the cycle of poverty will persist. Our Model Changes Everything by addressing the 5 primary causes of poverty with sustainable solutions that work to transform communities in rural Kenya: • Education: The region suffers high illiteracy rates, overcrowding, and dilapidated schoolhouses. Many girls are married off before completing primary or secondary school. • Clean Water & Sanitation: Families endure inadequate sanitation facilities and lack access to clean water. Girls may spend 6-8 hours/day fetching dirty water and waterborne diseases are rampant. • Food Security: Nearly 1 in 2 children are stunted from chronic malnutrition. • Healthcare: Nearly 1 in 20 children die before reaching their 5th birthday due to disease and a lack of healthcare & health education. • Economic Empowerment: Most families live on < $1/day, without the ability to purchase basic necessities.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Sponsor a Village Program
The Sponsor a Village Program is at the core of our 5-Pillar development model, in which we not only build schools, but also provide the entire community with access to clean water & sanitation, food & nutrition, healthcare and training for the parents to develop an income. The goal is that each community is self-sustaining within 5 years of implementation.
Where we work
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of training events conducted
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Extremely poor people, People of African descent
Related Program
Sponsor a Village Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Alternative income training expands the skills of community members to help them generate income, accrue savings and ensure sustainability. (Training temporarily suspended in 2020 due to COVID-19.)
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
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?
Program #1: 5-Pillar Community Development Model
Our model builds schools, provides access to clean water, medical care, nutritious food, and training for parents to learn to generate income.
Goals:
• Direct impact: Lives improved yearly from 10.5k to 20k
• Indirect impact: 50k community members benefiting from Unstoppable programs
Program #2: Unstoppable Leadership Academy
To ensure individuals are empowered with the skills to help them reach their fullest potential, we created the Unstoppable Leadership Academy (ULA). ULA empowers a new generation of conscious, ethical and entrepreneurial-minded leaders with the skills and tools to solve their greatest challenges & create opportunities for themselves, their families & their communities.
ULA employs experiential practice, peer-to-peer engagement, community outreach and service that empowers students to develop a strong foundation in the skills, knowledge & mindset necessary for effective leadership & success.
Upon completion of the ULA, participants will demonstrate confidence in the following areas:
• Life-long Learning
• Career Readiness
• Personal Empowerment
• Interpersonal Relationships
• Effective Leadership
Goals
• Administer the ULA program to more than 1k students per year
• Expand ULA program into educational institutions in the Mara and Kilifi County
• Expand the ULA program into 5 new Unstoppable communities by 2025
Program #3: Unstoppable Community Enrichment Centers
As part of our long-term community development & education, we construct Unstoppable Community Enrichment Centers. These multi-function centers serve to help children & adults learn, grow & collaborate.
These centers meet 5 critical educational needs in the community:
1. Financial literacy
2. Entrepreneurship & skills development
3. Parent Village Savings & Loan Associations (VSLAs)
4. Gender equality & girls' rights programming
5. Leadership training through the ULA program
These centers serve as libraries where students can engage in group activities as well as study before & after school.
Goals
• Build 5 additional centers by 2025
• Develop & deliver proprietary ULA programming to community members
• Directly Impact: over 22k men, women and children
• Directly impact at least 3,200 primary school students
Program #4: Advocacy
Our advocacy programs educate individuals in the following areas:
• Build awareness for the need for sustainable solutions to move people in developing countries from barely surviving to thriving so that everyone can achieve their full potential.
• Educate individuals on the power of generosity & how to create success by giving.
• Provide businesses with solutions to integrate a social purpose in their business that helps solve some of the world’s greatest challenges.
Goals:
• Education & Engagement Outreach: Reach 100k people through workshops, keynote presentations & live streaming, as well as communicate with 1MM people via radio & TV interviews, events & webinars.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The Unstoppable Foundation is celebrating its 10th Anniversary in 2018-2019. Over the last decade, we've done the heavy lifting. We have the plan, a proven model and the partners on the ground. We are ready to expand our programs and multiply our impact 10-fold in the next three years.
Here's our strategy for maintaining our success:
1. Unstoppable Community Sustainability: Focusing on delivering 5 foundational pillars to each community: education, clean water & sanitation, food security, healthcare, and income creation.
Strategy #1: Chose each community carefully, taking the time to develop a clear understanding of the history of the community and the level of commitment from community elders to fully engage and drive the program.
Strategy #2: Conduct ongoing site reviews to gather in-depth context to better understand what propels a community toward sustainability.
Strategy #3: Commitment that infrastructure will be initiated within 6 months of receipt of 25% of community funding and a minimum of one or two classrooms are completed each year.
2. Unstoppable Scholars: Students receive a state-of-the-art education that combines theoretical studies with technical training, placements and internships. Our goal is to provide a quality education, empowering the Kenyan people to achieve their aspirations and contribute to thriving communities.
Strategy #1: Program monitoring and evaluation addressing the impact on the students, as well as the impact on the community.
Strategy #2: Provide students with the Unstoppable Foundation's proprietary 2-year Unstoppable Leadership & Empowerment Training, helping them learn the leadership and life skills necessary to become effective leaders in their families, as well as in their communities.
3. Unstoppable Community Leadership Centers: Our newest program is the final step to ensure communities become self-sustaining. We firmly believe that once individuals move beyond poverty, they can focus on personal growth, community leadership, and strong governance.
Strategy #1: Identify Measurable Outcomes for Unstoppable Empowerment and Leadership Centers
Strategy #2: Analyze Evaluations Across Hundreds of Programs to Identify the Most Effective Strategies
Strategy #3: Ensure Strategy Design and Programming are Locally Relevant
4. Domestic Education & Outreach: As we enter a phase of unprecedented growth, we are committed to building domestic community engagement to create even greater impact.
Strategy #1: Educate individuals on the need for Education for Every Child and Unstoppable Success: Moving Forward by Giving Back.
Strategy #2: Deliver workshops, teleseminars, radio and TV interviews and presentations on the need for Education for Every Child and Unstoppable Success: Moving Forward by Giving Back.
Strategy #3: Leverage the MY UNSTOPPABLE CHALLENGE program to provide individuals and organizations with an online platform to fundraise and be a part of our international programs.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
A proven track record of success
Unstoppable Foundation (UF) is a humanitarian organization with a track record of proven success. UF collaborates with dedicated community members and our international development partners to implement sustainable solutions that work. Since 2008, UF has helped transform 23 communities in Kenya, providing education to over 41,000 children and directly impacting nearly 100,000 people through our holistic 5-Pillar development model.
With over a decade of experience in development projects in rural Kenya, we have the expertise to deliver high-caliber results. Working closely with our in-country partners, we engage staff on the ground to oversee the quality and integrity of each of our projects. We rely on close partnerships with community members, local leadership and governments to ensure communities have financial and personal ownership of their projects. These capital contributions and sweat equity build the necessary investment among community members to guarantee the long-term sustainability and viability of our projects.
Rigorous oversight
We adhere to best practices in monitoring and evaluating progress, outcomes and long-term impact. Our framework for progress monitoring and evaluation is collaboratively designed between permanent staff in the United States and project staff on the ground in Kenya. Our program management team has primary responsibility for design and oversight of our key project metrics and overall program metrics. We track progress against goals on a quarterly basis and utilize a variety of tools and methodologies to evaluate progress, including record review, surveys, focus groups, structured interview, rubrics and site visits.
Responsible fiscal stewardship
Unstoppable Foundation follows a disciplined management strategy that enables us to maximize our ability to meet the needs of the communities we support. Here are our three guiding principles:
Focus on Programming: In 2021, 82% of Unstoppable Foundation's total revenue was used for programs that benefit children, families, and communities in need. Less than 10% goes toward development costs and management expenses. The remainder of our operating costs have been invested in organizational infrastructure and upleveling our systems and processes.
Strategic Partnerships: UF utilizes various fundraising strategies and is grateful for the incredibly generous and dedicated support of our partners. Many of these partners leverage their large platforms to serve as Ambassadors on behalf of the Foundation - raisings hundreds of thousands of dollars annually through sharing the work of the Unstoppable as well as donate individually to our work.
Investments in Long-term Sustainability: To continue its growth trajectory Unstoppable Foundation launched a 5-year development plan aimed at diversifying the organization's programs and revenue. Organizational sustainability will enable the Unstoppable Foundation to continue to achieve its mission.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
In 2008, Cynthia Kersey founded the Unstoppable Foundation because she was personally motivated by the need to help under-resourced children prosper through education.
The Unstoppable Foundation grew from an intrepid startup to a $3 million organization, every year raising more money to help more children in need.
We have accomplished so much since 2008. Among our many accomplishments, we have:
• Delivered/delivering our 5-pillar model in 23 communities
• Constructed 125 new classrooms and renovated a further 18 classrooms, providing a safe learning environment for over 5,500 students each year
• Built 90 blocks of latrines in primary schools to improve sanitation, reduce the incidence of disease and improve child health
• Constructed and/or renovated 25 ancillary school buildings, including administration buildings, libraries, and teacher accommodations, ensuring that rural schools in impoverished communities have infrastructure in place to support access to high-quality instruction
• Drilled boreholes and/or installed spring water harvesting systems in 16 communities, bringing clear water to nearly 25,000 men, women and children
• Delivered more than 1.5million meals to children and their families
• Launched and implemented our Unstoppable Leadership Academy (ULA)
• Provided scholarships to college students in Tourism & Hospitality Management, Mechanics, Entrepreneurial Agriculture, Nursing and Clinical Medicine cohorts
• Graduated our first community cohort from the Unstoppable Leadership Academy, conducted in our first Unstoppable Enrichment Center in Kenya
As we look to the future, we will expand the focus of our work from Narok County, in southwestern Kenya, to Kilifi County, located on Kenya’s impoverished east coast. Coastal regions of the country have been experiencing a devastating drought and famine since 2021. We will implement our 5-Pillar development model in Kilifi County, providing stricken communities with the tools and resources they need to develop economically, improving resilience to drought and other natural disasters.
Following several successful implementations of our Unstoppable Leadership Academy (ULA), we will be investing in expansion of this transformational programming into other counties and educational institutions and communities in Kenya.
There are now more than 100,000 men, women and children who have access to education and the tools to help them no longer just survive but thrive!
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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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
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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 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 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
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
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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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.
UNSTOPPABLE FOUNDATION
Board of directorsas of 01/24/2023
Mr. David Meltzer
Sports 1 Marketing
Term: 2017 -
Blaine Bartlett
Avatar Resources Inc.
Diane Cirincione
Attitudinal Healing International
Cynthia Kersey
Unstoppable Foundation
David Meltzer
Sports1 Marketing
Robert Quintana
Viridian
Geoff Green
SBCC Foundation
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? No -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
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? No -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No