Boys and Girls Clubs of Ada County
Great Futures Start Here
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Ada County exists to prove that every child has what it takes to overcome the obstacles in their lives to graduate from high school with a plan for the future, living a healthy lifestyle and being a person of good character. Our mission is to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, and responsible citizens.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Ada County serve low-income children living in every city of Ada County, Idaho. Eighty percent (82%) of children attending the Club qualify for the federal free or reduced lunch program, and 40% live at or below the poverty level. Our Clubhouses are located in low-income areas of Meridian, Garden City, Kuna and a summer program in Boise.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Triple Play
Triple Play, a game plan for the Mind, Body, and Soul, is a dynamic wellness program currently offered in Boys & Girls Clubs that demonstrates how eating right, keeping fit and forming positive relationships add up to a healthy lifestyle. The goal of the Triple Play program is to improve Club members’ knowledge of healthy habits; increase the number of hours per day they participate in physical activities; and strengthen their ability to interact positively with others and engage in positive relationships.
Smart Moves
The SMART Moves (Skills Mastery and Resistance Training) prevention/education program addresses problems such as drug and alcohol use and premature sexual activity. The program uses a team approach involving Club staff, peer leaders, parents and community representatives. More than simply emphasizing a “Say No” message, the program teaches young people ages 6 to 15 how to say no by involving them in discussion and role-playing, practicing resistance and refusal skills, developing assertiveness, strengthening decision-making skills and analyzing media and peer influence. The ultimate goal: to promote abstinence from substance abuse and adolescent sexual involvement through the practice of responsible behavior.
Youth of the Year
Since 1947, Youth of the Year has been Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s premier recognition program, celebrating the extraordinary achievements of Club members. Each year, one exceptional Club member is selected to be the National Youth of the Year. The National Youth of the Year serves as both an exemplary ambassador for Boys & Girls Club youth and as a strong voice for all of our nation’s young people.
The journey to being named National Youth of the Year begins locally and progresses to the state, regional, and national levels. To achieve the title of Youth of the Year on any level, Club members must embody the values of leadership and service; academic excellence; and healthy lifestyles. They should exemplify the critical impact that Boys & Girls Clubs have on the lives of young people.
In the 21st-century world and workplace, leadership skills such as communication, goal-setting and teamwork are essential for everyone – especially young people preparing to meet the challenges of adolescence and adulthood. In response to the evolving need for youth leadership development, the Youth of the Year Leadership Development Suite was developed. The suite includes leadership activities for all ages and encompasses three components: Youth of the Month, Junior Youth of the Year and Youth of the Year.
Torch Club
Torch Club is a powerful vehicle through which Club staff can help meet the special character development needs of younger adolescents at a critical stage in their life. Torch Club members learn to elect officers and work together to implement activities in four areas: service to Club and community; education; health and fitness; and social recreation. The National Torch Club Awards are presented annually to Torch Clubs with outstanding programs and activities in each area. Each year, Torch Club members from across the country take part in a service learning experience through the National Torch Club Project. Cash awards ranging from $500 to $2,500 are presented to the top entries.
Keystone Club
Keystone Club is a unique leadership development experience provides opportunities for young people ages 14 to 18. Youth participate, both in and out of the Club, in activities in three focus areas: academic success, career preparation and community service. With the guidance of an adult advisor, Keystone Clubs aim to have a positive impact on members, the Club and community. Annually, BGCA hosts the National Keystone Conference, a character and leadership development conference for Boys & Girls Club teens that brings together members from all across the globe. Throughout the conference, Keystone members engage and socialize with peers, explore relevant issues, and develop skills to support and enhance efforts in their local Boys & Girls Clubs and communities.
Power Hour
Power Hour materials provide practical tips and best practices for recognition and incentives, behavior management, volunteer recruitment and training, collaboration with other organizations and use of technology and the Internet.
Where we work
External reviews
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of children served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Number of enrolled members for the calendar year.
Number of program sites
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
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?
We envision a world-class Club Experience that assures success is within reach of every young person who walks through our doors, with all members on track to graduate from high school with a plan for the future, demonstrating good character and citizenship, and living a healthy lifestyle. Our promise to our community's youth is to provide a safe, positive place and have a significant impact of their lives.
Our Board of Directors developed a comprehensive strategic plan with three strategic priorities and long-term goals that we believe provide the road map to fulfilling our mission of inspiring and empowering all young people, especially those who need us most to reach their full potential as responsible, productive and caring citizens.
First, we have a responsibility to the youth we serve to provide a high-quality program that makes a dramatic and sustained difference in their lives. Therefore we will strive to increase our impact on our “highly-engaged" Club members – those who attend the Clubs three times per week or more - through a targeted, outcomes-driven initiative. Past evaluation has proven that Club programming is most impactful for those who attend and participate regularly, helping them succeed academically, make healthy choices and lead and serve in their communities. To that end, we seek to ensure that those youth who attend the Clubs frequently reach specific benchmarks in three key areas: academic success indicators, good character & citizenship key indicators, and healthy lifestyles indicators.
Secondly, we need to strengthen organizational capacity and capability to drive quality and increase impact. In response, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Ada County's Resource Development Plan outlines the need for steady growth in individual, corporate, and foundation relationships. The Plan outlines a variety of fundraising goals including (1) major and planned giving emphasis, (2) fund raising events, (3) 6% growth in public annual campaigns such as direct mails, ask events, and personalized solicitations, (4) and growing corporate & private partnerships between Clubs and organizations.(5) Growth of endowment and long-term funds to support operations and future expansions.
Thirdly, once we have achieved benchmarks in impact and organizational capacity, we will be optimally positioned to expand services, in pursuit of the vision that every child in Ada County has access to a life-changing Boys & Girls Club experience. The Ada County community is growing at a fast rate and demand for services is at an all-time high – in fact, demand outpaces the rate at which we can currently expand.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
At Boys & Girls Clubs of Ada County, we aim to promote regular attendance at the Clubs and sustained participation in targeted programs for the kids who need us most, in order to help them overcome obstacles in their life so they can achieve outcomes that result in a healthy, responsible, productive adult. We collect and analyze data through the National Youth Outcomes Initiative (NYOI), a nationally survey built to measure the impact of Clubs using a common set of research informed indicators of our priority outcomes that helps us understand how we can tailor our programs and services to have the maximum impact on the youth we serve. The survey guides Clubs in helping youth achieve positive outcomes in three priority areas: Academic Success, Good Character and Citizenship, and Healthy Lifestyles.
In NYOI, individual Boys & Girls Clubs collect data about their registered members' demographics, attendance and participation. Local data management systems feed data into BGCA's national system, allowing BGCA to compile data on the national, state and local populations served by Clubs.
The NYOI measures youth perception of the key elements for positive youth development. In addition to measuring the impact of Boys & Girls Clubs, the NYOI measures member perceptions of their experience at the Club. The following seven indicators, also known as the “Club Experience Measures" are used within the NYOI Member Survey: Emotional Safety, Physical Safety, Sense of Belonging, Recognition, Adult Support, Staff Expectations, and fun. We know that a better club experience leads to better member outcomes in the areas of health, academics, and character. This online survey asks age-appropriate questions about member behaviors and attitudes around the Boys & Girls Club experience and the three priority outcomes in Academic Success, Healthy Lifestyles and Character & Citizenship. Boys & Girls Clubs of Ada County administers the survey once per year. Surveys are available in both English and Spanish, and all staff training, distribution and scoring are completed by Boys & Girls Clubs of America. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Ada County is a leader in outcomes measurement, building the capability to collect and use data to gauge beneficial effects on young people. This feedback enables us to implement best practices, make changes where needed, and provide the optimal club experience for children. We evaluate this data frequently and even have a committee comprised of board and staff members who meet monthly to make sure targets are being met and continually improved.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Since 1997, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Ada County has been in the forefront of youth development, working with young people from disadvantaged economic, social, and family circumstances. Boys & Girls Clubs provide time-tested solutions that positively impact the lives of 4,600 Ada County children, ages 5-18 though our four Club locations. Through dedicated staff, nationally recognized programs that focus on the whole child, and community partnerships, we are positively shaping the future for our youth and families in our community. Progress is carefully measured.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Ada County maintains high levels of capabilities regarding our out of school time youth programming and we rely on evidence-based best practices in youth development in all of our services. Our primary objective is to keep kids safe and provide a life-changing impact. The club experience is based on high quality activities that engage members cognitively, physically and emotionally. Evaluation of our programs and operations occurs consistently and comprehensively, examining both the process and outcomes associated with the implementation of evidence-based curricula and program delivery. Process evaluations help to determine if our interventions are being delivered as intended so that adjustments can be made to improve program delivery. Outcome evaluations help identify which program components are working and which need modification, and provides evidence that interventions lead to the planned changes in participating young people. We rely on tracking a number of indicators to determine our progress in achieving outcomes and long term goals.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
In our progress toward achieving our comprehensive strategic plan, Boys & Girls Clubs of Ada County has achieved many accomplishments. Likewise, related challenges from this last year are also listed below. The accomplishments and challenges are categorized as Organizational Performance accomplishments required for overall success and as Youth Impact.
ORGANIZATIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• Total Youth Served =4,649
• Membership = 3,261
• Average Daily Attendance: 500
• Adult Staff=125
• Volunteers=434
ORGANIZATIONAL CHALLENGES
•Teen Membership is low
•Growth opportunities are outpacing how fast we can grow
In academic success, among of teen members 95% expect to graduate form College, and 79% expect to complete some kind of post-secondary education.
IN good character & citizenship, 75% of Club teen members volunteer at least once per year, while 68% volunteer at least once per month.
In Healthy lifestyles, 61% of Club members ages 9 and older report getting at least an hour of physical activity on five or more days per week.
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.
Boys and Girls Clubs of Ada County
Board of directorsas of 08/30/2022
Gary Smith
Retired
Term: 2020 - 2023
Tammy de Weerd
Retired
Mark Freeman
Foley Freeman, PLLC
Todd Cooper
Wells Fargo
Sylvia Hampel
Toucan Development, LLC
David McFadyen
Saint Alphonsus Health Systems
Brian Wonderlich
Blue Cross of Idaho
Coby Dennis
Boise School District
Darin Driscoll
TVR, Inc.
Laree Goodman
Brick Real Estate Group
Mark Johnson
Retired
Nick Korte
Web Development
Linda Payne Smith
Saint Alphonsus Health Systems
Stacy Pewe
Trinity Health/Saint Alphonsos
Gary Smith
Retired
Brad Stith
Quest Groups
Todd Grande
Bright Bank
Ann Swindell
CliftonLarsonAllen
Jeff Huhn
First Interstate Bank
Brenda Blitman
Ameriben
Keely Duke
Duke Evett, PLLC
Lance Elroy
Intermountain Gas/MDU Utilities
Richard Gines
HP
Philip Kleffner
Wells Fargo Bank
Rob Perez
Consultant
Katie Riley
Lamb Weston
Steve Patterson
Retired
James Pegram
J.R. Simplot Company
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
No data