A BETTER CHANCE 2015 ANNUAL REPORT FROM APPLICANT TO GRADUATE Since 1963, A Better Chance has been opening the door to educational opportunities for thousands of young people of color in this nation. Our mission is to increase substantially the number of well-educated young people of color who are capable of assuming positions of responsibility and leadership in American society. We carry out our mission through our signature College Preparatory Schools Program (“CPSP”), which annually recruits, refers and supports approximately 500 A Better Chance Scholars at more than 300 of the nation’s leading boarding, day and public schools. Program Update & Accomplishments ....2 Statement of Activities .........................10 College Partners .................................... 4 Supporters ............................................ 11 Member Schools ....................................5 National Board of Directors ................. 15 A Better Chance on the Map ..................8 National Staff .......................................16 LETTER FROM PRESIDENT & BOARD CHAIR What a year — A Better Chance Scholars and Alumni hit major milestones in 2015! Not only did 100% of our 405 seniors enter many of this nation’s most competitive colleges and universities, but our Alumni network grew to an impressive number. To date, more than 15,000 diverse, talented young people have graduated from many of the nation’s most rigorous secondary schools as A Better Chance Alumni. To achieve these results in 2015, our committed staff of 27 worked hard to expand our programming offerings and capacity to support even more Scholars and Alumni in the future. We conducted more than 70 information sessions (in English and Spanish) and spoke with more than 2,200 families across the country. We administered admissions Sandra E. Timmons tests to almost 1,000 students nationwide offering nearly $150,000 in test fee waivers. Our program team visited Scholars from coast to coast to encourage and check on progress, contributing to an impressive retention rate of 99%. Thanks to this work, by the end of our 2015 fiscal yearA Better Chance Scholars had access to 327 independent day schools, boarding schools and high-performing public schools across the country. Last year alone, we added 20 new member schools to our national network, creating even greater opportunity for our future applicants. Last year, our new Scholars also benefitted from our historic partnership with our Member Schools to make their dreams possible. A Better Chance’s new Scholars received $9.1 million in financial aid in fiscal year 2015 — over one million more than our new students received in 2014! These achievements were possible because of the families who Ronald R. Pressman worked with us to ensure their children’s future success and because thousands of others donated time and treasure to promote educational achievement and leadership among young people of color. Your support in 2015 was vital to helping us identify, prepare and position our young Scholars for success. To sustain this success into the future, we continued to grow support for “There Is No Stopping Us”, our transformative $20 million campaign focused on expanding student access to the most rigorous college preparatory schools and increasing programming to ensure success in college and beyond. With the close of the campaign approaching in December 2016, we have already begun to expand our reach to new geographic areas, deepen support to applicants and scholars through expanded programming, and worked to grow our already strong endowment to ensure the future sustainability of A Better Chance. We need the continued support of our Alumni, parents, friends, program and institutional partners to complete our campaign successfully and help thousands of talented young people of color achieve their full potential. Please join us in our historic work by making a campaign contribution at this time. Thank you for your continued belief in and support of our important mission to increase substantially the number of well-educated young people of color who are capable of assuming positions of responsibility and leadership in American society. Together, we will realize a future that includes talent from every community. Sandra E. Timmons Ronald R. Pressman President Chair, National Board of Directors PROGRAM UPDATE FINDING TALENT OFTEN OVERLOOKED A Better Chance is the oldest and only national organization of its kind. For over 50 years we have worked to change the life trajectory of academically talented youth of color by providing access to rigorous educational opportunities through our signature College Preparatory Schools Program (CPSP). Our Scholars have the ability but often lack the means and access. Our job is to provide a critical bridge and the support they need to succeed in high school, college and beyond. A Better Chance serves more than 2,000 motivated and academically exceptional students enrolled in over 300 of the nation’s most rigorous and prestigious boarding, day and public schools. Over 40% of our 85% of our Scholars Approximately 500 Scholars’ families have grade averages students annually are make less than the that range from recruited and placed national household 89% – 100% in outstanding educa- median income of tional opportunities $51,900 TOTAL ENROLLMENT GENDER CURRENT SCHOLAR STATS for Academic Year 2014 – 2015 2,076 56% 44% SCHOLARS FEMALE MALE 2 | A Better Chance | 2015 Annual Report 2015 ACCOMPLISHMENTS 100% of A Better Chance’s 405 graduating seniors enrolled directly in college in 2015. On average, 96% of A Better Chance’s graduating seniors annually enroll directly in college. In 2015, A Better Chance reached the following milestones: Added 20 new Member Partnered with businesses Expanded our capacity Schools to our network and corporations to offer with new hires across resulting in 327 schools scholarship and internship the country. nationwide. opportunities. Advised and advocated Raised $12.5 million for families in order to cumulatively towards leverage $9.1 million in There Is No Stopping financial aide for our new Us, our $20 million Scholars. campaign. MEMBER SCHOOLS BY TYPE ETHNICITY 199 Independent 68% African American Day Schools 15% Hispanic/Latino 106 Independent 8% Mulitiracial/Biracial Boarding Schools % Asian American 327 7 SCHOOLS* 22 Community 2% Other School Programs <1% Native American * As of August 31, 2015 A Better Chance | 2015 Annual Report | 3 A BETTER CHANCE FROM START TO FINISH FROM APPLICANT TO GRADUATE THE MAKING OF AN A BETTER CHANCE SCHOLAR Founded in 1963, A Better Chance’s original mission was poverty alleviation for people of color through rigorous education. Today, we work to create a pipeline of talented, well-educated young people of color who are capable of diversifying our national leadership in all sectors — government, business, academia, media and beyond. We execute our mission through our signature College Preparatory Schools Program (CPSP), which focuses on underrepresented people of color in six main geographic areas: the Northeast, the New York Metro Area, the Southeast, the Northwest, the Southwest and the Midwest. The CPSP has four main components through which we move students from applicant, to candidate, to Scholar. These four components are: Identification, Preparation, Placement and Scholar Support. Annually, A Better Chance invests an average of $2,700 per student to move a talented young person from an applicant to a Scholar. Throughout this report, you will learn more about our process and the resources we offer thousands of students and families each year. FOUR PHASES OF OUR COLLEGE PREPARATORY SCHOOLS PROGRAM (CPSP) APPLICANT STAGE CANDIDATE STAGE SCHOLAR STAGE 1 2 3 4 IDENTIFY PREPARE PLACE SUPPORT 2,000 1,000 students 500 new Scholars 2,000 Scholars applicants accepted to cohort placed annually (6-12) supported annually 4 | A Better Chance | 2015 Annual Report PHASE APPLICANT STAGE: 1 IDENTIFY • Partner with community-based organizations • Work with counselors and teachers at under-resourced elementary and middle schools • Referrals from parents, Alumni, and others In February of 2015, A Better Chance released its application to students seeking placement at one of our Member Schools in the fall of 2016. That’s right — from start to finish our application and placement process is an intensive 18-month journey! By May of 2015 we receive applications from more than 2,000 eager young people and their families. How do we do recruit these families? Over a period of months A Better Chance works closely with our network of feeder schools and aligned organizations to recruit the nation’s most talented students with the desire and potential to be leaders. We also offer information sessions for families all over the country — in 2015 we held over 70 information sessions across 27 states at our regional offices, in churches, at schools, online and anywhere potential leaders might be found. Parents, Alumni and friends of A Better Chance chipped in by referring students we might not have encountered otherwise. In 2015, we invested nearly $650,000, or $325 per student, on identification and recruitment. A family joins A Better Chance for their child to have a better chance in this world. In return their Scholar leaves “ a legacy for this world to have a better chance.” — Renee Stevenson, mother of Hannah Stevenson (The Buckley School, 2015) A Better Chance | 2015 Annual Report | 5 A BETTER CHANCE FROM START TO FINISH PHASE CANDIDATE STAGE: 2 PREPARE • Mock admissions interviews • School referrals • Test preparation (summer workshops) • Financial aid overview • SSAT/ISEE testing With applications due in May of each year, by June our staff has reviewed each and every one. From our initial 2,000 applicants we identify more than 1,000 students with the strongest grades, test scores, letters of recommendation and extracurricular and community activities to become members of our cohort. Over the next year, these students will have access to the numerous resources and decades of experience that A Better Chance has to offer, as we work together to find the best school placement for each student.