DINOMIGHTS
Hockey In The Hood
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
There is an opportunity gap in our community for youth in urban areas. For us. we are trying to make sure that kids get the opportunities they need to grow up as self-assured, competent adults, that they gain skills for life. We use academic excellence, hockey, tutoring and a faith-based component. One specific thing we work on is a higher graduation rates in our area of the community. We have an 86% graduation rate among the students we serve over the course of our 25 years. We are also trying to help students overcome traditional urban ills like youth crime, gang violence, teen pregnancy, drug use, etc.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Hockey Teams and Training
Youth hockey teams comprise the core of our programming. We offer teams for Mites, Squirts, PeeWees and Girls U10 levels, plus off-season training opportunities.
Academic Tutoring
DinoMights offers weekly tutoring sessions for elementary, middle school and high school students during the school year.
Summer Camps
Every summer, DinoMights offers our participants the opportunity to go to a summer camp focused on service and spiritual development.
Seasonal Staff
The Seasonal Staff program provides high school and college-aged DinoMights participants the opportunity to learn job skills by directly serving the organization as part-time staff members.
Where we work
External reviews

Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of high school seniors who graduate from high school on time
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Academic Tutoring
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
We track any student that completes our highest level of competitive hockey, meaning PeeWees or U12. Students remaining in the neighborhood or involved in programs tracked. 86% since 1995 graduated.
Number of students enrolled
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, People of African descent, People of Central American descent, At-risk youth, Low-income people
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
We were unable to provide Learn 2 Skate in 2020 and 2021. Greg Carroll Learn 2 Skate returns in 2022. 2022 total served will be 500.
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?
The vision is to see our urban youth grow to be self-assured competent adults that are able to make positive, healthy choices for themselves as assets in their community. One specific thing we work on is a higher graduation rates in our area of the community. We have an 86% graduation rate among the students we serve over the course of our 25 years. We are also trying to help students overcome traditional urban ills like youth crime, gang violence, teen pregnancy, drug use, etc. We want them to be community-minded and care about their neighbors and confident in their God-given value as humans.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Our strategy is that we use hockey as a unique and interesting recreational activity as a hook for and a venue for life development. Our students also receive academic tutoring and academic support, kindness and caring from adult mentors, and more. We have looked into social and emotional learning and we understand that whole-life youth development happen in all of the activities we do, like perseverance, grit and teamwork. They are learning how to be a better friend, a better listener, a critical thinker to name a few.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
DinoMights' expertise is in urban youth work combined with ice hockey for the past 25 years. We have an experienced staff, some of whom were DinoMights as kids. We provide a service that is found no place else in the State of Minnesota.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
The biggest accomplishment is that 86% of our kids have graduated from high school which is 30-40% higher in Minneapolis Public Schools over the same tie period. Reading assessment shows 90% or more made progress over the course of the year. Participant evaluations consistently show 90% satisfaction in all program areas. 2019-2020 are the first years for the social emotional tool, so we will know more on that soon. Over half of our staff members are alumni and so we have grown up indigeneous leaders. We opened a new site successfully in St. Paul in 2018 and we continue to make improvements to our outdoor rink, the Billy Lindsay Rink and hope to add refrigeration to that site within a year.
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 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 act on the feedback we receive
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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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- 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.
DINOMIGHTS
Board of directorsas of 03/03/2022
Mr. Lee Krueger
Joni Phiravanh
Twin Cities Orthopedic
Daniel Preiner
Securian Financial
Dan Seeler
Midwest Industrial Coatings
Jose Marrujo
Morgan Stanley
Erica McKenzie
Minnesota Wild
David Hirsch
Midwest Industrial Coatings
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 ? 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
No data