Annual Report
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CONNECTING TALENT WITH OPPORTUNITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT 1 Letter From Leadership 14 Staff News TABLE OF 2 Celebrating 15 Years 16 Program Evaluation 4 Student Highlights 17 Growth and Impact CONTENTS 6 Alumni Highlights 18 Statement of Activities 7 Corporate Highlights 20 Corporate Partners 8 YUPRO 22 Supporters 9 Press Highlights 36 Tribute Gifts 11 Influence in Action 38 Year Up Leadership 12 2014 By the Numbers 40 Sites Before I started Year Up I was a product of the streets. With proper guidance and support I am now a product of success. Andre Johnson Year Up Chicago Hiring Solutions Specialist, CareerBuilder DEAR FRIENDS | 1 As we reach the end of 2014, we are privileged to attending school full-time within four months DEAR look back on 15 years since we first embarked on of completing the program. The average wage the journey to close the Opportunity Divide. We’re earned by our graduates in their first job after proud to report great progress toward that goal, Year Up is now $16 per hour—$32,000 per year. FRIENDS and high expectations for the coming years. This is all possible because our young adults are A LETTER FROM When we first started Year Up in 2000, our dream the talent this country needs, they are the solution was that the program would one day grow to to the skills gap, and they are the future leaders LEADERSHIP serve 10,000 students. At the time, it seemed who will nurture and strengthen our families, our almost impossibly ambitious. But this year, Year communities and our country. Up reached that milestone—our 10,000th student came through our doors in September. We We’re inspired by these outcomes to expand celebrate the fact that so many young adults have our efforts to ensure that every young adult gained access to careers through Year Up’s model. has access to the education, experiences, and And we are inspired to build on this success, and guidance required to realize his or her true expand that same access for thousands more. potential. Even as we celebrate our 10,000th student, we know that about six million equally To that end, 2014 was a year of incredible talented, motivated young people remain cut momentum, starting in January when our program off from the economic mainstream, and that was highlighted by 60 Minutes. In the thousands employers need their talent to compete in the of inquiries we received following the exposure, global economy. We are setting ambitious goals we saw evidence of widespread recognition that for our next phase of growth, through which we Gerald Chertavian our young adults are the talent this country needs, will reach transformative scale and impact, and from corporate executives to community partners know that in the not-too-distant future we will to municipal leadership. And not long after, the serve 10,000 young adults every year. tremendous potential of Opportunity Youth as a talent pipeline was again in the spotlight through We know this kind of impact will truly change our support of the Ad Council “Grads of Life” the game for young adults, employers, and Public Service Announcement campaign, which communities. It is only possible with your reached tens of thousands across the nation. support, for which we are deeply grateful, and we hope you share with us the excitement of With a projected shortage of 12 million educated the path we are on, together, to close the workers in the next decade, the demand for high- Opportunity Divide. quality talent is strong. This year, in response to corporate partner needs, we developed three new custom training solutions that will prepare Gail Snowden our young adults for careers in risk management Gerald Chertavian and compliance, cyber security, and sales and Founder and CEO marketing—and help employers develop a new pipeline of talent in these fields. We look forward to expanding our portfolio of solutions in the future in close partnership with employers to meet Gail Snowden the increasing need for talent. Interim Chair, National Board of Directors Most importantly, our students continue to prove that when they have access to opportunity, they will make their own success. This year they Paul Salem achieved the highest success rates in Year Up’s Chair, National Board of Directors history, with 88% of graduates employed or Paul Salem 2 | ABOUT YEAR UP Former technology entrepreneur and Wall Now, we know the model works. In 2014, Street banker Gerald Chertavian founded 88% of our graduates were employed Year Up in 2000, with the audacious or attending school full-time within four goal of closing the Opportunity Divide months of completing the program, by providing urban young adults with and over 90% of our corporate partners the skills, experience, and support report that they would recommend that will empower them to reach their Year Up to a colleague or friend. Our potential through professional careers graduates’ success is a testament to the and higher education. Twenty-two brave, fact that social and economic justice motivated young adults walked through result in economic prosperity for our our doors in Boston, bringing a little faith young adults and employer partners alike. in an unproven program and a lot of determination to make the most of the There is much work to be done, however. opportunity. An estimated six million young adults in the United States are out of work, out Fifteen years later, we’ve come a long way of school, and without access to the toward making Gerald’s vision a reality. economic mainstream. At the same time, Year Up has now served over 10,000 12 million jobs requiring post-secondary young adults, creating pathways for education will go unfilled in the next them to take their places at companies decade, with “middle skill” jobs that our in 14 cities across the nation that badly students can fill constituting about half of need their talent. Our students spend all jobs. Closing the Opportunity Divide is Gerald and David, the ‘Little Brother’ who six months developing the technical, more crucial than ever. provided the inspiration for Year Up, professional, and communication skills employers look for in entry-level hires. in 1988. Then for the next six months, they put their skills to work at an internship with one of Year Up’s corporate partners. 500 total 1,000 students served total students served Year Up enrolls Year Up fills internships 50 first cohort of at its first 13 100 total Year Up Providence Corporate 22 students corporate partners students launches as the first Partners Year Up launches served site outside of Boston Year Up National Capital Region in Boston Year Up New York | | | | | | | | | 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 ABOUT YEAR UP | 3 With 15 years of proven success, we’ve Despite our demonstrated success and laid the groundwork for scaling our ambitious growth trajectory, we know Year Up’s Core Values efforts and achieving transformative that it still requires an act of bravery • Respect and value others impact. In the coming years, Year Up for each student to walk through the • Build trust; be honest will grow to serve 10,000 students front door on their first day of class. • Engage and embrace diversity annually. We will also continue to We’ll continue to honor that bravery by • Be accountable expand our investment in systems making sure that when they rise to the • Strive to learn change. We intend to shift the challenge of crossing the Opportunity • Work hard and have fun perception of urban young adults Divide, the door is open for them. to being economic assets, not social liabilities. At the same time, we aim to change employer practices for developing and sourcing talent and to support public policies that increase the number of effective pathways to careers for young adults. 300+ 10,000 Corporate total Partners students served 5,000 200 total Corporate students served Partners Year Up 1,000 100 Year Up Arizona total Corporate Year Up Bay Area - Year Up students served Partners Year Up Philadelphia Year Up South Florida Silicon Valley Jacksonville Year Up Puget Sound Year Up Baltimore Year Up Year Up Year Up National Capital Region Atlanta Bay Area Chicago Year Up New York | | | | | | | TITLE| | 21 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 I love the fact that I am working on a team where everyone does their part to help. Going forward, I plan to go to college, earn new certifications, and continue to be a good father. John Johnson Year Up National Capital Region Help Desk Analyst PriceWaterhouseCoopers Year Up reached and surpassed a Knowing this kind of success is STUDENT pivotal milestone in 2014: More than possible for many more young HIGHLIGHTS 10,000 young adults have been served adults, we continue to expand to new since our founding in 2000. locations and new industries. In 2014 we prepared for the launch of new The results for 2014 graduates were sites, in Jacksonville, FL and % our best yet, with 88% employed or 77 GRADUATION RATE Phoenix, AZ. We also piloted new attending school full-time within four technical tracks to prepare students months of completing the program, for jobs in Risk Management and and an average starting wage over $16 Compliance, Cyber Security, and per hour for those employed. And a Sales and Marketing. POSITIVE OUTCOMES growing proportion of our graduates % 88 job placement and/or college are finding jobs directly related to their enrollment for graduates Year Up technical training, which we know from previous studies improves their chances of long-term success.