Statements
Mission
Our mission is to expose youth to the business world through our experiential learning model, fostering the development of business literacy and leadership skills necessary to be more successful in school and in life.
Background
Creating an Environment of Success (CES), was established in 1992, to provide educational programs that offer entrepreneurial training and experience to youth. This program was created to provide underserved youth populations with opportunities to be exposed to principles that promote success. It provides youth from all communities with an engaged learning environment, that helps them develop a skill set that will give them a competitive edge as they consider their long term goals. Our flagship program, Youth About Business, is developing a new generation for leaders who are empowered by business knowledge to succeed in school and in life.
Impact
Today's environment is much more competitive than it was just a few years ago. Our flagship program, Youth About Business, and it's Leadership Development Program gives high school students from all backgrounds, especially those from underserved communities, exposure to the world of business through a stimulating and interactive program. Students who participate in YAB's programs boast a 98 percent high school graduation rate with many pursuing degrees at two- and four-year colleges, compared to a rate of 68 percent in some areas of the country. Based in Nashville, more than 250 high school students participate each year in our Summer Business Camp in Atlanta, Nashville, and New York City on the campuses of Emory University, Vanderbilt University, and Columbia University.
Enrolled students engage in a business competition performing merger and acquisition simulations. They are taught to research and analyze public companies, and are exposed to financial terminology which many are hearing for the first time. They are also challenged to think through their decisions and understand the strategy and due diligence necessary to determine and execute a feasible transaction.
During the camp, student teams assume the leadership of their assigned corporation by acting as the executive management committee. Each student team is advised by volunteer area professionals-including accountants, attorneys, investment bankers, and marketing specialists-who serve as business consultants to each team. The executives help students understand these very complex transactions, and give them guidance on the proper techniques used when negotiating a merger or acquisition.
During the fall, winter and spring, students and their families are invited to participate in monthly development programs aimed at building knowledge in areas such as generational wealth and personal development. During these sessions area professionals lead workshops aimed at continuously engaging the families and expanding their knowledge. More than 95% of our students qualify for some form of scholarship based on family income to cover the costs of the program.
Needs
Our most pressing needs are related to infrastructure to support the growing demand of the program.
1)Funding low income student scholarships - $5000/student
2)Staff hiring needs: hiring an office assistant - 40,000; hiring a COO - $104,000; hiring a Grant Writer - $50,000 ; hiring a CFO - $104,000; hiring a NY Director - $100,000.
3)Updating our website
4) Upgrading our technology and data management system
5)Enhancing our marketing tools and material marketing material
CEO Statement
Youth About Business is a leadership development program that provides high school students with: unmatched access to experienced industry executives in an immersive business learning environment, insuring that students have leadership skills to succeed in today's world of business. Youth About Business is unique in that it exposes youth to the mechanics of how to successfully conduct and run business operations. This is further accomplished by them having the opportunity while they are in high school to run their own training centers which operate as models of small businesses. It is reality that only 3% of them may go on to become business owners. But YAB provides hope and possibility. Those students that do not go on to become entrepreneurs will be better prepared for the workforce, thus increasing the quality of our future diversity workforce. Youth that might not have ever considered owning their own business can now see it as a possibility. So often we see our children depicted negatively on the news and in the papers. YAB was established because a group of concerned members of the community were tired of losing youth to jails, drugs, and death. We wanted to provide an avenue for youth to utilize their gifts and to train them to be leaders. Youth About Business does just that, and we remain committed to 'preparing tomorrow's leaders today'.
Board Chair Statement
A little more than a decade ago, Sam Kirk asked me to join him on a journey to save our children. Of course I agreed, and gladly accepted the challenge for three reasons: 1) I'm a parent and I understand the support that young people need in order to become successful; 2) I saw the value of the program and the long-term impact that it will have on the lives of young people; and 3). I believe in Sam Kirk. I've watched him make a commitment and sacrifice tirelessly to get Youth About Business to the place where it is now. When Youth About Business started over 27 years ago with a staff of 2 and 7 children, I had no idea that we would have served over 7,000 youth to date. We have achieved a 98% high school graduation rate and a 90% college attendance rate- which was nearly a miracle since some of the youth served by our program come from communities with an average graduation rate of only 50%. There have been trips to Wall Street made by our kids, and for some of our youth, it was the first time they have ever flown on an airplane or left their neighborhood. We now have executive support from some of the top business organizations in the country. This is pretty impressive when you consider the fact that there are over 1.9 million non-profit organizations and many don't survive beyond the first three years. YAB has survived and thrived during robust economic times and even during the drastic economic downturn we recently faced. This is only accomplished by faith, tenacity, and a lot of very hard work.
The keys ahead for our organization are executing the recently submitted strategic plan. Building our capacity and establishing a senior management team to support our Executive Director are two of the key priorities for the organization. Our ED will be re-positioned to the role of chief Fundraiser and we will work to build a quality senior management team to support our mission and vision for the organization. Your support will be greatly appreciated as we work to reach some of our most venerable students.
Service Categories |
|
| Primary Category: | Youth Development - Youth Development-Business |
| Secondary Category: | Education - Secondary & High Schools |
| Tertiary Category: | Youth Development - Youth Development Programs |
Areas Served
60% of our participants are from lower socioeconomic underserved neighborhoods. We are available to serve youth from across the state and plan to expand to other states.
| TN - Davidson |
| TN - Rutherford |
| TN - Sumner |
| TN - Williamson |
| TN |
