Mission
At SOS Outreach, our goal is to help kids gear up for life, ultimately changing their lives and the communities they touch.
Ruling year
1992
Executive Director
Mr. Seth Ehrlich
Main address
P.O. Box 2020
Avon, CO 81620 USA
Formerly known as
Snowboard Outreach Society
Meet the Wilderness
EIN
84-1332544
NTEE code
Youth Development Programs (O50)
Children's and Youth Services (P30)
Recreational and Sporting Camps (Day, Overnight, etc.) (N20)
IRS filing requirement
This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.
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Communication
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
We believe that youth are not receiving the context and skills needed for their success. By providing a consistent caring approach incorporating outdoor programming and leadership training longterm impacts are created.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Programs for youth in the outdoors
Operating as an out of school program, SOS engages participants from fourth grade through high school graduation with the popular appeal of outdoor adventure sports. Once SOS interests youth with the adventure activity, it then introduces character development through six core values and leadership training. The organization further fosters opportunities for students to participate as active and giving members of their communities through service learning projects. Throughout the program, participants are supported by adult volunteers from the community who guide them through the program, encourage them in goal setting, guide their service project selection, and serve as positive role models.
Introductory programs are one to two-day exposure programs which introduce students to SOS’s core values and new outdoor sports. Introductory programs include one day rock climbing, teams ropes courses, and skiing/snowboarding days.
Learn to Ride programs are multi-day programs in which a new SOS core value is introduced and coupled with an outdoor activity daily. Learn to Ride programs empower students to make concrete connections between the outdoor activity and the meaning of the SOS core values.
The Mentor Program provides a four-year year-round curriculum, with each year offering an increased commitment to the community and personal growth. Students engage in leadership training with a consistent adult mentor, take part in service learning and life skills workshops, as well as participate in outdoor sports.
The Peer Mentor Program is designed for students who have shown extraordinary commitment to SOS's six core values throughout five previous years in Learn to Ride and the Mentor Program. The progressive curriculum enables youth to develop mentor-based leadership capabilities, communication skills, and self-directed goal-setting, equipping participants to take initiative in their communities.
Where we work
Awards
Nonprofit of the Year 2014
Vail Valley Partnership
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of participants engaged in programs
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
At-risk youth
Related Program
Programs for youth in the outdoors
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
In line with our strategic plan, our single day programs have decreased while focusing on our high impact, multi day programs.
Number of youth who have a positive adult role model
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
At-risk youth
Related Program
Programs for youth in the outdoors
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
All participants in our Mentoring Program are assigned to a small group of 3-5 kids and paired with a positive adult mentor.
Number of youth who model positive behaviors for peers
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
At-risk youth
Related Program
Programs for youth in the outdoors
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Participants in our Peer Mentor Program model positive behaviors for younger participants in the program.
Number of youth mentored
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
At-risk youth
Related Program
Programs for youth in the outdoors
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Participants in our Mentoring Program are assigned to a group of 3-5 kids and paired with a positive adult mentor.
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?
SOS has one ultimate goal: provide at-risk youth with the skills and tools necessary to enable them to reach their full potential and enjoy healthy and successful futures.
Goal 1 - Engage youth through year-round, progressive program to foster a safe community and empower students to overcome and persevere obstacles they face.
Goal 2- Promote individual student success by addressing need for positive adult contact, leadership development, civic engagement and integration of core values through participation in SOS programs.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
SOS's curriculum provides students with the skills to overcome their circumstances by offering a long-term program that encourages commitment to the community and their own personal development. SOS programs will be a component of partner youth agency and school curriculums. The goal is to encourage parallels between academic achievement and the outdoor, adventure-based program. SOS's evaluation results demonstrate that students experience greater school success as a result of the core value curriculum and positive adult mentorship.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
SOS is proud to leverage every dollar donated to the organization nearly three times through in-kind contributions. The Board of Directors represents a wide variety of ski and snowboard industry companies and as such, facilitates significant contributions which allow the organization to offer programs at an extremely low cost to participants.
As briefly highlighted earlier, SOS relies heavily on volunteers to implement both summer and winter programs. More than 900 adults support SOS programs nationwide. Community members volunteer to mentor participants and work within their schools and youth agencies to recruit participants. Each adult volunteer is trained to implement the core value curriculum and to promote positive youth development and goal setting for participants. In addition, teachers and youth agency coordinators extend the SOS curriculum into their daily interactions with participants.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
As discussed earlier, our intensive evaluation efforts continue to demonstrate that it is the longevity and consistency of programming that creates our greatest outcomes. As such, SOS has transitioned from one-day programming to offering multi-year and year-round programming. Instead of a seasonal solution, SOS is moving forward with opportunities for participants to progress through the SOS curriculum year-round.
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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Who are the people you serve with your mission?
Youth ages 8-18 who are typically underserved and underrepresented
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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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What significant change resulted from feedback?
We now offer our surveys and strengths and needs assessments both on paper and digitally.
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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 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?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time
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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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
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SOS Outreach
Board of directorsas of 06/30/2022
Mr. Tod Francis
Shasta Ventures
Term: 2019 - 2022
Wendy Carey
Executive Vice President, Serius Innovation
Andrew Littman
Attorney, Caplan & Earnest
Phil Gosch
Partner, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck
Mike Lewis
Senior Director of Base Area Operations, Park City Mountain Resort
Michael Reger
President, GelTech Solutions
Jim Knutsen
Chief Culture and Strategy Officer, evo
Nathan Rafferty
President and CEO, Ski Utah
Alfredo Velasco
Senior Software Engineer, Spreedly
Tod Francis
Founder, Shasta Ventures
Jen McLaren
President & CEO, Smartwool
Meg Pittman
National Director Partnerships & Collaborations, Boys & Girls Club of America
Glenn Stahlman
COO, Vail Resorts Retail
Matthew Kaplan
Vice President of Sales, Vail Resorts
John Colonna
President, K2 Sports
K.C. Oakley
Partnerships, Goldman Sachs
Diego Zegarra
Vice President of Equity & Impact, Park City Community Foundation
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
No data
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
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