Annual Report 2008 Annual Report 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 also launched a new National Advisory Council volunteer structure to deepen the involvement of our Alumni and supporters. And we showcased the impact of A Better Chance in our publications, press and on our website through 45 Faces of A Better Chance, prominent Alumni who are living our mission. Their titles chart their journeys to leadership at the highest levels -- among them, CEO, Surgeon, Ron Pressman Sandra Timmons Psychologist, Professor, Entrepreneur, State Senator and even one Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. They his has been a proud and momentous year represent just a few of the Alumni who have in which A Better Chance celebrated its become influential leaders. 45th anniversary and placed a record 544 Tnew Scholars in a growing national network of Collectively, they make a powerful statement more than 300 Member Schools. Your support about improving access to the most rigorous helped launch these dynamic, talented young education for talented young people of color people on a path to leadership. leading to greater achievement and leadership opportunities in our global society. Though we may not be able to claim the 44th President of the United States as an Alumnus of All that said, we are facing a challenging, A Better Chance, we help write stories like his uncertain time and we recognize the impact of everyday. President Barack Obama’s journey to the current economic crisis on every sector in leadership was accelerated because he had access American society. None has been immune to the to rigorous educational opportunities at some of downturn, particularly the nonprofit sector, and the best educational institutions in the country. including A Better Chance. Even so, we remain A Better Chance has been opening doors to these optimistic and are moving forward with hope kinds of opportunities for more than 45 years. and anticipation. The need to prepare the next We know that great talent lies in every generation of leaders capable of meeting these community, and our mission is to find that complex challenges is critical, particularly now. A talent and give it the chance to flourish. President Better Chance is continuing to meet this need by Obama’s life story is echoed in the more than recruiting, placing and supporting a diverse cadre 12,000 stories of our Alumni, many of whom of future leaders. With your help, we have made come from similar family backgrounds, and tremendous progress. who, through A Better Chance, have been able to develop into successful leaders in all sectors of Thank you for your support. industry, science and the arts. This year, we made significant progress towards our strategic objective to double the number of enrolled students within 10 years by recruiting Letter from the President and Board Chair and Board the President Letter from more talented students, expanding our network of Member Schools, increasing the organization’s visibility and boosting the involvement of those Ronald R. Pressman, Sandra E. Timmons, who have benefited from A Better Chance. We Chair President achieved record growth in both new Scholars and Member Schools. Annual Report 2008 • Page 2 Program Update Program Current Scholars Finding Talent Often Overlooked College Preparatory Schools Program: • To date, A Better Chance has placed more than 12,000 middle and Total Enrollment - 1,896 junior high school students in some of our nation’s finest college preparatory schools, both public and private. • More than 96% of A Better Chance graduating seniors immediately enroll in college. • One-third of A Better Chance Scholars come from families receiving public assistance, or who are living at or below the federal poverty line. • 65% of A Better Chance Scholars come from single-parent families. Female - 60% • More than 700 volunteers nationwide contribute their time and energy to identifying academically talented children who can benefit Male - 40% from the A Better Chance experience. • There are 312 Member Schools of A Better Chance in 29 states. • A Better Chance Alumni currently reside in all 50 states. • An estimated $20+ million of financial aid is leveraged at the secondary school level annually. Independent Day Affiliated Colleges Schools - 56% Independent Boarding Program Schools - 34% We would like to thank our Affiliated Colleges Community School program partners. These colleges and universities Programs - 10% have partnered with A Better Chance to demonstrate their commitment to diversity. Amherst College Hamilton College Scripps College Bates College Harvard University Skidmore College Boston University Hope College Smith College Bucknell University Kenyon College Sophie Davis School of Carleton College Lafayette College Biomedical Education Claremont McKenna Loyola College, Stanford University African American/Black - 65% College Maryland Swarthmore College Colby College Loyola Marymount Trinity College Hispanic American/ Colgate University University Tufts University Latino - 20% College of the CUNY - Macauley United States Holy Cross Honors College Military Academy Asian American - 6% College of Princeton University University of Multiracial - 5% William and Mary Rice University Southern California Davidson College Rutgers University University of Tampa Other - 3% Denison University St. Lawrence University University of Native American - 1% Drexel University St. Thomas Aquinas Virginia Duke University College Vassar College Emerson College Santa Clara University Wesleyan University Emory University Annual Report 2008 • Page 3 Northeast (ME, CT, NH, MA, RI, CT) Portsmouth Abbey School, Portsmouth, RI Montclair Kimberly Academy, Montclair, NJ Day Schools: Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, NH Newark Academy, Livingston, NJ Beaver Country Day School, Pomfret School, Pomfret, CT • The Nightingale-Bamford School, Chestnut Hill, MA Portsmouth Abbey School, Portsmouth, RI New York, NY ○ Belmont Hill School, Belmont, MA* Proctor Academy, Andover, NH The Packer Collegiate Institute, Brooklyn, NY Boston University Academy, Boston, MA Saint George’s School, Newport, RI Poly Prep Country Day School, Brooklyn, NY ○ Brunswick School, Greenwich, CT Saint Mark’s School, Southborough, MA Riverdale Country School, Bronx, NY Buckingham, Browne & Nichols, Saint Paul’s School, Concord, NH Rudolf Steiner School, New York, NY Cambridge, MA ○ Salisbury School, Salisbury, CT Rye Country Day School, Rye, NY Commonwealth School, Boston, MA • Stoneleigh-Burnham School, Greenfield, MA ○ St. Bernard’s School, New York, NY • Convent of the Sacred Heart, Suffield Academy, Suffield, CT ○ St. David’s School, New York, NY Greenwich, CT Tabor Academy, Marion, MA St. Luke’s School, New York, NY • Greenwich Academy, Greenwich, CT The Taft School, Watertown, CT • The Spence School, New York, NY The Lexington Christian Academy, Tilton School, Tilton, NH Staten Island Academy, Staten Island, NY Lexington, MA Westminster School, Simsbury, CT The Town School, New York, NY Noble and Greenough School, • Westover School, Middlebury, CT Trevor Day School, New York, NY Dedham, MA* The White Mountain School, Bethlehem, NH Boarding Schools: ○ The Roxbury Latin School, Wilbraham & Monson Academy, • Emma Willard School, Troy, NY West Roxbury, MA Wilbraham, MA Hackley School, Tarrytown, NY* St. Luke’s School, New Canaan, CT The Williston Northampton School, The Masters School, Dobbs Ferry, NY Thayer Academy, Braintree, MA Easthampton, MA Millbrook School, Millbrook, NY The Waring School, Beverly, MA Worcester Academy, Worcester, MA* Community School Programs: Member Schools Member • The Winsor School, Boston, MA Community School Programs: ○ Clinton A Better Chance, Clinton, NY Boarding Schools: ○ Amherst A Better Chance, Amherst, MA • Fayetteville-Manlius A Better Chance, ○ Avon Old Farms School, Avon, CT • Andover A Better Chance, Andover, MA Manlius, NY Berkshire School, Sheffield, MA • Darien A Better Chance, Darien, CT Mid-Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, PA, VA, WV, Brooks School, North Andover, MA ○ Glastonbury A Better Chance, Southern NJ) Buxton School, Williamstown, MA Glastonbury, CT Day Schools: The Cambridge School of Weston, Greylock A Better Chance, Williamstown, MA Abington Friends, Jenkintown, PA Weston, MA • Guilford A Better Chance, Guilford, CT • The Agnes Irwin School, Rosemont, PA Canterbury School, New Milford, CT ○ Longmeadow A Better Chance, • The Baldwin School, Bryn Mawr, PA ○ Cardigan Mountain School, Canaan, NH Longmeadow, MA The Bullis School, Potomac, MD Choate Rosemary Hall, Wallingford, CT ○ Madison A Better Chance, Madison, CT ○ Chestnut Hill Academy, Philadelphia, PA Concord Academy, Concord, MA ○ Masconomet A Better Chance, Topsfield, MA Country Day School of the Sacred Heart, Cushing Academy, Ashburnham, MA ○ New Canaan A Better Chance, Bryn Mawr, PA • Dana Hall School, Wellesley, MA New Canaan,CT Edmund Burke, Washington, DC Deerfield Academy, Deerfield, MA • Ridgefield A Better Chance, Ridgefield, CT Episcopal Academy, Merion, PA Dublin School, Dublin, NH ○ Simsbury A Better Chance, Simsbury, CT The Field School, Washington, DC ○ Eaglebrook School, Deerfield, MA • Wellesley A Better Chance, Wellesley, MA Friends’ Central School, Wynnewood, PA • The Ethel Walker School, Simsbury, CT ○ Westport A Better Chance, Westport, CT Friends Select School, Philadelphia, PA Fay School, Southborough, MA ○ Wilton A Better