Youth Advantage Inc

“The draft is reviewed by the executive director and treasurer, and then sent to all board members prior to filing.”

“Board membrs are required to identify and report any conflicts of interest. Any potential issues would be researched and resolved.”

“The executive director's performance review and salary determination was conducted by a subcommittee of independent persons and voted on by the board of directors. Comparative data from similar size and mission nonprofit organizations to determine a competative salary for youth advantage's executive director.”

“Board members do not receive compensation.”

“Documents are available during normal business hours at the organization's office, 904 fourth st s, stillwater, minnesota.”

“Form 990 part iii 4a youth advantage (ya) promotes healthy mental, emotional, and physical wellness in low income youth by providing them with access to extracurricular activities in our community. Youth advantage continues to provide scholarships and equipment to support children in their pursuit of their passions thus improving their chances of future success as well as support the operating costs of our office location which houses our brave bold girls group. Youth advantage also assists families in the navigation of extracurricular opportunities, counseling them to ensure that success is achieved in the extracurricular activity while also guiding them to other resources that will help them succeed in supporting their child/children in these activities including social workers, parent mentors, government services, other nonprofit agency services, employment and housing assistance, school counseling and teacher interaction, and holiday meal and gift services. Our mission stems largely off of the research provided by search institute whose mission is "to create a world where all young people are valued and thrive," (search institute's 40 developmental assets for children, www.search-institute.org). There are 40 developmental assets that they determined as necessary for a child to grow up healthy, caring and responsible. The assets represent the relationships, opportunities, and personal qualities that young people need to avoid risks and to thrive. Youth advantage believes that 19 of the 40 assets can be developed and deepened by engaging children in extracurricular activities. This is crucial because of the unsettling reality search institue's research reveals: "across the united states, in small towns and large cities alike, the young person experiences fewer than half of the 40 assets, and boys experience an average of three fewer assets than girls." youth advantage recognizes this is an epidemic and we experience these stories firsthand from families who come to us for services, yet we are focused on building and strengthening these assets in our clients. We believe that a community that invests in its children is a strong one, and we are committed to strenghening our community one child at a time. Research indicates the benefits of estracurricular involvement can make the difference between a child choosing success and failure, becoming a delinquent or a contributing citizen. Current programs extracurricular engagement youth advantage operates two inter-linking programs to address the needs of our target population's engagement into extracurricular activities: 1) the youth scholarship program and 2) the equipment provision program. The youth scholarship program provides scholarships to youth who qualify for free or reduced-fee lunch, are in grades k-12, go to school or reside in the boundaries of stillwater area school district 834, and who wish to participate in academic, artistic, or athletic extracurricular activies. We estimate that there are 1,400 children who qualify for our services based on the statistics received from local schools. Youth advantage, on average, engages 320 unique children into 650+ estracurricular activities. The youth scholarship program is supplemented by our equipment provision program. We loan, on average, 85 musical instruments to clients who participate in either their school's music program or lessons provided by our partner organizations and we give athletic equipment to our clients to participate in the athletic program of their choice. The cost of the equipment and the cost of the activity are both barriers to children of families in need to participate in extracurricular activities. All of the musical instruments and athletic equipment are donated to us by community members or purchased with a grant specific to musical instruments and are housed in our office, occupying 50% of our space. Distribution of the athletic equipment mainly occurs at our equipment distribution events where lo”

“Youth advantage promotes healthy mental, emotional, and physical wellness in low income youth by providing them with access to extracurricular activities in our community. Youth advantage continues to provide scholarshipps and equipment to support children in their pursuit of their passions thus improving their chances of future success as well as support the operating costs of our office location which houses our brave bold girls group.”