Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula

Kids need access to expanded learning experiences and enrichment opportunities that help them develop a love of learning. They need engaging summer learning experiences to avoid summer learning loss, small group instruction, and relationships with positive role models so they can develop the academic and life skills needed to succeed in school – so they can ultimately access the myriad opportunities Silicon Valley has to offer.

We have evolved our mission to focus on school success. In addition to providing our students with the safe place, positive relationships, and sense of belonging that all children need, we are helping them develop the academic and life skills they need to succeed in school. Our after-school and summer programs are tightly integrated with the schools and are an extension of the learning day. We share resources, curriculum, data, and staff training with our school partners. Our students receive an additional 740 hours of learning per year, a 60% increase over the school day alone.
BGCP serves youth in our community’s lowest-income neighborhoods: East Palo Alto, eastern Menlo Park, and the North Fair Oaks region of Redwood City. Students attend one of nine sites: three clubhouses (one in each city) and six school sites (Belle Haven, Brentwood, Garfield, Hoover, Taft, Menlo-Atherton). 70% of our students are now served on school campuses.
90% of program alumni graduate from high school vs. 65% of their peers. 85% avoid summer learning loss, a key driver of the achievement gap.

BGCP is uniquely positioned to support the school success of our community’s low-income youth.
• We have a track record of success. 90% of our high school students and school site alumni are graduating from high school vs. the neighborhood average of 65%. 90% avoid summer learning loss. Member attendance has increased to 4+ days a week. We have waitlists for our programs.
• Our scale is unmatched
○ BGCP is four times larger than any other youth serving organization on the Peninsula; 2,600 youth attend regularly across nine sites in the lowest-income neighborhoods
○ We serve students in grades K-12 and have a perspective about what our students need across the years, including challenging transition years
○ We run school year and summer programs, allowing for continuity between the school year and summer
○ We offer a broad range of activities to build skills, allow youth to explore their passions, and inspire them to want to succeed in school.
• Our leadership team is highly qualified and has been together for many years. We have a track record of delivering to meet expectations. The team has degrees from top schools (Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Cal, Cornell, etc.) and experience working at high performing organizations (McKinsey, Bain, TFA, KIPP, Education Pioneers, Peace Corps, etc.) We have high expectations for ourselves and the youth we serve. We are relentless about maximizing our partners’ ROI. We are committed to transparency.
• Our Board is diverse, strong, and brings relevant leadership experience. We’ve recently added Board members with experience as government, education, business, and community leaders. The Board is passionately involved with fundraising, advocacy, and program strategy.
• We have effective programs and systems in place. Partnerships with school districts, principals, and parents are strong. We are delivering effective programs in literacy, college access, and STEM. We have invested in and centralized hiring, staff training, curriculum design, and evaluation. We have the internal systems to expand.
• While most youth development organizations focus on motivated students and are selective about whom they serve, BGCP serves all students who seek to join, irrespective of their academic or behavior history. In fact, principals specifically refer their most at-risk students.