Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Arizona, Inc.
Live BIG
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The need for our core services continues to increase and we regularly maintain a wait list of 150 children and youth 70% of whom are boys waiting for a male role model and mentor. While traditional Youth Mentoring Program is well established, we are incorporating new methods of mentoring to best support youth's contemporary needs. To be responsive to youth needs, we must continue to support our Youth Mentoring Program while finding additional funds to support new programs like Mentor 2.0 that specifically focuses on high school youth, preparing them for careers and college. We are addressing this challenge by having added an individual to our staff with specific responsibilities atdiversifying our revenue streams and increasing the volume of solicitations we pursue from individuals, companies and foundations. We do not receive any government funding or support from our national office. We keep our administrative costs low to maximize the amount of funds that support program costs.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Arizona
The main operating program of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Arizona, Inc., is to ignite the potential a child's life by matching them with a supportive and caring adult volunteer. Program focus include academic, social, recreational, personal and social development.
We partner with parents/guardians, volunteers and others in the community and hold ourselves accountable for each child in our program achieving:
• Higher aspirations
• Greater confidence
• Better relationships
• Avoidance of risky behaviors
• Educational success
Mentoring
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Arizona creates and supports one to one mentoring relationships between adult role models and youth facing adversity throughout southern Arizona.
Children/youth between the ages of 6 and 16 are identified or referred to the organization by schools, the probation department, welfare agencies, guidance counselors, clinics, churches and parents. Children stay in the program until they turn 21 or graduate from college.
Volunteer applicants are carefully and comprehensively screened. This screening process includes an in-person interview, professional and personal reference checks, a driver’s license check, sexual offender background check, criminal background check and staff evaluation.
A match is made between an adult (individual or couple) and a child based on mutual interest, a volunteer’s strengths, a child’s need, personality and compatibility.
The relationship is monitored by professional staff members through phone calls and in-person contacts.
To help support matches, as well as introduce matches to each other, monthly outings throughout Tucson are provided for all active matches.
Where we work
Photos
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Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of youth who have a positive adult role model
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Related Program
Mentoring
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The # of youth benefiting in one-to-one mentoring relationships. Each year over 150 children and youth to be matched to a Big Brother or Big Sister.
Number of children who have an innate motivation to master and control their environment
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Non-adult children
Related Program
Mentoring
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The numbers represent the youth (Littles) matched with an adult mentor and reporting positive outcomes associated with the mentoring relationship.
Hours of mentoring
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
At-risk youth
Related Program
Mentoring
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The hours of mentoring are dependent upon the number of matches made and sustained for any given year. The initial commitment is for one year and there is an ongoing effort to recruit volunteer Bigs
% of youth ages 6-18 improving or maintaining outcome areas from mentoring in social acceptance, grades, educational expectations, parental trust, etc., after 1 year with a Big Brother or Big Sister.
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Related Program
Mentoring
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
These percentages represent the collective results of youth improving or maintaining in 7 to 8 specific outcome areas.
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?
The mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tucson, Inc. is to provide children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported one-to-one relationships that change their lives for the better, forever.
The purpose of the program is to match and support one-on-one mentoring relationships between responsible adults and children. Meeting consistently, the volunteer becomes a positive influence on the child, contributing to his/her development.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Volunteer applicants are carefully and comprehensively screened. This screening process includes an in-person interview, professional and personal reference checks, a driver's license check, sexual offender background check, criminal background check and staff evaluation.
A match is made between an adult (individual or couple) and a child based on mutual interest, a volunteer's strengths, a child's need, personality and compatibility.
The relationship is monitored by professional staff members through phone calls and in-person contacts.
To help support matches, as well as introduce matches to each other, monthly outings throughout Tucson are provided for all active matches.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tucson (BBBST) began in 1963 as a Big Brothers program. In June of 1973 the agency was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit Arizona corporation. In 1976, the agency affiliated with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Big Sisters of Tucson was founded in 1974 and merged with Big Brothers of Tucson to form BBBST in June, 1980.
Since that time, BBBST has followed the best practices in mentoring for youth development as developed, maintained and enhanced by Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, of which BBBST is separate 501(c)(3) affiliate. The collective experiences of other BBBS affiliates is shared through meetings, conferences, Internet-based channels for Q & A requests for assistance, examples of what works best and simply sharing of capabilities and experiences.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We have accomplished and maintained approximately 550 matches between Bigs and Littles with relationships that require only a couple of hours two or three times a month, but often result in lon-term if not lifelong connections.
What we have not yet accomplished is recruiting enough qualified volunteers to serve as Bigs to the nearly 200 on a waiting list for such matches.
We are vigorously pursuing the resolution of that shortfall through increased efforts in volunteer recruitment, knowing well the fact that there are hundreds more youth in the greater Tucson area that could experience similar positive outcomes and improved outlooks for their future.
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, 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?
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
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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.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Arizona, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 10/15/2024
Ms. Rebecca Crane
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Term: 2022 - 2024
Mr. Andrew Gasparro
KB Homes
Term: 2023 - 2024
Cassandra Meynard
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Marie Logan
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Arizona, Inc.
Gabriela Cervantes
Snell and Wilmer
Gina Anderson
Raytheon Missile Systems
Daniela Gallagher
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Amanda Abens
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Rebecca Crane
Signature GROUP
Steve Speaks
Sam Levitz Furniture
Paola Tomassini
Bank of America Private Bank
Christine Bradish
Citi
Sergio Cossio
National Bank of Arizona
Andrew Gasparro
KB Homes
Jennifer Hagele
Clifton Larson Allen
Shea-Lynn Hoisington
Tucson Electric Power
John Lubniewski
Retired
Jeff Powell
Sun Corridor, Inc.
Ashley Stewart
The Mahoney Group
Austin Urton
M3Engineering & Technology
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
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 08/10/2022GuideStar 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 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 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.