Big Brothers Big Sisters Named #1 Nonprofit for At-Risk Youth by GuideStar’s Philanthropedia
09-Sep-2011
September 9, 2011 – Big Brothers Big Sisters earns Philanthropedia’s top ranking on a list of most recommended, high-impact national nonprofits serving at-risk youth. The nation’s leader in quality, one-to-one youth mentoring, Big Brothers Big Sisters received praise for its effective mentoring model that leads to positive and measurable youth outcomes for children who face adversity, as well as for its organizational leadership and community outreach.
A subsidiary of GuideStar, Philanthropedia surveys foundation professionals, researchers, academics, nonprofit senior staffers and other experts on their views of charities’ impact and organizational strengths. GuideStar is the industry leader in nonprofit data, providing information to donors, partners, governing agencies and others to enable them to make informed decisions with regard to charitable giving.
Backed by research supporting its effectiveness, Big Brothers Big Sisters holds itself accountable for helping children who face adversity achieve positive, measurable outcomes, including educational success, higher aspirations and confidence, improved relationships and risky behavior avoidance. The organization relies on funding to carefully make mentoring matches and provide ongoing support to mentors, mentees and their families, helping sustain the long-term, successful relationships unique to its programs.
“We are honored to be recognized as the leading non profit to serve this population of young people who are facing many challenges in life,” said Jeanne Stahlheber, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Illinois serving Macon, McLean, Champaign, DeWitt, Piatt, Ford and Livingston counties. “It's gratifying to be one of nearly 370 agencies in communities across the country that work's diligently to provide children who face adversity with professionally supported mentoring relationships that are enduring and lead to positive youth outcomes and lifelong success.”
Big Brothers Big Sisters’ first place ranking was the result of recommendations from 88 national at-risk youth experts with an average of 19 years of experience in the field. These experts looked at nonprofit organizations that worked with children they considered to be “at-risk,” including some involved with the foster care or the juvenile justice system; runaways and homeless youths; kids who have dropped out of school or at risk of not graduating; and teen parents. Big Brothers Big Sisters, which primarily serves children of single, low income or incarcerated parents, ranked first in only nine organizations recommended in the area of at-risk youth.
For additional information about Philanthropedia’s research and reviews of nonprofits that serve at-risk youth, visit http://www.myphilanthropedia.org/top-nonprofits/national/at-risk-youth.
About Philanthropedia
Philanthropedia (recently acquired by GuideStar) improves nonprofit effectiveness by directing money to and facilitating discussion about expert recommended high-impact nonprofits. As of September 2011, we have leveraged the wisdom of 2015 experts to provide reviews on 318 top nonprofits across 19 causes.
About Big Brothers Big Sisters
With 7 offices serving Central Illinois, Big Brothers Big Sisters is part of a network of 370 local Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies across the country. Big Brothers Big Sisters operates under the belief that inherent in every child is the ability to succeed and thrive in life. Most children served by Big Brothers Big Sisters are in single-parent and low-income families, or households where a parent is incarcerated.
As the nation’s largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters makes meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers (“Bigs”) and children (“Littles”).
Big Brothers Big Sisters provides a system of ongoing evaluation and support that is proven by independent studies to help families by improving the odds that “Littles” will perform better in school and avoid violence and illegal activities, and have stronger relationships with their parents and others. To find out more information, visit www.bbbscil.org or call (217) 428-4240.
