Jessie Rees Foundation
Never Ever Give Up!
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The problem we aim to solve is to provide continual engagement to kids and families impacted by childhood cancer around the world. Over 400,000 children are diagnosed each year worldwide, and we strive every day to reach them and encourage them to Never Ever Give Up!
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Support Kids, Sibs and Parents to NEGU
A wide variety of resources and services to encourage kids to Never Ever Give Up that include: JoyJars, room makeovers, breakaway adventures, financial support, games, downloads and other NEGU gear.
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 families served in cancer treatment
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Related Program
Support Kids, Sibs and Parents to NEGU
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Distribution of JoyJars to kids fighting cancer. Please note that 2020 and 2021 was impacted by COVID.
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 annual goals every year is to reach and resource more children and families impacted by childhood cancer. While we celebrate we have sent out over 385,000 JoyJars to kids fighting cancer and build supportive relationships with many of them, we can stop because cancer hasn't stopped. Over 400,000 innocent children are diagnosed every year around the world and our 2030 goal is to building distribution partnerships with every children's hospital in the world by 2025 so anyone needing JoyJars can order and receive them in a timely manner.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We partner with over 270 children's hospitals, 175 Ronald McDonald Houses and 118 camps to reach kids. Once the relationship starts between us and a child/family we provide monthly boosts of encourage and support to the child, their siblings and their parents. In addition, daily doses of video encouragement through our smart phone app, iNEGU.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
We have sent over 385,000 JoyJars to children fighting cancer since 2011 and have build supportive relationships with many across the United States. We feel our method and model is working and allowing us to support these innocent children and families.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We have sent out over 385,000 JoyJars to kids fighting caner in all 50 states and 50 countries. We still have thousands of children to reach, which increases daily by 1,000 of innocent children.
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?
Children and families impacted by childhood cancer and caregivers.
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How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?
Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Suggestion box/email,
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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?
One way we have improved is how we now allow caregivers to customize their JoyPack (20 JoyJars). We used to send a variety pack of ages and genders. Now caregivers can customize their JoyPacks to better meet the demographics of the children they are caring for.
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With whom is the organization sharing feedback?
Our staff, Our board, Our funders,
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How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship?
The feed back we have received allows us to improve our internal processes to better serve them. There has been no shift in power.
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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 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 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 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,
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.
Jessie Rees Foundation
Board of directorsas of 11/17/2022
Erik Baker
Chick-fil-A
Term: 2021 - 2023
Erik Rees
Jessie Rees Foundation
Marilyn Henley
Hard Hatt, Inc.
Kim Eilber
PNC Bank
Layne Lawson
Clear Channel Media
Gary Mazzone
Elite Global
Erik Baker
Chick-fil-A
Vincent Cook
ConcertoCare
Scott Bremerman
UPS
Chris March
Cherry Tree Capital
Ryan Sauers
Sauers-Lopez Construction
Jared Bonneville
UPS
Jennifer Olson
Apriem Advisors
Chad Shaw
MST Financial
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
Disability
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 02/03/2022GuideStar 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 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 help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- 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.