Mission
With a focus on education, technology, and entrepreneurship, Hopeworks provides a positive, healing atmosphere that propels young people to build strong futures and break the cycle of violence and poverty in Camden, New Jersey. We connect youth to life-changing opportunities where their growing technology skills go to work for enterprising businesses within our community. The real-world, on-the-job experience they gain raises their potential and benefits our partners. Hopeworks Camden is a nonprofit that has been working for over 19 years with Camden youth. Utilizing an advanced training curriculum in website design/development, GIS and Salesforce, Hopeworks works with youth 17-26 to get back in school, earn permanent jobs, and achieve their dreams.
Ruling year
1999
Executive Director
Dan Rhoton
Main address
808 Market St. 3rd. Fl.
Camden, NJ 08102 USA
EIN
31-1660671
NTEE code
Student Services and Organizations (B80)
Youth Development Programs (O50)
Human Service Organizations (P20)
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
With a focus on skill development, real-world job experience, and trauma-informed care, Hopeworks propels young adults into long-term living wage careers that put them on the path to healing and financial stability
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Day Training Program
Day Training Program
Out of school youth participate in our Day Training Program -- Recode Your Future -- which offers technology training and job opportunities in a supportive setting. The program offers youth the opportunity to train in web design, GIS, and Salesforce while at the same time receiving literacy help and personal counseling or ‘Life Readiness.’
The Day Training Program is held Monday through Friday from 9 – 4. Each youth participates in our technology training as well as our Literacy and Life Readiness programs. The typical timeline is that after 3 months, a youth will have the skills to apply for a job with us.
The Day Training curriculum includes progressive technical training in front end web development -- HTML, graphic design – Photoshop, advanced HTML, Javascript, and Wordpress, as well as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) programs and Salesforce Administration. Trainees undergo a challenging production test to qualify for work in one of our businesses.
At the conclusion of training, trainees are invited to join the Hopeworks Corporate Internship Program, which offers part-time paying internships in Hopeworks own Web Development and GIS businesses, as well as with a variety of local businesses and organizations.
By the time youth are finished with their training and paid internship, they have the technical skills, social, emotional, and professional skills, and the professional portfolio to go on to full-time work at companies across the region!
The C.R.I.B. Residential Program (Community Responding in Belief)
CRIB
The Community Responding in Belief (CRIB) is a residential community for youth who have earned a job at Hopeworks. The CRIB is a community of success where youth live together, share meals, and all believe in furthering their goals. A powerful combination of supportive live-in staff and community structure help create an environment for success for young people who have often struggle with stable housing.
College Programs
Academic Success
Academic success coaches help Hopeworks youth build and maintain the academic skills they need in order to achieve their goals. Hopeworks offers Adult Basic Skills (High School Equivalency) preparation, individual college and academic coaching, and the new Townsend Scholars program, which provides full tuition scholarships and individualized support to young people attending community college. These academic services, combined with the emotional support of our trauma informed approach, help youth succeed in academics even when they may have failed before.
Life Readiness Coaching
Life Readiness Coaching
The primary task of the Life Readiness is to empower youth to identify and develop their dreams by meeting with youth consistently and working with them to develop a plan for their future. Utilizing a trauma-informed approach, life readiness coaches use motivational interviewing and other coaching techniques to help youth understand their patterns and behaviors and set and achieve goals. Life Readiness Coaches work with all trainees from intake through development and implementation of a dreams plan, through their education plan and entrance and through their internship. The Life Readiness Coach works closely with all youth to develop their vision for their future, and then meets with them individually every week to review their plans and to hold them accountable for making progress.
At Hopeworks, this includes explicit financial coaching on budgeting, credit management, savings, financial tools, predatory lending practices, and setting and achieving financial goals. Better Money Habits, supplied by Bank of America, is a key part of our financial literacy curriculum.
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.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsNumber of jobs created and maintained
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Young adults, At-risk youth, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Day Training Program
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of clients placed in internships
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Young adults, Unemployed people
Related Program
Day Training Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of participants who gain employment
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Young adults, At-risk youth, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Life Readiness Coaching
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Average hourly wage of clients who became employed after job skills training
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Young adults, At-risk youth, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Day Training Program
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of program participants who remain employed 12 months after program completion
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Young adults, At-risk youth, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Day Training Program
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn 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?
Hopeworks unique mix of training, trauma-informed care, and real-world experience leads to extraordinary results.
It starts with training, giving young adults the high demand technical skills they need. Hopeworks’ starts with progressive technical training in front end web development as well as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and data visualization, high demand skills that companies need.
Technical training is important; young adults need the coding and technical skills to make them employable in high wage occupations. Even more important, however, is helping our young adults develop the social and emotional skills to not just get those high wage jobs, but to keep them.
A unique combination of career readiness coaching, academic success coaching, and a strong community commitment to healing and progress means that young adults can find a place to succeed.
However, it takes one last step to make our young people the exceptional employees they are. Success for our young people also requires real-world experience. To provide this experience, Hopeworks runs real businesses, providing technology solutions for businesses in web design, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and data visualization that not only helps businesses achieve their goals, but also trains and employs young adults into high demand, high wage careers. Our young adults work in these businesses, gaining real world experience and a living wage. In the last 12 months, Hopeworks paid over $800,000 in wages to our participants.
Hopeworks unique combination of technical training, real business experience, and trauma-informed coaching and academic counseling has led to extraordinary results. On average, over 99% of young adults (aged 17-26) entering Hopeworks are unemployed, making less than $400 annually. young adults completing the Hopeworks program make, on average, over $43,000 annually, with an almost 90% 12-month retention rate in their jobs. That is the Hopeworks difference.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Hopeworks unique mix of training, trauma-informed care, and real-world experience leads to extraordinary results.
It starts with training, giving young adults the high demand technical skills they need. Hopeworks’ starts with progressive technical training in front end web development as well as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and data visualization, high demand skills that companies need.
Technical training is important; young adults need the coding and technical skills to make them employable in high wage occupations. Even more important, however, is helping our young adults develop the social and emotional skills to not just get those high wage jobs, but to keep them.
A unique combination of career readiness coaching, academic success coaching, and a strong community commitment to healing and progress means that young adults can find a place to succeed.
However, it takes one last step to make our young people the exceptional employees they are. Success for our young people also requires real-world experience. To provide this experience, Hopeworks runs real businesses, providing technology solutions for businesses in web design, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and data visualization that not only helps businesses achieve their goals, but also trains and employs young adults into high demand, high wage careers. Our young adults work in these businesses, gaining real world experience and a living wage. In the last 12 months, Hopeworks paid over $800,000 in wages to our participants.
Hopeworks unique combination of technical training, real business experience, and trauma-informed coaching and academic counseling has led to extraordinary results. On average, over 99% of young adults (aged 17-26) entering Hopeworks are unemployed, making less than $400 annually. young adults completing the Hopeworks program make, on average, over $43,000 annually, with an almost 90% 12-month retention rate in their jobs. That is the Hopeworks difference.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
With a focus on significant levels of resource navigation, a trauma-informed approach, and comprehensive support and coaching, Hopeworks makes a significant investment in the success of young adults aged 17-26. We specialize in changing the narrative shared by other organizations that deem some young adults “unemployable”, ”not ready,” or “too difficult” – young adults who have been failed by the educational system and social system, and who are left out of the growing economy.
Hopeworks, quite deliberately, does not filter or select young adults for our program. If a young person wants to change his or her life, Hopeworks is ready for them.
Our young adults -- once relegated to poverty or low-wage jobs in retail or the service sector -- have proven that they can earn living wage jobs in tech with massive growth potential. Now, with more and more companies recommitting to ideas of equity and diversifying their workforce, now is the time to scale our efforts.
Our unique trauma-informed approach, combined with high-demand, high-wage technical training and paid work experience helps young people not only get the job, but keep it, transforming their lives and the lives of their families.
On average, over 99% of young adults (aged 17-26) entering Hopeworks are unemployed, making less than $500 annually. young adults completing the Hopeworks program make, on average, over $43,000 annually, with an over 88% 12-month retention rate in their jobs. That is the Hopeworks difference, truly ending poverty and generating wealth for communities excluded from prosperity for generations.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Hopeworks has been honored numerous times in recent years, including:
Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce 2016 Nonprofit Organization of the Year
2016 Nonprofit Organization of the Year by the Nonprofit Development Center of Southern New Jersey.
2017 National Scattergood Innovation Award.
2017 National Tech All Star by Comcast/NBC Universal
2019 Seek the Power of Different Award from the Campbell’s Soup Foundation
2019 Rutgers Camden Civic Engagement Award
2021 NBA Foundation Grantee
2021 Ref Growth Portfolio Grantee
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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Who are the people you serve with your mission?
Hopeworks serves unemployed youth aged 17-26.
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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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What significant change resulted from feedback?
Hopeworks has been able to make important changes to our programming, and leverage the data from the feedback loops with our Board of Directors to provide key data for our strategic planning process. Based on the feedback we received, following are just some of the changes Hopeworks made to programming based on the feedback we received through the Listen4Good process and follow up interviews: Changed our stipend structure to give participants more predictable income Increase intern wages to $15/hour effective July 17th Creation of Continuous Quality Improvement Teams Restructured chat and chew scheduling, vetting processes, and feedback loops. Stipend structure changes effective July 26th Restructuring office space to include increased consultation spaces for Career Readiness Meetings
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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 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
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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.
HOPEWORKS N CAMDEN INC
Board of directorsas of 02/02/2022
Brad Aronson
Angel Investor, Author
Joshua Angotti
Comcast
Christina Mattison
Mattison Advisors, LLC
Daniel Rhynhart
Blank Rome LLP
Brian Simmermon
Advanced Call Centers Technologies
Lakshmi Stockham
TD Bank
Melissa Smith
Holman Industries
Mark Sarvary
Retired
Caloua Lowe-Gonzalez
SEER Interactive
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
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 09/21/2021GuideStar 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
- 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 disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- 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.
- 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 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.
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