Bravo Programs of America Inc
Scholarships for Foster Youth
Bravo Programs of America Inc
EIN: 46-2088518
as of November 2023
as of November 13, 2023
Mission
Bravo Programs of America awards scholarships and book stipends to young adults, aged 18 through 24, who are or were in the Foster Care System and are enrolled in an accredited post-secondary education program.
Ruling year
2014
President/Founder
Ms Ellen M Lysik
Main address
34432 Jefferson A4
Harrison Township, MI 48045 USA
EIN
46-2088518
Foster care
Population served
At-risk youth
Students
NTEE code
Foster Care (P32)
IRS subsection
501(c)(3) Public Charity
IRS filing requirement
This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990-N.
Tax forms
Communication
Programs and results
Reports and documents
Download other documentsWhat we aim to solve
Education leads to higher income potential and improved well-being. Yet it is well documented that foster youth are at increased risk of poor educational outcomes. So instead of looking forward to better job prospects and employability, foster youth are more likely than their non-foster peers to become involved with the criminal justice system, have or father a child, or experience homeless – all by age 21. They are much less likely to graduate from college – only 3% do. It wasn’t their misstep or bad decision that put foster kids in this position, yet they are the ones paying the price. Bravo Programs of America (BPA) views post-secondary education as an essential part of a foster youth’s path to success, and we aim to support them in reaching their educational goals.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Scholarship Program
Bravo Programs of America's primary focus is awarding scholarships/Books etc. to aged out foster youth. We are confident without question that every semester we provide a student with educational skills we bring them closer to their career goals without the burden of student debt.
Mentor Program
The primary goal of our mentor program is to help ensure our students get the support they need to stay in school and graduate. We will do this by providing one-on-one support to our students, giving them access to subject matter experts to help them solve problems, and offering educational workshops to help build social and professional skills and establish a sense of community.
Where we work
External reviews
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of scholarships awarded to foster youth
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Students, Young adults, At-risk youth, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Scholarship Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Total number of scholarships awarded to foster youth in our College and Vocational scholarship programs
Repeat Scholarship Awards for foster youth
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Students, Young adults, At-risk youth, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Scholarship Program
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Number of scholarship awards that went to previous scholarship recipients. Bylaws were changed in 2017 to allow repeat scholarship awards.
College Graduation Rate for foster youth receiving scholarships
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Students, Young adults, At-risk youth, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Scholarship Program
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
% of total number College scholarship recipients that complete a 4-year degree program. The National average for college graduation of foster youth is 3%
Total amount of scholarship awarded
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Students, Young adults
Related Program
Scholarship Program
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of scholars who graduate from four year colleges and university within six years
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
At-risk youth, Economically disadvantaged people, Young adults, Students
Related Program
Scholarship Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Our cumulative graduation rate through 2021 is 53% compared to the national average 3% for foster youth to graduate.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
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?
BPA was founded to help former foster care youth, aged 18 through 26, achieve their post-secondary education goals.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Our primary strategy is to award scholarships for tuition and books to eligible students who are enrolled in an accredited post-secondary institution and have good academic standing.
Secondarily, we run a mentor program to help ensure our students get the support they need to stay in school and graduate.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
We work closely with social workers at universities, community colleges, and other foster care related nonprofits for student referrals.
We rely on fundraisers, solicitations, grants, and donations from companies and private individuals to fund our scholarship program.
We solicit volunteers from the community to staff our mentor program.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Our Impact:
Our first scholarships were awarded for the Fall semester of 2014. Through the Winter semester 2022, we have awarded over $2500k in scholarships to 64 students. Nationally, about 3% of foster care alumni earn a 4-year degree by age 26. We benchmark our performance against this metric. The following summarizes where Bravo scholarship recipients stand in reaching their educational goal as of the end of December 2022:
- 4 (4%) have earned their Associate’s Degree or Technical Certification.
- 26 (47%) have earned their Bachelor’s Degree.
- 16 (29%) are on track to attain their Bachelor’s Degree by age 26.
- 9 (16%) have dropped out of school or did not graduate by age 26.
Our Return on Investment:
We are a fiscally responsible, all volunteer organization with very low overhead. We have a detailed application process that we believe is very effective in highlighting the most deserving students. We want to make every dollar we receive count. The following summarizes our financial performance as of the end of December 2021:
- 97% of funds received go directly to student education
- 52% of funds received have been invested in students who have reached their educational goals by age 26
- 35% of funds received have been invested in students who are track to graduate by age 26
- 13% of funds have gone to students who are no longer in school or did not graduate by age 26
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 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 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 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
Financials
Financial documents
Download audited financialsRevenue vs. expenses: breakdown
Financial data
Bravo Programs of America Inc
Balance sheetFiscal Year: Jan 01 - Dec 31
The balance sheet gives a snapshot of the financial health of an organization at a particular point in time. An organization's total assets should generally exceed its total liabilities, or it cannot survive long, but the types of assets and liabilities must also be considered. For instance, an organization's current assets (cash, receivables, securities, etc.) should be sufficient to cover its current liabilities (payables, deferred revenue, current year loan, and note payments). Otherwise, the organization may face solvency problems. On the other hand, an organization whose cash and equivalents greatly exceed its current liabilities might not be putting its money to best use.
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Documents
President/Founder
Ms Ellen M Lysik
Bravo Programs of America Inc
Officers, directors, trustees, and key employeesSOURCE: IRS Form 990
Compensation data
There are no highest paid employees recorded for this organization.
Bravo Programs of America Inc
Board of directorsas of 02/07/2023
Board of directors data
Ms Ellen Lysik
President/Founder
Term: 2014 -
Gerald Filipek
Filipek & Co. LLC
Julie Miller
Career Strong Solutions LLC
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? No -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
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? No -
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
Sexual orientation
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 08/24/2022GuideStar 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 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 seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- 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.
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- Letter of Determination
- Officer and/or Employee data for 2019, 2016
- Contractor and/or Paid Preparer data for 2019, 2016
- Board of Directors data for 2023
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