Walking In Authority Teen Council, Inc.
"We Aspire to Inspire!"
Mission
WIATC empowers teens (13-19) and their parents in Metro Atlanta to advocate for themselves, give exposure to civic duty, and develop leadership skills in preparation to address community issues to become agents of change.
Notes from the nonprofit
Thank you for the opportunity to share our information. We are doing some amazing things and are proud to create agents of change in our youth.
Ruling year
2014
Executive Director
Mrs. Sparkle K Adams
Main address
P.O. Box 2323
Forest Park, GA 30298 USA
Formerly known as
Forest Park Teen Council
EIN
46-3422280
NTEE code
Youth Community Service Clubs (O51)
Voter Education/Registration (R40)
IRS filing requirement
This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990-N.
Communication
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The problems our organization is working to address are having a lack of transportation, needing more financial support, and having a lack of skilled dedicated staff (i.e. grant writers, financial analysts, etc.).
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
L.E.A.R.N. Program
Walking in Authority Teen Council is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded by award-winning Sparkle K. Adams to educate and bring awareness to the young children and adults in our community through education, motivation, mentorship, empowerment and commitment. Our services a young adult and their families by building and strengthening resilience and promoting social advocacy. We aim to be the bridge that fills the gap to rebuilding self-esteem, be the steppingstone to hope, and combat suicide, mental illness, drug abuse, gun violence and bullying in our community. Our life skills training and education program develops employability skills, financial literacy, citizenship and related competencies while our leadership training and education program cultivates social and emotional learning skills such as self-awareness, social awareness, responsible decision-making and self-management while serving as a platform for promoting civic responsibility and encouraging community advocacy.
Outreach Program
We strive to empower our teens through civic engagement networking and building relationships throughout the community, by providing hands on life skills, which will increase their presence and voice within the Metro Atlanta Area.
Parent Empowerment Group
The purpose of this program is to provide parent, guardians, and significant others with planning, review and implementation of WIA programs and committees. To recruit parents of Walking In Authority participants for involvement in professional development opportunities, outreach, meetings, conferences and other related activities designed to enhance the role of parents in supporting and educating each other. Research opportunities to share resources, conduct workshops, and provide support to other parents bringing questions, concerns, and ideas regarding WIA Teen Council. To serve as advisors on the committees to support the needs of the WIA Teen Council.
L.E.A.D.S. Program
The “L.E.A.D.S” program delves into emotional learning, anxiety and depression prevention, anti-bullying, self- awareness and suicide prevention, and self and social consciousness as they relate to the participants characteristics and personality traits. The participant will benefit from being able to identify their traits, strengths and weaknesses, as well as dealing with difficult people, managing stress, taking charge, conflict resolution and reducing stressors affecting academic performance.
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 community initiatives in which the organization participates
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adolescents, Adults
Related Program
Outreach Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Covid 19 limited our person to person fundraising and networking. However, we were able to participate in virtual community initiatives to help teens to talk about social and emotion issues.
Number of convenings hosted by the organization
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adolescents, Adults
Related Program
L.E.A.R.N. Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Using social distancing, temperature checks, and sign-in sheets, we were able to host several meet and greet events along with Christmas toy drives.
Total number of organization members
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adolescents, Adults
Related Program
L.E.A.R.N. Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of organizational partners
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adolescents, Adults
Related Program
L.E.A.R.N. Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of participants reporting change in behavior or cessation of activity
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adolescents, Adults
Related Program
L.E.A.R.N. Program
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Realizing that through the pandemic that there would be limited movement and access to what we call normal behavior or interactions, teens had more time to reflect and change to positive behavior.
Number of participants that follow counseling recommendations
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adolescents, Adults
Related Program
L.E.A.R.N. Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of customers reporting satisfaction with program
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adolescents, Adults
Related Program
L.E.A.R.N. Program
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of participants engaged in programs
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adolescents, Adults
Related Program
L.E.A.R.N. Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of clients reporting increased knowledge after educational programs
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
L.E.A.R.N. Program
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of unique website visitors
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
L.E.A.R.N. Program
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
We started tracking our unique website visitors in 2017.
Number of press articles published
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adolescents
Related Program
L.E.A.R.N. Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of donors retained
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
L.E.A.R.N. Program
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of people on the organization's email list
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adolescents, Adults
Related Program
L.E.A.R.N. Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Had to reduce the numbers because of the donor management program's cost.
Number of participants who felt that they have been provided with a range of options for future employment
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
L.E.A.R.N. Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of resumes written
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
L.E.A.R.N. Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of rallies/events/conferences/lectures held to further mission
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adolescents
Related Program
L.E.A.R.N. Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of trips provided
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adolescents, Adults
Related Program
Outreach Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of those who successfully gained employment after counseling
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adolescents, Adults
Related Program
L.E.A.R.N. Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of free participants on field trips
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Ethnic and racial groups
Related Program
Outreach Program
Type of Metric
Context - describing the issue we work on
Direction of Success
Holding steady
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?
Our organization aims to provide youth with evidence based or evidence informed life skills training and education programing supported by comprehensive leadership training and education designed to strengthen our teen’s social and emotional competencies while preparing them for a life of community advocacy.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Our strategies include our youth meeting weekly in a community setting to participate in highly structured training and education sessions; using facilitators adept at keeping youth engaged to lead them through a process of training and education using real world scenarios and relevant case studies; and networking through field trips to give hands on exposure to professional environments and civic responsibilities.
In addition to the above strategies, we form collaborations and partnerships that help us network and reach out further than our base and provide skills in the following areas: home, food, self-determination and management, financial literacy, personal appearance, community, employment, technology, citizenship, health and wellness, transportation, and social media.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Meetings are held twice monthly to plan and discuss operations and activities. The youth are taught organizational theory by having committees with parent advisors actively involved in the planning and implementation of all programs and activities. Meals are prepared and served at each meeting to the youth and families, since the meetings are generally held after school and work.
We invite elected officials and community business leaders along with the faith based community to speak to the teens. By showing bi-partisan support at the local and national levels we're teaching tolerance and diversity of thought. We hold sessions’ regarding the voting process to help the teens understand what happens at the polls directly affects the community. We perform community service projects and service learning excursions. Through partnerships and collaborations with major corporations, and some private organizations we can create a pathway to college and leadership opportunities.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We were able to help a teen receive a full scholarship to a northern college and able to provide other deserving teens with partial scholarships. We have helped students through our core program bring up their grade point average, meet professionals, minimize destructive behavior, and focus on improving test taking techniques, study skills, and career development. Through a series of facilitated discussions, youth have explored educational modules containing information about nutrition, diet, and health and wellness.
We have also helped them enhance workforce development skills and through the service learning excursions and community service projects the teens have a great appreciation for civic responsibility. Our participation in the Ambassador’s Program with the State of Georgia, accomplished registering teens to vote and educating them on the voting process.
We plan to expand to larger populations of teens in other municipalities to include teens and parents in other cities.
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, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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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, We don’t have the right technology to collect and aggregate feedback efficiently, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, 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, It is hard to come up with good questions to ask people, It is difficult to get honest feedback from the people we serve, 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.
Walking In Authority Teen Council, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 04/15/2023
Brenda Harrison
Walking In Authority Teen Council
Term: 2022 - 2023
LaTanga Allen-Felder
Walking In Authority Teen Council
Term: 2022 - 2023
Ann Keith
Clayton County
Eric Bell
Clayton County
Chris-Andre Brissett
Clayton County
Robert Mack
Clayton County
Victor Aguilar
Clayton County
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: 10/01/2022GuideStar 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 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 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.
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