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, achievempls rallies community support to inspire and equip 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 community. While our high schools prepare students academically, achievempls helps ensure that each student graduates with the resources, support and confidence they need to achieve their career and postsecondary dreams. Achievempls recognizes the value in every path to personal and economic success and provides caring guidance and expertise to empower each student to pursue the best options for their career and college goals including two- or four-year college, apprenticeships, technical training, employment or other opportunities. Achievempls accomplishes this work through proven, interconnected career and college readiness programs that are available to students from their first day of ninth grade through high school graduation. These include career & college centers in eleven minneapolis public schools high schools and four saint paul public schools high schools; step up paid high school internships and work readiness training; and volunteer programs that connect students with career exploration volunteers and mentors. The organization has also piloted a new achieve college internships program to provide additional professional development opportunities for college alumni of achievempls programs. Achievempls also strengthens community engagement and support for students and schools through public education events, and it serves as the minneapolis public schools foundation, securing major grants for key district priorities and administering school and department funds, student scholarships and small grants for classrooms and staff.”

“Minneapolis public schools (mps) partnership: in addition to being a program partner through its 11 career & college centers in mps high schools, achievempls also serves as the foundation for mps. In this role it assists the district in raising millions in corporate and foundation grants for key district priorities such as stem (science, technology, engineering and math), avid (advancement via individual determination) and college and career readiness programs. It also processes over $1 million each year in private donations to mps schools and departments and distributes funds to support a variety of mps activities, ranging from classroom supplies to artists and field trips. Achievempls also administers over 92 college scholarships for mps graduates and awards small grants for classrooms, staff professional development and field trips.”

“Career & college centers at the heart of achievempls' work are its career & college centers (cccs), which are embedded in 15 minneapolis and saint paul public high schools. In a typical year, the cccs provide personalized resources, connections and support to over 15,000 students. Staffed by college and career professionals from a variety of backgrounds, including licensed counselors, teachers and social workers, the cccs work one-on-one with each student to help them chart their specific career and college course, and track individual student progress to ensure that every senior has a post-graduation plan they are invested in and excited about. The cccs provide a wide range of personalized services, including expert career exploration advising, career events with local professionals, college fairs and tours, college rep visits, assistance with fafsa, financial aid and college applications, advice on resume writing and job interviewing, connections with internship and job opportunities, and links to other college access providers. In a recent year, 67% of graduating seniors at mps schools with career & college centers completed the fafsa or dream act a strong predictor of college enrollment compared with the state average of 49%. Students who utilized our cccs also enrolled in college at a 51% higher rate than those who did not. Achievempls also provides robust career exploration programming, connecting students with a wide variety of career and training opportunities that help them prepare to access family-supporting, high-demand and high-growth careers more quickly after high school. It also brings employers into high schools to meet with students via career speaker events, and takes students out into the community to participate in interactive worksite tours. In march 2020, with the closure of all public schools in minnesota due to covid-19, the cccs transitioned to remote services. In collaboration with school district and community partners, the ccc team offered virtual advising and a wide range of targeted career and college planning support. Internship programs step up youth employment program: step up prepares today's youth for tomorrow's careers by recruiting, training and placing hundreds of minneapolis youth (ages 14-21) in paid internships each year with over 200 regional employers, from fortune 500 companies and small businesses to public agencies and nonprofits. A partnership of the city of minneapolis, achievempls, careerforce minneapolis and project for pride in living, step up is one of the nation's leading youth employment programs and leverages a collective that spans 15 industries and multiple sectors. Step up supports historically underrepresented youth in minneapolis who are ready to navigate the professional world. The program also helps organizations diversify their workforce and build a base of young, skilled workers for the entire region. Step up has provided over 28,000 internships since 2003, yielding a competitive talent pipeline, a stronger economy and millions of dollars in wages for step up interns. Step up collaborates with corporate, government and higher education partners to provide sector-specific trainings, networking events and industry-recognized credentials through four career pipelines in stem, healthcare, design and financial services. Interns collectively earn over $3 million in wages each summer for themselves and their families. In summer 2020, step up was one of the few programs in the u.s. To continue offering career opportunities for young people during the covid-19 pandemic. Over 1,800 minneapolis youth completed step up in-person or remote work readiness training, paid internships, or a paid online career exploration program. Achieve college internships: launched in 2020, the new achieve college internships program provides career-building opportunities for college juniors especially minneapolis public schools graduates and step up alumni who are underrepresented in twin citie”

“The organization elected to account for the ppp loan under conditional contribution guidance. The organization initially recorded the amount received as a refundable advance followed by a reduction in the advance and recognition of revenue as management believes the aforementioned ppp loan conditions were substantially met as of june 30, 2020. For the financial statements, the $489,700 is recorded as a ppp contribution, as of june 30, 2020. It will not be recorded as income for tax purposes until the loan is forgiven. The organization inteds to apply for full loan forgiveness during the year ending june 30, 2021.”