PLATINUM2023

Write on Sports, Inc

Inspiring students to write by writing about sports.

aka Write on Sports, Inc   |   South Orange, NJ   |  www.writeonsports.org

Mission

Write on Sports (WoS) is a tuition-free literacy and journalism program created to inspire students from at-risk communities and homes to improve their writing skills, critical thinking and self-confidence through a topic they are passionate about: sports.

Ruling year info

2010

Founder and CEO

Byron Yake

Main address

PO Box 833

South Orange, NJ 07079 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

76-0810290

NTEE code info

Single Organization Support (O11)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2020, 2019 and 2018.
Register now

Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Both national and local assessments of middle school students’ writing ability suggest that many students are struggling to develop the kinds of skills they will need to succeed in high school and beyond. While there are many reasons for this, several key aspects have been highlighted by research – students’ lack of motivation, their loss of confidence and a limited amount of time during the school day devoted to writing instruction.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Summer Camp

Students participate in a two-week program where they will interview athletes, journalists, and attend a sport-related event. They will write feature & fiction stories, blog, and make videos. Camp is tuition-free and lunch is provided.

Population(s) Served

The Workshop programs are held with 2 sessions (Fall and Spring) where Camp alumni students work on projects (fiction stories, feature stories, podcasts and videos) over a 4 week period to continue to hone their skills and continue to generate journalistic work product. WoS teachers continue to engage with students over their highschool period, utilizing the WoS techniques and knowledge in their core curriculum.

Population(s) Served
Students
Low-income people
Adolescents
Students
Low-income people
Adolescents

Where we work

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Conduct an interview Key Performance Indicator: 100% of students will conduct an interview

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Adolescents, Low-income people

Related Program

Summer Camp

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Context Notes

Key Performance Indicator: 100% of students will conduct an interview

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Write on Sports directly addresses these three issues by giving students the opportunity to write about topics of their choosing and by providing targeted instruction in small group and individualized settings that helps students finish pieces they are proud of.

During each Write on Sports camp, students learn the basic elements of good journalism, including how to prepare for and conduct an interview, how to look for reliable and relevant background information, and how to find a clear and engaging topic for each piece. The student to teacher ratio is typically 4:1, which allows teachers to give direct and intensive support to individual students around skills and strategies for identifying and researching topics, outlining and planning pieces, and using revision to make writing clearer and stronger.

Students apply their knowledge to writing spot stories and longer feature pieces that are collected and published as each camp’s magazine. As part of the camp, students meet and interview working journalists and athletes from a variety of sports (e.g., soccer, swimming, baseball). As part of the interview process, students work on their speaking, listening and critical thinking skills. Students also write, shoot and edit their own sports related videos, giving them a chance to further develop their facility with digital resources. Rather than simply learning how to operate cameras, students work on crafting compelling digital stories with distinct perspectives.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.
  • How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?

    Paper surveys,

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve,

  • What significant change resulted from feedback?

    There was a desire to continue with WoS after the summer camp programs. WoS leaders listened and structured the Workshop program, which is tailored towards Camp Alumni

  • With whom is the organization sharing feedback?

    Our staff, Our board,

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

  • 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,

Financials

Write on Sports, Inc
lock

Unlock financial insights by subscribing to our monthly plan.

Subscribe

Unlock nonprofit financial insights that will help you make more informed decisions. Try our 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.

Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build 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.

lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build 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.

Write on Sports, Inc

Board of directors
as of 01/23/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

John D. Goldsmith

Steven Beck

Rose Cali

Peter Fastovsky

Dev Gandhi

Peter King

Jenny Vrentas

Byron Yake

MaryEllen Salamone

Steven Magee

Francis Astorino

Laxmi Kambhampati

John Goldsmith

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • 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
  • 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 performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 1/23/2023

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
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Male, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Decline to state
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

Disability