Banyan Foundation
Neighborhood Roots. Transformed Lives
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Banyan Community creates a nucleus of support that develops a strong community from the inside up. The Phillips Neighborhood of South Minneapolis is a low income neighborhood in need of revitalization. Banyan's approach is holistic by developing youth, strengthening families, and creating community. We work at all three levels to bring about change. As a result, our 100 block area is now experiencing youth that are graduating from high school and going to college, with over a dozen now as college graduates. Our families are stable, adding to the retention and strength of our community. Our block clubs create a strong fabric that addresses isolation and crime prevention through community building. Our place conciseness, researched informed model is working to bring about holistic and lasting change in our neighborhood.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Community Development
Banyan is a community development organization that develops youth, strengthens families, and creates community in the Phillips Neighborhood of South Minneapolis, MN. We work at all three levels to bring lasting change in our poverty neighborhood
Where we work
External reviews
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?
The overall goals of Banyan are to:
• Provide opportunities for youth to develop leadership skills, engage in positive relationships with peers and adults, and have new experiences.
• Provide academic support and accountability so that youth can succeed in school and college.
• Create an environment of support around youth, through the encouragement and investment of the adults in the community.
• Strengthen families by connecting them to resources and helping them to avert crisis.
• Connect neighbors to each other so they can build a strong community.
All of Banyan Community's programs are based on community input and staff expertise, blended with the most current research on the assets and support that children need to develop a positive self-image, learn social and life skills, succeed in school, and ultimately overcome the cycle of generational poverty.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Banyan's current programs activities are centered around three core objectives: developing youth, strengthening families, and creating community:
DEVELOP YOUTH
Elementary: The After School Program for grades K-5 includes educational enrichment time, learning about developmental assets, homework help, gym time and a snack. Summer Cool Off Days is five weeks of field trips, swimming, and hands-on science. There is an additional week of residential camp.
Middle School: SOAR focuses on life skills, service, and working toward academic success. Also, middle schoolers participate in five weeks of summer programming just for them, and Tronix and Art Workshop on School Release Days.
High School: ASPIRE academic support and accountability program has resulted in a 100% high school graduation rate. High School Employment provides Banyan High School students with opportunities to be leaders with our elementary youth after school program.
College: Banyan Scholars is our college support program that provides first generation college students with mentors and direction. Banyan also hires neighborhood college students to work in our after school program.
STRENGTHEN FAMILIES
Home Visits: Banyan staff members conduct home visits for every youth enrolled in programming. Families are connected to resources they need like housing and employment.
Goal-Setting Conferences: Staff members meet with parents to teach them how to advocate for their children at school.
CREATE COMMUNITY AMONG PHILLIPS RESIDENTS
The Lighthouse Network: Banyan-supported, neighborhood-led block clubs.
Neighbors work together to build community and address crime and other block issues.
The Gatherings: Four annual community events bring together youth, parents, staff and neighbors.
CLEC- Community Leadership Education and Connection- our Adult Program
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Banyan has a 20+ year track record of success in transforming lives in the Phillips neighborhood. We are able to achieve high quality outcomes in our programs because of four things:
1) High quality leadership. Banyan's executive level leadership is deeply committed to our mission and provides clear guidance for our organization.
2) High quality staff. We currently have seven full-time and fifteen part-time staff that facilitate our programs. Our part-time staff includes high school and college students that have grown up in our programs. They are passionate about serving our community, and provide a unique insight into the dreams and aspirations of our community.
3) Stable funding. Our annual budget in 2022 was $2,050,000. We receive about half of our funding from individuals and half of our funding from corporations/foundations. The diversity of our funding base provides great stability.
4) Committed families. Banyan families are deeply committed and stay connected with Banyan long-term. Our retention rate is 95%! This enables us to make a lasting impact in the lives of youth, families and our community.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We will celebrate our 25th year of impact in the Phillips Neighborhood in 2023! Banyan has built trusted relationship with youth and families over years that allows us to respond to both ongoing as well as emergent needs when they arise. For example, during the three-week Minneapolis Public Schools teacher strike last year, parents were able to turn to Banyan for educational enrichment and a safe place for their children. Youth engaged in a variety of activities to keep them focused on learning and to have some supervised fun with their peers. It is because of our long-term connections with families, and our partnership with them, that Banyan is a trusted resource to turn to. Your support enables us to reach out to more youth and families in our community.
Thank you for your interest in Banyan Community!
Carl Schlueter
Executive Director
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 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 share the feedback we received with the people we serve, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback
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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, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time
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
- 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.
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.
Banyan Foundation
Board of directorsas of 01/12/2024
Judy Pennington
Retired
Term: 2021 - 2024
Judy Pennington
Deloitte Consulting- retired
Andrew Bingenheimer
US Bank
Hanan Osman
Minnesota Department of Health and Human Services
Larry Lucio
School Administrator - retired
Margaret Murphy
Old National Bank - retired
Sharon Smith-Akinsanya
Rae Mackenzie Group
Erica Messmer
Cargill, Inc
BJ Coleman
PwC
Becky Torres
Scholar
Hierald Osorto
San Pablo Lutheran Church
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
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 09/25/2023GuideStar 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.