Bounce Children's Foundation®
From simply surviving to truly thriving -- until cures are found.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. children battle chronic illness: 5 per classroom & 300,000 in Chicago. When a child is diagnosed, the family is diagnosed. Life turns upside down. Priorities shift. Everything revolves around the illness. While sick kids live as patients, healthy siblings take a 'back seat,' and parents must manage challenges and crises for which there is no training. Pediatric hospitals offer vast resources, but things change dramatically at-home and in-the-community. Kids/Families become 'invisible' and 'isolated.' The health and well-being of patient loved ones, and family units, are all at risk. Bounce transforms the lives of chronically ill children, and their families, shifting all from surviving to thriving. Bounce alone offers this critical, life-changing support. Whether a family adventure, care package, an outing, peer support, access to resources, or education to build coping skills, Bounce is there 24x7 from diagnosis through treatment – for as long as it takes.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Bounce Bash®
Family events, outings, and adventures specially designed to enable the participation of children with complex medical needs. Sick kids, siblings, and parents, come together as an extended "Bounce Family". While Bounce kids experience a much-needed break from their reality of scary doctor visits, painful therapies, and the grueling side-effects of treatment, Bounce siblings also discover they are not alone in their journey, and Bounce parents connect to support each other. In addition to distraction, fun and friendship, Bounce Bash® events provide face-to-face opportunities to feel safe, accepted and ‘normal’ while participating in activities typically off-limits to Bounce members.
Bounce It Forward®
Never knowing when the next medical crisis will strike, Bounce families do not have the luxury of planning ahead. They miss out on all sorts of high demand activities, including major league sports, theater and other unique productions. Tapping into a network of generous individuals/organizations who 'pay it forward' by donating excess tickets, Bounce members participate in these fun, and otherwise inaccessible, events. Bounce It Forward® outings provide unexpected moments of fun and create amazing memories. They restore optimism and lift the spirits of families experiencing the negative emotional impact of frequent medical intervention, and build long-term resilience.
Bounce Back Kits®
These fun-filled, and uniquely themed, care packages are sent to Bounce families at home during times of medically necessitated 'lock in' - and also to recognize holidays, and important milestones. These 'boredom busters' include fun and distracting items such as: games; books; videos; arts & crafts; STEM projects; gift cards; recipes; decorations; and more, these spirit-boosting kits provide joy and resilience building 'inspiration-in-a-box' for the entire family.
Bounce Academy®
Education sessions for parents/caregivers to enhance their ability to cope financially, intellectually, emotionally and psychologically—all while their children are close by. Supervised, safe, and entertained, Bounce kids partake in fun activities that encourage coping and foster resiliency. This eliminates one of the key barriers to parental participation as appropriate child-care is extremely difficult to access.
Bounce Net®
A private and safe online platform for parents/caregivers to form a virtual community of shared support. Parents/caregivers share resources, compare notes, and bolster one another whenever and wherever needed. This virtual safety net is available 24/7 ensuring it's there when parents/caregivers need it most to provide immediate access to a variety of resources, including Bounce Academy® education.
Where we work
Awards
Top Rated Non Profit 2017
Great Non Profits
Top Rated Non Profit 2018
Great Non Profits
Top Rated Non Profit 2019
Great Non Profits
Top Rated Non Profit 2020
Great Non Profits
Chicago Innovation Award 2019
Chicago Innovation
External reviews
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsNumber of People Served Annually
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Families, People with diseases and illnesses
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of Families Served Annually
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of Bounce It Forward® Attendees Annually
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Bounce It Forward®
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Note: Less Bounce it Forward events in 2020 due to COVID-19 Bounce It Forward was launched in 2016.
Number of Bounce Back Kits® Delivered Annually
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Bounce Back Kits®
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Note: Bounce Back Kits were launched in 2017.
Number of Bounce Bash® Family Adventures Annually
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Families
Related Program
Bounce Bash®
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Less Bounce Bash events than normal in 2020 due to COVID-19
Number of Bounce Bash® Family Adventures Attendees Annually
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Families
Related Program
Bounce Bash®
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Note: Less Bounce Bash Events in 2020 due to COVID-19
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?
Bounce envisions the day when no child, and no family, is forced to battle chronic pediatric illness alone.
Through Bounce, members of the Bounce Community, sick kids – and their loved ones – find practical support and resources, fun and friendship, hope, joy and a place to belong. Bounce Kiddos get a much-needed break from their reality of scary doctor visits, painful therapies, and the grueling side-effects of treatment. Bounce Siblings are seen, heard, and honored, and they discover that they are not alone in their journey either. Bounce Parents find respite and connect to support each other in ways only those who walk the same path can. Even if just for a moment, the entire family has a chance to forget about the harsh realities of their daily life. As one dad says, “Bounce helps families heal."
Our ultimate goal, our long-term vision, is to share this help, this hope, this healing, with as many kids and families as possible – until the day they can all belong to a big bouncy community of support – a dream one parent referred to as Bounce Nation.
To achieve this vision will require local volume growth as well as eventual geographic expansion. Having proven its program and business model locally, Bounce seeks to grow the number of Chicagoland area families supported by (at least) 10% by the end of 2022. Bounce is also committed to national expansion so that children and families outside the Chicagoland area can benefit. Leveraging a Chapter Model, we seek to ultimately create points of presence in major metropolitan areas across the country. We will continue to talk about and plan for this expansion considering such factors as population size, presence of major pediatric hospitals, relationships with - and ability to create relationships with – business, healthcare and community leaders.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
• Drive Membership: Reach out to families with chronically ill children where they are. Communicate the impact and benefits of joining Bounce. Build/Grow/Leverage Healthcare partnerships to build stronger referral streams. Encourage Member Families to introduce Bounce to those they know/meet. Implement “Welcome Wednesday” to onboard new families and encourage referrals. Ensure the application process is quick and easy.
• Increase Visibility: Establish key messages and a tool kit of both online and offline collateral including testimonials, flyers, brochures, photo/video tools. Seek PR and other high visibility opportunities to attract donors, volunteers, and, most importantly, member families. Develop & leverage partnerships, public relations support, social media accounts, and word of mouth. Supplement our portfolio of Radio PSAs with a series of “Impact” focused PSAs.
• Grow Program Capacity: Continue to improve and refine replicable models and planning tools. Establish partnerships and relationships. Increase funding and seek additional donated goods/services. Launch Member Listening Program V2.0 that extends member satisfaction surveys to include the capture of long-term impact.
• Build the Team: Having successfully completed a Capacity Building Challenge Grant in 2019, Bounce has hired a full-time Fundraising Professional and hopes to soon hire a full-time Digital Marketing Specialist. Both positions will play a direct role in increasing awareness and revenue, and complement existing Program & Operations roles. Conduct high priority and highly targeted recruiting for Board of Directors, Emerging Leaders Board, Trustees, and Interns. Recruit, Engage & Leverage Volunteers with key skills.
• Fundraise Efficiently & Effectively: Develop and execute a comprehensive and multi-faceted prospect development and moves management system for individual, corporate and foundation donors. Build a multi-year pipeline and focus on donor retention. Execute one flagship fundraising event per year, host 6-12 volunteer organized fundraising events annually, and support 3rd-party fundraising activities monthly.
• Execute with Excellence: Design and execute processes for key functions to ensure quality and consistency. Leverage technology to improve accuracy and efficiency. Focus on building a scalable infrastructure to support growth.
Overarching all strategies and operations is a focus on Leveraging Best Practices from both the not-for-profit sector and the for-profit sector, implementing State-of-the-Art technology, and a focus on Continuous Process Improvement.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Bounce has a highly effective, efficient Program Model that directly benefits families. It aligns the five major programs, each designed to fill a critical gap in the overall care system for chronically ill kids/families, together synergistically. Programs are modeled on proven psychosocial support techniques and best practices in member/customer service. Indicators of the overwhelming response are:
1) Membership,
2) Program Demand & Satisfaction,
3) Reach across the entire Chicago metro area as well as NW Indiana and SE Wisconsin,
4) Healthcare industry response,
5) Volunteer and donor engagement, and
6) Funds raised.
Bounce is led by a seasoned CEO with a BBA, Ross Business School (University Michigan) and an MBA, Kellogg School of Management (Northwestern University). Her IBM career included leadership roles in sales, finance, strategic planning, digital marketing, market development. Moving to the not-for-profit sector, she served as VP, Lake Forest Graduate School of Management where she revitalized languishing programs in governance, fundraising and alumni relations and earned a CASE Award for Innovation in Alumni Programming. Joan then led the turnaround of Starlight Children's Foundation Midwest, doubling program delivery and tripling funds raised, including closing a seven-figure gift.
True partners with the CEO, the Board of Directors, Trustees and Emerging Leadership Board, provide invaluable knowledge, expertise, and relationships across fields from Marketing and Finance, to Governance and Law. Together they focus on fundraising, visibility, and organizational capacity building. Bounce partners with 20+ healthcare organizations for referrals, and more than 30 local, regional, and national companies who collectively contribute $500,000 in funding/goods/services. Bounce is staffed by a Program Manager, Operations Coordinator, Development Manager and part-time Bookkeeper and the passion of Bounce Parents is also harnessed to increase visibility and create member referral.
As noted in “Progress," a scalable platform for growth based on Best Practices, State-of-the-art Technology, Internal Controls, and Process Documentation is in place and serves Bounce well.
Bounce excels at understanding the needs of those it serves, building relationships internally and externally, quality, brand building, and lean operations. Growing momentum continues to fuel the passion of all involved and is creating a positive reputation, increasing word-of-mouth introductions/referrals, an expanding pipeline and accelerating pace of success.
Reflecting these capabilities is the achievement of Guidestar Platinum status after just two years, Top NonProfit status from Great Non Profits for three consecutive years, accreditation from the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance, and a Social Innovation Award from Chicago Innovation, led by renowned expert Tom Kuczmarksi.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
•Fund Raising: The Bounce Capacity Building Challenge Grant, with a 140% match from two private donors, was concluded in just seven months and resulted in $300K of incremental revenue. Revenue from the Challenge Grant will be invested in revenue-producing staff to accelerate growth. Bounce has now hired a Development Manager and plans to hire a Digital Marketing professional as soon as possible. In addition, results from Best Bites, our flagship fundraising event doubled the prior year results and total revenue for the organization grew 12.5%.
•Drive Membership: As of 12/31/2019 Bounce supports a record breaking 400+ Families (over 2000 Kids/Siblings/Parents). In just 2 ½ years, membership doubled and continues to grow! Relationships with 20+ Healthcare organizations result in 45% of new family referrals, while member families introduce 25% of new families. The balance, 30%, are introduced to Bounce via volunteers, friends, media, online, and offline visibility.
• Increase Visibility: Thanks to pro bono support from Big Ears Audio and KSM Media, Bounce created a portfolio of radio PSA (Public Service Announcement) spots and secured hundreds of placements. The website was re-designed and re-built by BlueMetal, a division of Insight, and now includes an event calendar and photo & video galleries as well as additional testimonials. Bounce also maintains an active presence on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, including Motivational Monday and Thankful Thursday campaigns.
•Awards & Accreditation: Bounce is extraordinarily proud to have earned a 2019 Social Innovator Award from Chicago Innovation. In addition to having previously earned Platinum status with Guidestar, Bounce is honored to have earned Top Nonprofit status with Great Nonprofits for 3 consecutive years and twice earned the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance bi-annual Charity Seal (covering a total of 4 years).
• Grow Program Delivery: During 2019, the Bounce It Forward® program, which turns donated tickets into unexpected fun for member families, added concert tickets to its line-up of sports, theatre, and museums thanks to Live Nation. Additionally, Bounce Bash® family adventures hosted its largest event at nearly 300 attendees. A total of 2843 Bounce Back Kit® family care packages have been packed and shipped. Bounce Academy® workshops that provide strength training for vital coping skills boast a 4.7/5.0 satisfaction rating and parents post in Bounce Net® our 24x7, private, online community, an average of 55 times/month. In short, all programs continue to grow and earn rave reviews.
• Volunteer Leadership: The Board of Directors was comprised of 15 business and civic leaders from across the metropolitan area at the end of 2019. The Emerging Leaders Board was fully populated with 25 next-gen leaders engaged in friend-raising and fund-raising for Bounce. Rounding out the volunteer leadership team, are some 75 ongoing volunteers, nearly a dozen college interns who served throughout the year, and four Trustees.
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 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?
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
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.
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.
Bounce Children's Foundation®
Board of directorsas of 01/23/2024
Mr. Bobby Lucas
Dinsmore & Shohl, LLC
Term: 2022 - 2023
Pete Delneky
CBRE Group
Joan Steltmann
Bounce Children's Foundation
Bobby Lucas
Dinsmore & Shohl, LLC
Nicole Henning
Jones Day
Amy Jones
South Street Partners
Ramsay Fuleihan
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
Pamela Diaz
Entara
Amy Murray
McDonald's Corporation
Corey Martens
Friedman LLP
Eric Sadowski
Wintrust
Alan Farkas
SmithAmundsen, LLC
Ashley Kenny
BMO Financial Group
Meg Rowley
Cerity Partners
Mick Rennick
Grant Thornton
Rocki Hunter
FCB Chicago
Steve Mack
ABN Amro Bank & LaSalle Bank Corporation – retired
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? No -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? 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
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 10/23/2020GuideStar 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 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 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.