Jacob's Chance Inc.
Focusing on Ability not Disability
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Jacob's Chance believes that all children and young adults regardless of their disability should be able to access recreation, fitness, sports, the arts, and social programs. The majority of these types of programs are designed for the neuro and physically typical and are not accessible for so many with developmental, intellectual, and/or physical disabilities and the medically fragile. We believe there is a place for inclusion and when these programs are not comfortable, safe, and welcoming for this population there should be alternative programming for them that brings in the more typical population to participate with them. Many families caring for an individual with a disability face their own isolation and need opportunities to cheer their loved ones on and enjoy interacting with other families and parents without the fear of stigma and judgment.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
River City Buddy Ball
River City Buddy Ball runs through Jacob's Chance and offers basketball, baseball, tennis, flag football, soccer, bowling, and surfing.
Teen Scene and Young Adult Hang Out
Managed by our high school board of Directors, Teen Scene offers monthly social events for teens/young adults ages 11-20. The UHBD seeks donations for events when possible but is also given a budget to manage annually as they learn about nonprofit leadership.
The Young Adult Hang out provides social programming for individuals who have graduated from high school up to age 35. Monthly events are held in the community such as bowling, movies, restaurants, museums, and theater.
Enrichment Classes with Jacob's Chance
Often young adults with differing abilities who have graduated from high school andor homeschooled youth may find themselves isolated. To help with this isolation Jacob's Chance offers multiple enrichment classes five days a week. The classes are in art, music, dance, language, skills for success, culinary, creative writing, STEM, photography and social skills.
Adventures with Jacob's Chance
Adventures with Jacob's Chance is an outdoor adventure program that provides a fishing, white water rafting, rock wall climbing, nature exploration and environmental stewardship, kayaking, boating and surfing. These events teach individuals and their families how they can access opportunities that they have typically steered away from. The program is focused on making outdoor experiences accessible and teaching participants about nature while getting exercise and socializing with friends.
Family Festivals and Special Events
Family festivals are offered 3 times a year and are a full day outdoor event where families of all types are encouraged to come together in an inclusive event that celebrates diversity and inclusion. Special Events for families such as baseball games, theater tickets, halloween party, and dances encourage socialization of the whole family where siblings and parents engage in activities along with their disabled family member.
Where we work
External reviews

Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Average number of service recipients per month
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Covid had and impact during 2020 as we were unable to operate sports. In 2022 our participation increased due to Covid restrictions being lifted and more people feeling comfortable.
Hours of volunteer service
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
2020 was affected by COVID as sports were not offered in full.
Number of youth-led community service projects
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Teen Scene and Young Adult Hang Out
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of families who report that service and support staff/providers are available and capable of meeting family needs
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
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
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?
Provide service through established entities to reach more families and individuals who can benefit such as local school systems, YMCA, Parks and Recreation, and other nonprofits. Expand opportunities for youth through afterschool programming and early elementary intervention and socialization.
Help youth and young adults with disabilties focus on overall wellness through activity, fitness, movement, and healthy habits.
Develop a diversified funding strategy that relies on a 20% division of support from fundraising, program fees, contract services, donations, and corporate/grant philanthropy.
Expand the organization from a small grassroots nonprofit to a moderate-sized sustainable nonprofit.
Provide competitive salaries and benefits to staff. Expand our staff from 1.8 FTES to 4.5 FTES.
Expand services to participants in marginalized communities through targeted outreach and offer programming in locations more easily accessible to these communities.
Provide training and workshops for families, physicians, cultural organizations, and businesses about the need for inclusion and how to connect specifically with those who have intellectual and developmental challenges.
Provide services to 400 families in Central Virginia.
Offer year-round outdoor adventure programs such as hiking, fishing, rafting, rock climbing, and kayaking.
Offer seven seasons of athletics in Central Virginia (i.e., flag football, basketball, soccer, martial arts, baseball, surfing, and tennis).
Provide for ten enrichment classes weekly in socialization, recreation, skills development, and wellness with virtual and in-person options.
Offer two inclusive social programs, the Teen Scene for individuals 12-18 and Hang-Out for highs school graduates to age 35.
Engage student volunteers from over 12 high schools in inclusive socialization and advocacy.
Serve as internship and volunteer opportunity provider to area colleges in fields such as exercise science, education, medical practices, business, and hospitality.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Develop relationships with corporate partners interested in our mission and reducing inequalities for persons with disabilties.
Partner with other nonporift serving the disabled and serving at risk youth and young adults to collaborate on services.
Influence public policy by sharing our data and knowleadge with influencers and decision makers.
Continuaully analize our methods of providing services to make sure they are meeting out goals, serving the community and producing sucessful outcomes.
Provide programming to any qualified participant regardless of their ability to pay our minimal registration fee.
Create a board that is diverse and has representatives from the population we serve.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The organization has the expertise and experience from over 15 years in this service area to design and offer programs that are impactful to this vulnerable population. As we continue to expand and hire we will bring in individuals with unique training and certifications in the areas of recreation, music, and art therapy. For areas where we need specific expertise, we will find professionals to guide and support us.
Jacob's Chance has a great reputation as being a specialist in working with this population and a strong network for volunteers in the community and in area schools.
We have a strong working relationship with VCU School of Medicine School of Kinesiology and other area colleges and Universities.
We have a strong working board of directors committed to our strategic plan and our constituents.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We offered the following programming just within the last year:
Outdoor Adventures - Nature exploration end environmental stewardship, hiking, kayaking, rock climbing, boating, rafting, surfing, and fishing
Enrichment Classes - Mindful movement, yoga, social clubs, life skills, culinary, fine art, photography, creative writing, STEM, and more
Full Seasons of Athletics - Baseball, soccer, flag football, basketball, and tennis
Family Festivals
Special Events and family gatherings
Inclusive Health and Fitness with VCU School of Kinesiology.
We are in the process of designing an afterschool program for elementary age children with disablities to be offered at local schools.
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 collecting feedback from the people you serve?
Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person), Constituent (client or resident, etc.) advisory committees, 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,
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What significant change resulted from feedback?
Families that we had served for years since their child with a disability was young through buddy ball sports expressed their concerns that has the child entered high school they became more isolated and had fewer activities. As a result of these conversations and data collection the United High School Board was formed bringing students both typical and disabled together to organized, develop and implement a social activities program serving youth/young adults with disabilities ages 13-23. Programs are run twice a month and include social nights out, sports activities, outdoor adventures, and friendship activities. In addition last year we added The Arts programs for teens and young adults during the weekdays in music, dance, culinary, theater, and fine arts.
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With whom is the organization sharing feedback?
The people we serve, Our staff, Our board, Our funders, Our community partners,
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
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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
- 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.
Jacob's Chance Inc.
Board of directorsas of 02/06/2023
John White
Joe Lovell
Mo Feliciano
Veracity
Kristi Rike
Shaheen, Ruth, Martin, Fonville Real Estate
Lyn Dodge
Nurse Educator Powhatan High School
Kira Jenkins
Graphic Designer
Darrell Richard
Henrico County Schools
Brian Farmer
Hirschler Investment Managment Practice Group
George Williams
Pastor
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
Sexual orientation
Disability
No data