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 once between meetings of the board of directors. 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 provides a digital 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 reviews the 990 and then recommends the board approve the 990 at its meeting in advance of filing. A full copy of the form 990, including schedule b (the schedule of contributors), is provided to all board members in advance of the board meeting via secure cloud-based view-only file.”

“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 preliminary approval by the executive committee in an executive session, followed by approval of the full board in an executive session. Ceo compensation decisions are aligned with the board-approved executive compensation philosophy, and based on a review of the minnesota council of nonprofits' survey for compensation and 990 compensation data from select companies to assess whether the salaries are comparable. The president and ceo makes all compensation decisions for other officers and staff, based on compensation ranges updated every other year based on comparison data from the minnesota council on nonprofits' survey for compensation, a national nonprofit survey, and additional sources as relevant. An annual performance review system is used to determine raises.”

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

“As one of the upper midwest's leading career and college readiness organizations, achieve twin cities rallies community support and delivers best-in-class programs to inspire and equip young people in minneapolis and saint paul, minnesota for careers, college and life. Our vision is that all students have full and equitable access to postsecondary education and career opportunities, creating a more just and vibrant community. Founded in 2002, achieve twin cities has provided career and college readiness services for over 90,000 students, equipping them to achieve in-demand, rewarding careers while contributing to a diverse talent pipeline that supports the health and vitality of our workforce and community. While our high schools prepare students academically, achieve twin cities helps ensure that each student graduates with the one-on-one guidance, resources and confidence they need to achieve their career and postsecondary dreams and secure meaningful, life-sustaining careers and financial independence. Achieve recognizes the value in every path to personal and economic success and provides caring guidance and expertise to empower each student to pursue their best options for their career and postsecondary goals, including two- or four-year college, apprenticeships, technical training, employment or many other opportunities. As a universal service provider, achieve twin cities accomplishes this work through proven, interconnected career and college readiness services in 28 minneapolis public schools (mps) and saint paul public schools (spps) high schools, which are available to students from their first day of ninth grade through high school graduation. It also provides paid summer internships, work readiness training and career mentoring for minneapolis youth through the step up youth employment program (in partnership with the city of minneapolis), and the achieve college internships program, which operated from 2020-2024 and connected mps, spps and step up alumni with professional career-focused college internships. In addition, achieve twin cities hosts public events that inform and spark conversations on a wide range of issues related to career and college readiness, workforce development and other critical issues that impact young people and schools, and connects our local community with opportunities to support and advocate for young people. Achieve twin cities also serves as the minneapolis public schools nonprofit foundation, administering major grants for key district priorities and managing $4-5 million in private funds for mps schools and departments, college scholarships for mps graduates and mini grants for district staff development and classroom projects.”