Girls On The Run Greater Houston
learn. live. dream. run.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
• There is a critical need for programming that enhances girls’ social, psychological and physical skills and behaviors to successfully navigate life experiences. Studies show that: o Girls’ self-confidence begins to drop by age 9. o 50% of girls ages 10 to 13 experience bullying such as name calling and exclusion at a time when peer relationships become more central to girls’ lives. o Physical activity levels decline starting at age 10 and continues to decrease throughout adolescence.• There is strong evidence that Girls on the Run addresses this need by promoting positive youth development, including lasting change in competence, confidence, connection, character, caring, physical activity, and life skills such as managing emotions, resolving conflict, helping others and making intentional decisions.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Girls on the Run and Heart & Sole
Girls on the Run is a positive youth development program which combines an interactive curriculum and running to inspire self-respect and healthy lifestyles in pre-teen girls. Our core curriculum addresses many aspects of girls' development--their physical, emotional, mental and social well-being. Lessons provide girls with the tools to make positive decisions and to avoid risky adolescent behaviors. The new curriculum program for 6th-8th grade girls is called Heart & Sole and specifically addresses issues for middle school girls.
Where we work
Awards
Accredited Charity 2014
Better Business Bureau Greater Houston
Accredited Charity 2015
Better Business Bureau Metropolitan Houston
Accredited Charity 2019
Better Business Bureau Greater Houston
Accredited Charity 2018
Better Business Bureau Greater Houston
Accredited Charity 2020
Better Business Bureau Greater Houston
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 youth who demonstrate that they have developed skills and attitudes to make physical activity a habit
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls, Children and youth
Related Program
Girls on the Run and Heart & Sole
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
• The study also showed that girls in Girls on the Run were significantly more likely than girls in physical education or organized sports programs to learn and use life skills.
Number of youth who demonstrate that they avoid bullying behaviors
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls, Children and youth
Related Program
Girls on the Run and Heart & Sole
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
o The majority (80%) of girls credited Girls on the Run with their ability to resolve conflicts with their peers.
Number of girls who demonstrated motivation and confidence to finish a 5k run.
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls, Children and youth
Related Program
Girls on the Run and Heart & Sole
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
• Girls on the Run is the only national physical activity-based positive youth development program for girls with evidence of program impact from a rigorous external evaluation study.
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 goal is to bring the Girls on the Run program to all the schools and sites in the Greater Houston area where we can find volunteer coaches, usually teachers, who are willing and passionate to start a program. There is no shortage of girls who want to participate in the program when given the chance. We envision a world where every girl knows and activates her limitless potential and is free to boldly pursue her dream
The program is delivered to small groups of approximately 15 girls twice per week over the course of a 10-week season. Lessons are 75-90 minutes in length and specifically target helping girls improve in competence, confidence, caring, character, connection, and contribution. Girls learn specific skills and strategies such as how to manage emotions, help others, make intentional decisions, and resolve conflict that they use at home, at school and with friends.
• Girls on the Run also inspires girls to build lives of purpose and to make a meaningful contribution to community and society. This comes to life through a key element of the curricula when each team creates and executes a community service project.
• At the end of the program, all Girls on the Run teams from Greater Houston come together for a celebratory 5K. Completing a 5K gives the girls a tangible sense of achievement as well as a framework for setting and achieving life goals.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Our strategies to bring the Girls on the Run program to as many Houston area girls as we can find volunteers for include:
--Organic growth from the current base of 153 sites that have hosted our program.
--Active retention of current sites to build momentum.
--Increase community awareness in the youth development, after-school program, women's, and running/fitness communities in Houston.
--Actively engage the YMCA and recreation center community to bring the program to more girls outside of the school base.
--Actively increase our engaged volunteer base and donor base to bring the program to more economically disadvantaged sites and full-paying sites.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
We have an Executive Director, with strong school athletic director and race director experience, as well as pediatric care experience, who founded the Girls on the Run program in Greater Houston and has overseen the dramatic organic growth over the last 10 years, even with the pandemic, +600% since 2011. We have 2 effective Program Managers, one who is bilingual in Spanish (50% of our girls participating are Hispanic). We have a Digital Communications and Outreach Coordinator. We started a Young Professionals group in 2014 called Friends of GOTR Greater Houston with over 30 members. We have an engaged Board of Directors and expect to have over 620 passionate volunteers, mainly teachers, in 2023, to help the 2,000 Girls on the Run girls to realize their limitless potential. We have collaborated in the past with Baylor College of Medicine to bring our program to a clinic specializing in obesity and have many programs now located in parks and YMCAs. We have teamed with generous donors to donate over 6,000 pair of running shoes in the last 12 years to economically disadvantaged girls. Chevron has sponsored Girls on the Run Greater Houston for the last 4 years and we are well known in the running community with our annual Girls on the Run Spring celebratory 5K which is open to all, but is the culmination of the program for the girls and their families.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
The program has grown by over 600% in the last 11 years, interrupted by the pandemic, to over 2,000 girls in 2023. We hope to maintain our expansion in the next 3 years.
Site retention rates have increased dramatically and significantly reduced the "one and done" sites that host the program once and fail to renew.
We have grown our volunteer base and started a Friends of Girls on the Run Greater Houston group.
Spanish Girls on the Run Guides for parents were rolled out recently and the capability to sign up online in either English or Spanish was launched. We have added a Spanish-speaking Program Coordinator.
A program with a new curriculum for the older girls (6th-8th grade) called Heart & Sole was initiated a few seasons ago and will have pre- and post-season evaluations for effectiveness. We hope to substantially grow the program for older girls.
The celebratory season-ending 5K events have grown to over 3,200 runners including our girls, but we have yet to find a major, naming sponsor/donor.
Growing our donor base to keep pace with the growth of the program in economically disadvantaged sites has been a major challenge that will continue.
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 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 engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don’t have the right technology to collect and aggregate feedback efficiently, It is difficult to identify actionable 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
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- 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.
Girls On The Run Greater Houston
Board of directorsas of 01/23/2023
Dave Lee
FFP (Fun, Fitness, Philanthropy) Running Clubs, Fieldbridge Energy
Term: 2022 - 2024
Mary T Callahan
Girls on the Run Greater Houston
Frank Bilotti
Chevron
Jeanette Margle
Nerdwallet
Jamie Hons
HCA Healthcare
Colleen Cockrum
LyondellBasell
Carol Lewis
St. John's School
Michael McDonough
Retired Educator
Brandi Kendall
Crescent Energy/KKR
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? No
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
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 11/14/2022GuideStar 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 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 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 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.