Achieve Twin Cities

“The executive committee is composed of the board chair, vice chair and treasurer, along with the heads of all standing committees. The executive committee meets in the months that the board of directors does not meet. The executive committee sets the agenda for the board meetings, supervises the ceo and performs any other duties assigned by the board of directors.”

“The form 990 is prepared by an independent accounting firm and is first reviewed by the director of finance. The director of finance then emails a copy of the complete form 990 to the finance committee for their review and approval. Although the finance committee is empowered by the board of directors to approve the form 990, the finance committee reviewed the 990 and then recommended the board approve the 990 at its meeting in advance of filing. A copy of the form 990, excluding schedule b (the schedule of contributors), which is omitted for the privacy of our contributors, was sent to all board members in advance of the board meeting. However, board members can request a copy of schedule b to review.”

“A "conflict" exists when a director, officer, committee member or key employee or a member of their immediate family has a material financial interest or other professional or personal relationship which may make it difficult to exercise independent judgment in the board's best interest. Immediate family includes a spouse, parent, child, spouse of a child, brother, sister or spouse of a brother or sister. Any director, officer, committee member or key employee shall immediately disclose a conflict to the board or relevant committee as soon as it becomes apparent to the involved individual that such a conflict exists on a matter under board or committee consideration. Each financial interest shall be fully disclosed or known to the board or committee prior to any action on the relevant contract or transaction. This disclosure shall be made orally and shall be followed up by a disclosure in writing within ten (10) business days. The board or committee shall exclude any person disclosing a financial interest from discussion on the issue involving that conflict and such interested parties shall not be counted in determining the presence of a quorum. To approve any transaction involving a conflict, the board or committee shall determine by majority vote (not counting any vote an interested party may otherwise have), that the contract, transaction or relationship involving the conflict is in the board's best interests and is fair and reasonable. The minutes of meetings shall indicate the individual disclosing any conflicts and the nature of such conflicts, the persons present, the discussion and basis for the decision made, and a record of the vote taken.”

“The process of determining the compensation of the president and ceo danielle grant includes a review and approval by the executive committee in an executive session. The process includes a review of the minnesota council of nonprofits' survey for compensation to assess whether the salaries are comparable. The president and ceo makes all compensation decisions for other officers and staff. For other officers and staff, an annual performance review system is used to determine the compensation. Before beginning the hiring process for the new director of finance, an evaluation of compensation for finance directors was conducted by reviewing the 2014 minnesota council of nonprofits salary and benefits survey.”

“The organization makes it governing documents, conflict of interest policy and financial statements available to the public upon request.”

“As the strategic nonprofit partner of Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS), we rally community support to inspire and equip Minneapolis students for careers, college and life. Our vision is that all young people have full access to educational and career opportunities, resulting in a more equitable and vibrant Minneapolis. While MPS prepares students academically, AchieveMpls helps ensure that all students graduate with the resources, support and confidence they need to achieve their career and postsecondary dreams and keep our city strong and vibrant. Minneapolis has one of the countrys widest racial education, employment and wage gaps, and by 2020, 74% of all jobs in our state will require some form of postsecondary education. At the same time, local companies are facing a growing worker shortage, with an estimated 500,000 jobs going unfilled in the coming decade. In this time of tremendous challenge and opportunity, AchieveMpls is working hard to close these gaps by connecting Minneapolis youth with community employers and postsecondary training opportunities, and by providing one-on-one career and college planning tools and guidance through our Career & College Centers in eleven MPS high schools; work readiness training, paid internships and professional connections through our STEP-UP Achieve youth employment program (part of the City of Minneapolis STEP-UP program); and a wide volunteer network of caring adult professionals and mentors who serve as Graduation Coaches, career event presenters, mock interviewers and STEP UP trainers.”

“Career and College Centers (CCCs): At the core of our career and college readiness are AchieveMpls Career & College Centers (CCCs), which empower MPS students to make their career and postsecondary dreams come true. Located in eleven MPS high schools, our CCCs are hubs for postsecondary planning and are open to all 9,000 MPS high school students. We provide free, individualized support to over 3,500 students each year, particularly students from lower-income families and students of color. Our CCCs offer the personal attention and strategic advising that all students need to create a plan for career success after graduation, whether that means college, technical training, apprenticeships or other opportunities. Our CCC resources include: - Postsecondary school fairs, campus tours and recruiter visits - Career exploration events, including worksite tours and networking with local professionals - ACT, SAT and Accuplacer test preparation - Postsecondary application assistance - FAFSA, Minnesota Dream Act, financial aid and scholarship assistance - Resume writing, job interview and other 21st century skills workshops We proactively engage underrepresented students and strive to ensure that all students complete critical milestones for future success. For most youth, this means taking the ACT, completing the FAFSA or Minnesota Dream Act (for undocumented immigrants), applying for enrollment at postsecondary education institutions and securing financial aid. For others, this can be applying for an internship, securing a full-time job, entering an apprenticeship or pursuing other opportunities. In the 2017-2018 academic year: - 4,480 individual students, 49% of all MPS high school students, made 14,021 visits to our CCCs. - 92% of high school seniors visited a CCC at least once to seek individual help. - 79% of seniors who visited their CCC completed a college application, compared to 63% of seniors who did not visit their CCC. - Nearly two out of three students who accessed one-on-one advising were low-income youth. - 72% of students who worked with our CCC staff were students of color. Our CCC coordinators also track several key indicators on postsecondary planning and personally follow up with every senior to ensure they have a post-graduation plan. In the 2016-2017 academic year: - Of graduating seniors, 96% applied to a postsecondary school or reported having a plan for life after graduation. - According to the Federal FAFSA database, 1,127 students completed a FAFSA in a school served by our CCCs. - 62% of seniors reported completing a FAFSA or a Minnesota Dream ACT application. We also completed year two of our new Career Readiness Initiative (CRI) pilot through our Career & College Centers. CRI provides individualized and experiential career exposure to help students make better-informed decisions about their postsecondary plans and explore a much wider variety of career and postsecondary opportunities. Although CRI was piloted at only two of our CCC sites (Roosevelt and Edison high schools), our staff supported career exposure activities in all 11 schools where our CCCs are located. At our Roosevelt and Edison CRI pilot schools, 1,743 unique students (92% of the total 1,886 population) logged 5,608 visits to the CCCs for an average of 3.2 interactions per student. This includes all CCC services rendered, including assisting youth with college-specific counseling. Drilling down further, 1,140 of these students received career access and exploration-specific services from our CRI staff. In other words, 65% of all students served by the CCCs at Edison and Roosevelt received assistance with career planning activities. Through CRI, we have made significant progress in delivering and refining direct services, building relationships, and developing district-wide replicable practices to connect MPS students to a wider range of career opportunities that will help them access family-supporting, high-demand, high-growth careers more qu”

“Minneapolis Public Schools Partnership: As part of our historic relationship with Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS), which stretches back to our founding in 2002, AchieveMpls provides career and college readiness programs in 11 MPS high schools, and also supports the district by raising millions in corporate and foundation support for key MPS priorities and managing over 130 MPS school and department funds, college scholarships and mini-grants for MPS staff and classrooms. In partnership with MPS leadership, we pursue major grant support for such priorities as STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education, AVID (Advancement via Individual Determination), college and career readiness programs, and human capital development programs. In addition to this fundraising work, in 2017-18 AchieveMpls: - Processed over $1.2 million in contributions to MPS school and department funds, and distributed over $1.6 million to support activities ranging from classroom supplies and school equipment to guest artists and theater field trips - Administered over 92 college scholarship awards for MPS seniors and recent graduates that were worth over $171,000 - Awarded over $91,000 in grants for MPS classrooms, field trip grants and professional development for MPS teachers Each year AchieveMpls also partners with MPS on our annual Principal Partner Day, an invitation only event that strategically matches 30 Twin Cities business and civic leaders with MPS principals for a half, day shadowing experience. Participants get a behind-the-scenes view of a MPS school, engage in in-depth conversations with their principal, learn about daily challenges facing school leaders, meet MPS staff and students and share their feedback and strategies with principals and other participants.”

“STEP-UP Achieve Youth Employment Program: Each year, STEP-UP Achieve, directed by AchieveMpls and part of the City of Minneapolis STEP-UP program, places over 700 diverse and talented Minneapolis young people (ages 16-21) in paid professional internships with approximately 140 top Minneapolis-St. Paul employers, from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses, public agencies and nonprofits. One of the countrys leading youth employment programs, STEP-UP Achieve is preparing tomorrows workforce today through work readiness training certified by the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce, career-oriented internships and industry-focused certifications. STEP-UP Achieve serves youth who face some of the greatest barriers to employment, particularly youth from low income families, youth of color, youth from immigrant families and youth with disabilities. It also helps organizations identify and nurture young talent for their industries, provides youthful energy and tech savvy in the workplace and offers opportunities for employees to gain valuable supervisory and mentoring experience. STEP-UP Achieve has provided over 8,700 internship opportunities since 2003, yielding tremendous benefits for young people, businesses and our regional economy. In 2017-2018: - STEP-UP Achieve partnered with nearly 150 Twin Cities companies, nonprofits and public agencies to provide 756 paid summer and school year internships in 15 industries. - Interns earned a combined $1.9 million in wages at their work sites. - AchieveMpls provided work-readiness training for 1,870 low-income youth from STEP-UP Achieve and STEP-UP Discover (the City of Minneapolis-led STEP-UP component for younger students). - 90% of STEP-UP Achieve interns came from low-income families, 88% were youth of color, 83% were potentially first-generation college students, and 56% were first or second generation immigrants. - 95% of interns who participated in our year-end survey said their internship was a valuable learning experience; 97% said STEP-UP Achieve prepared them to become valuable contributors to the future workforce. - 82% of STEP-UP Achieve supervisors surveyed said the program was a success at their organization; 74% said if they had a job opening they would consider hiring their intern as an employee; 87% said their intern made a valuable contribution to the workplace. STEP-UP Achieve also collaborates with dozens of corporate, government and higher education partners across the Twin Cities for our STEP-UP Achieve Career Pipelines, which provide focused career exposure resources and opportunities for interns. Employers and experts in STEM, healthcare, design, and financial services partner to develop sector-specific trainings, networking events and industry-recognized credentials for Minneapolis youth. In 2017-2018 our STEP-UP Achieve Career Pipeline activities included: - Design Pipeline: Our annual Creative Crash Course event connected STEP-UP Achieve interns who are interested in design careers with Twin Cities industry leaders. Hosted by CoCo Minneapolis, 34 interns joined over 20 professional trainers and volunteers from local design and architecture firms for a full day of design-thinking exercises and product design competitions. - Healthcare Pipeline: 143 STEP-UP Achieve interns participated in our day-long Pre-Employment Training for Healthcare (PETH) and Health Careers Fair, which prepared them for their summer healthcare jobs, connected them with local healthcare professionals and introduced them to the wide range of health careers and underlying skills essential to success. Nine interns also completed the annual week-long Urban Scrubs Camp, a summer healthcare immersion camp at Augsburg University organized by our partners at HealthForce Minnesota. - Financial Services Pipeline: 42 interns who were interested in financial services careers participated in our annual Financial Services Careers Day, which was hosted by our pipeline partner the Federal Reserve”

“Volunteer Program: In 2017-18, over 780 community members donated 4,776 hours to MPS students through AchieveMpls volunteer opportunities. They mentored students as Graduation Coaches, inspired them with stories of their professional journeys at our career exploration events, served as STEP-UP mock interviewers and work readiness trainers, and offered workshops in financial literacy and career skills. Graduation Coaches: Nearly 130 AchieveMpls Graduation Coaches provided personalized support to 247 ninth graders and 53 twelfth graders. These volunteer Coaches helped students graduate on time, prioritize their academic goals and plan for life after high school. Students met with their Graduation Coach twice each month at their school. They benefitted from a positive relationship with an adult outside of the family, gained greater confidence and strengthened their study skills, relationship-building, career exploration and postsecondary planning. This year, we surveyed students to measure their growth over time in school connectedness, academic self-efficacy and goal setting skills, and found growth in all three areas. The most notable growth was in school connectedness, where students in ninth grade grew 9.9% and in twelfth grade grew 13.3% over the course of the year. Improved school connectedness is associated with increased school attendance, which in turn is highly predictive of GPA and passing classes. Career Exploration Events: Our career events brought nearly 300 volunteers from over 200 companies into nine MPS high schools to share their career insights and advice with students. They shared the highlights and challenges of a wide range of professional fields and how to begin preparing now for great careers including many careers students had never heard of before. STEP-UP Mock-Interviews: AchieveMpls also provides opportunities for over 400 community members to support young people at our annual four-night STEP-UP Mock Interviews at the Minneapolis Convention Center. These volunteers interview and coach hundreds of STEP-UP interns as part of their work readiness training and preparation for summer internships. Other Volunteer Opportunities: Through STEP-UP, employees from several of our STEP-UP partner companies also volunteer with our interns as work readiness trainers, career exposure event leaders, and financial literacy and career skills facilitators. AchieveMpls Public Education Events: AchieveMpls hosts several public events throughout the year for our local community to strengthen knowledge and support of public education and Minneapolis students. These events include: - EDTalks, a lively series of happy hour events held four times each year and featuring compelling short talks on cutting-edge issues impacting education and our young people, as well as opportunities for participants to get engaged with students via AchieveMpls and partner organizations. - Principal Partner Day, an invitation-only event which matches 30 Twin Cities community leaders with MPS principals for a half-day of job shadowing, feedback and dialogue with other participants about the opportunities and challenges facing public education. - Thought leader events such as our 2018 Bridging the Gap breakfast for Twin Cities business, education and community leaders, which featured a keynote by Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari and a panel of local experts. - Achieve101, which provides an exclusive glimpse into our Career & College Center programs, features stories from our students and staff, and introduces participants to opportunities to become volunteers, STEP-UP Achieve employers and funders.”