50 YEAR MILESTONE

2016-2017
Annual Report

WE HAVE MADE
OVER 20,000
1 TO 1 MENTORING MATCHES
SINCE OUR FOUNDING IN 1967
RESULTING IN AN ESTIMATED
3,000,000 HOURS
OF CONTACT BETWEEN BIGS AND LITTLES
Ive spent the last 10 years learning
under one of the greatest
leaders and mentors a person could hav
e in Art Mollenhauer. I am
eager to build upon the legacy of this
organization and continue to
bring the power of 1 to 1 mentoring to
more children.
This has been a transformative year
for our organization, one of
many milestone moments. But as we
look forward, we have one
clear purpose: to help thousands mo
re Chicagoland children. We
cannot do this without the unwavering
commitment from our
volunteers, donors and advocates and
we would not be reaching
these milestones without you.
Together we are doing our part to pos
itively impact the negativity
occurring in our city and neighboring
communities by making
successful mentoring relationships tha
t change lives for the better,
forever. Thank you for being part of it.
S I N C E R E L Y,
JER EM Y FOS TER
CEO , BIG BRO THE RS BIG SIST ERS
OF MET ROP OLI TAN CHI CAG O
 I
PART I

2017
A Milestone Year

Little Sister Chontel and her Big Sister Ariana;

Big Brother Luke and his Little Brother Jaquan
 I

Milestones Average Match Lengths

68 104 SENIORS HIGHEST

EVER

SITE BASED GRADUATED, AWARDED OVER

PROGRAMS $50,000 IN SCHOLARSHIPS
HIGHEST EVER HIGHEST EVER
2017 A MILESTONE YEAR

1,728 $6.3 MILLON

HIGHEST
EVER

YOUTH SERVED IN REVENUE

HIGHEST EVER HIGHEST EVER

135 157 15 34
MONTHS MONTHS
FIELD TRIPS UNIQUE ENRICHMENT
TAKEN EXPERIENCES PROVIDED SITE BASED COMMUNITY BASED
 I

Program Highlights
A BIG THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED MAKE THIS HAPPEN!
2017 A MILESTONE YEAR

Across the Big Brothers Big Sisters network, we led the country in number
of Site Based Mentoring Programs.

We received $100,000 in seed funding to launch our innovative online mentoring

program, Flex Mentoring, and rounded out the year with seven new Flex
Mentoring Programs, which are now lled with 116 matches.

The Big Brothers Big Sisters Nationwide Leadership Council recognized our
agency with a Big Brothers Big Sisters of America Quality Award for team
leadership and quality community programing.

Little Brother Nahum and his Big Brother Will

 I

Corporate Partner
Highlight
WE COULD NEVER DO THIS WITHOUT OUR INVALUABLE,
GENEROUS CORPORATE PARTNERS.
2017 A MILESTONE YEAR

The Allstate Foundation continues to grow its program partnerships,

launching their second Workplace Mentoring Program and engaging in our
Flex Mentoring pilot program with CDW. As the Diploma Sponsor of our
Annual Graduation Gala, Allstate helped us recognize and celebrate the
extraordinary achievements of our graduating class of Littles.

View All Of Our Partners

 I

Event Highlights
OUR DYNAMIC EVENTS HELPED RAISE THE BAR AND OUR REVENUE!

The 5th Annual BIG Bash, hosted by our Leadership Board, brought over 450 young
professionals, community leaders and corporate partners together to raise over
2017 A MILESTONE YEAR

$150,000 for BBBSMC setting a fundraising record for the event.

This years Marquette Golf Classic, hosted by Board Chair Brian Wrubel, raised over
$400,000 for our 1 to 1 mentoring programs the highest amount ever raised from a
single BBBSMC event.

BBBSMC brought Steve Kerr, coach of the Golden State Warriors and former Chicago Bull,
to share his own experiences with mentorship on and o the court at our 4th Annual Speaker
Series. NBC News correspondent Kate Snow moderated the event which was joined by over
125 Board members, sponsors and other distinguished guests specically, our matches from
the Deloitte and Epic Career Academy Workplace Mentoring Program.
 II
PART II

Mission &
Vision

Big Brother Jordan

 II

A Proven The Right A Bold

Approach Mission Vision
MISSION & VISION

Changing lives one Provide children facing adversity with strong All children achieve
mentor at a time. and enduring, professionally supported success in life.
one-to-one relationships that change their
lives for the better, forever.

Leadership Board Member Hunter Foreman,

from 18,510 ft., Mount Elbrus, Russia
 III
PART III

Stats & Profiles

of Who We Serve

Bigs Kaitlin, Will and Sean with sibling

Littles Trinity, Martell and Martez
 III

LAKE COUNTY,
ILLINOIS

50 YEARS STRONG
A N D G R O W I N G S T R O N G E R

4 COUNT IES WIDE

STATS & PROFILES OF WHO WE SERVE

150+ CO MMUNITIES PRO UD COOK COUNTY

DUPAGE COUNTY

BBBSMCs innovative and collaborative partnerships with

55 6 91 4 45
SCHOOLS AFTER-SCHOOL CORPORATIONS COLLEGES & FOUNDATIONS
PARTNERS UNIVERSITIES

LAKE COUNTY,
and many local community organizations provide a stable funding INDIANA
platform and bring complementary expertise and resources together
around a common community need.
 III

88% 64% 16%

Our Littles live at or below the
federal poverty line
come from
non-two-parent homes
have an
incarcerated parent

59% FEMALE 1016 Littles 41% MALE 712 Littles

STATS & PROFILES OF WHO WE SERVE

49% 48%
BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICAN
834 Littles

HISPANIC OR LATINO/A
HIGH SCHOOL AGE
14 to 19 | 856 Littles 647 Littles 38%
CAUCASIAN
6%
34%
108 Littles

MULTICULTURAL
MIDDLE SCHOOL AGE 58 Littles 3%
11 to 13 | 586 Littles
ASIAN
32 Littles 2%
17% NATIVE AMERICAN
2 Littles >1%
ELEMENTARY AGE
AGES 7 TO 19 7 to 10 | 286 Littles OTHER
47 Littles 3%
 IV
PART IV

Outcomes &
Success Stories

Big Sister Laura and her Little Sister Gianna

 IV

Our Impact
is Generational
Throughout history the success and development of subsequent generations has been the metric and
OUTCOMES & SUCCESS STORIES

legacy of every society. Youth mentoring is an evidence-based, cost-eective and reliable pathway
for our generation to ensure future scal and social responsibility.

100% 95% 77% 84% 75%

of Littles graduated enrolled in improved improved improved their attitudes
high school post-secondary relationships educational towards risky behaviors
education or with peers expectations such as violence, drugs
military service and skipping school
 IV

OUR PROGRAMMING HELPS TO SUPPORT ALL

ASPECTS OF GROWTH AND SUCCESS
OUTCOMES & SUCCESS STORIES

ACADEMIC SOCIAL INTERESTS

SKILLS BEHAVIOR & HOBBIES
 IV

Career
Exploration
INSPIRING YOUNG MINDS AND SHOWING
THEM THAT ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!
OUTCOMES & SUCCESS STORIES

American Airlines

Bigs and Littles toured OHare Airport, learning what its like to be on a diverse team that embraces and explores
dierent cultures and gives you the opportunity to see the world! Matches received boarding passes and
checked in before taking o on a tour with stops at the AA control tower and aircraft hangar. They also met with a
pilot, ight attendant and mechanic to learn more about their roles on the ground and in the air.
 IV

Artistic
Expression
BRINGING TO LIFE THE POWER OF CREATIVITY!
OUTCOMES & SUCCESS STORIES

Young Chicago Authors

BBBSMC hosted author, poet and community builder Kevin Coval for a performance workshop with our
matches. Through creative performance in a safe space, the workshop empowered Littles to harness
tools for self-expression, thus increasing self-esteem and condence. Kevin Coval is the artistic
director of Young Chicago Authors and the founder of Louder Than a Bomb, the largest youth poetry
festival in the world held right here in Chicago.
 IV

Nutritional
Education
LEARNING IMPORTANT LIFE SKILLS IN A FUN
AND COLLABORATIVE ENVIRONMENT!
OUTCOMES & SUCCESS STORIES

Whats Cookin?

Matches worked with professional chefs to learn how to cook a three-course meal. Instructors at The Chopping
Block in Chicagos Merchandise Mart taught chopping skills, cooking and baking techniques, introduced new
foods and provided a recipe book full of healthy spins on kid-friendly classics.
 IV

Academic
Development
SHOWING OUR KIDS THAT LEARNING CAN BE FUN!
OUTCOMES & SUCCESS STORIES

Book Club

Recognizing that some of the students we work with can feel alienated in the classroom, BBBSMC partners with
literacy nonprot, Open Books, to provide our Littles a space to have a shared academic experience while
gaining valuable reading comprehension skills. Bigs and Littles read the same book, answer weekly
comprehension questions and then join together with other matches to discuss greater themes of
the text and share real-life applications.
 IV

Service
Commitment
TEACHING EMPATHY, SERVICE AND UNDERSTANDING!
OUTCOMES & SUCCESS STORIES

Feed My Starving Children

Matches take eld trips to Feed My Starving Children, where they see what its like to make a dierence
in the lives of children across the world. In one trip, over 22,000 meals are packed by a group of our
Bigs and Littles and sent to help reverse malnutrition in Uganda.
 V
PART V

This Years
Milestones
 V

EACH YEAR, WE ARE GRATEFUL TO SHARE IN

HUNDREDS OF LITTLE MILESTONES

All together, they are really pretty Big!

THIS YEARS MILESTONES
 V

SOME MILESTONES ARE SEEMINGLY SMALL STEPS TOWARD

SELF-DISCOVERY, EXPLORATION AND REALIZING
THE TRUE MEANING OF FRIENDSHIP

Amber & Beth

THIS YEARS MILESTONES

WHAT A MATCH!
Amber and Beth have been matched for 8 years during
which they visited all the museums in Chicago at least
ve times! They went on an architectural boat tour,
learned how to make homemade pasta, donuts and
cupcakes, cheered on the Cubs and Bears, had fancy
tea times and took a French class together
 V

Kyron & Derek

TWO OF A KIND!
Kyron is one of six siblings in our program. His mother
THIS YEARS MILESTONES

enrolled him because he lacked a strong, active male role

model in his life. She wanted to give him one-on-one time
with someone he could have fun with and trust. Kyron
and his Big Brother Derek work together on two main
goals: to nd positive outlets for emotion and to
create active ways to combat negative peer
inuences. Courtesy of BBBSMC, they signed up for
boxing lessons and training session. To this day
boxing has been a cornerstone of Kyrons life.
 V

OTHER MILESTONES ARE PATHS TO SUCCESS

Uriel & Cathy

THIS YEARS MILESTONES

SISTERS AND ILLINI FANS!

Little Sister Uriel was accepted into the University of Illinois,
her Big Sisters alma mater. As Uriel begins her rst year of
courses and college life under her belt, she feels very
lucky to have Big Sister Cathy by her side. The insider
tips have been a lifesaver!
 V
- Miles, Graduate of the Class of 2017
My relationship with my Big
Brother Bobby taught me how to
care about myself and others.
Bobby cared about me regardless
of what stage I was at in my life.
When I began the program at 14, I
often stayed out and got picked up
THIS YEARS MILESTONES
for curfew. As time went on, I
skipped school for weeks on end.
My friends and I would steal
clothes, alcohol, and whatever else
we desired. Some of my friends
carried guns and were gang
members. In one instance, I was
forced to hold a weapon so that
one of them wouldnt get caught
with it. I got arrested for shoplifting
twice, yet still felt invincible. I did
not think or care about the
consequences of my actions.
Bobby asked me questions which
prompted me to think about my
own future. Through an exploration
of shared interests, in our case
food and music, I grew closer to
Bobby and learned how to be and
have a friend. As our Match
progressed, I saw that he would
show up, no matter what I was
going through. I knew I could trust
Bobby and he would support me.
Bobby instilled in me the promise
of success through school and the
fact that if he could do it, I could do
it. I gradually lost interest in the
people I once called my friends
just as they started to get
incarcerated, shot and killed. This
could have been me.
 V

ALL MILESTONES ARE LIFE-CHANGING

Miles & Bobby

THIS YEARS MILESTONES

SHARING PASSIONS AND INTERESTS!

Bobby worked with Miles to help him identify new talents
and interests. With Bobbys help, Miles discovered a
passion for Industrial & Product Design, which he now
plans to focus on while attending Fayetteville Technical
Community College in North Carolina.
 VI
PART VI

Organizational
Financial Overview
 VI

G E N E R AT E D

$6.3 MILLION
I N R E V E N U E
ORGANIZATIONAL FINANCIAL OVERVIEW

INDIVIDUAL 41%

98% SPECIAL EVENTS 15%

OF REVENUE COMES FROM CORPORATE 15%
PRIVATE SOURCES
BBBSA 13%
FOUNDATION 12%
View Full Financial Report
IN-KIND DONATIONS 2%
GOVERNMENT 2%
VII
PART VII

Board
Leadership

Big Brother Alex

VII

44
EXECUTIVE
88
LEADERSHIP
BOARD MEM BERS BOARD ME MB E R S
BOARD ACCOMPLISHMENTS

View Board Of Directors List View Leadership Board List

Thank You
We are so grateful for the mentors, parents, supporters
and sta that have made this year possible and become
part of our legacy here in Chicago.

View The List Of Our Generous Donors

50 YEAR MILESTONE