What goes on behind the doors of America’s number one youth organization?  It’s the 8th largest charity in the U.S., has an annual revenue of $1.8 billion, employs a staff of over 50,000, and serves 4 million children every year.  If you haven’t guessed, I’m talking about the Boys & Girls Clubs of America – more specific to this podcast, the BGC of Truckee Meadows.

My guest this week, Steve Smith, has been a volunteer Board Member for the BGC of Truckee Meadows for 21 years.  In this podcast, Steve talks about the many ways in which the Club is impacting our local community — and not just the kids!  He also entertains us with a few stories about how the Club is successfully (and amazingly) run as an efficient business.  Learn answers to questions like… How much money does the Club raise each year, and how much is government funded?  What ingenious ways is the Club offering their facilities and services to the outside community to help subsidize their costs?  How much waste is there, given that this is a huge organization with so many moving parts?  How can the BGC be a model for other organizations – profit or not?

I think you’ll enjoy Steve’s behind-the-scenes look at the numbers, the ROI, and the real impact this organization is having on present and future generations.

What goes on behind the doors of America’s number one youth organization?  It’s the 8th largest charity in the U.S., has an annual revenue of $1.8 billion, employs a staff of over 50,000, and serves 4 million children every year.  If you haven’t guessed, I’m talking about the Boys & Girls Clubs of America – more specific to this podcast, the BGC of Truckee Meadows.

My guest this week, Steve Smith, has been a volunteer Board Member for the BGC of Truckee Meadows for 21 years. In this podcast, Steve talks about the many ways in which the Club is impacting our local community — and not just the kids!  He also entertains us with a few stories about how the Club is successfully (and amazingly) run as an efficient business.  Learn answers to questions like… How much money does the Club raise each year, and how much is government funded?  What ingenious ways is the Club offering their facilities and services to the outside community to help subsidize their costs?  How much waste is there, given that this is a huge organization with so many moving parts?  How can the BGC be a model for other organizations – profit or not?

I think you’ll enjoy Steve’s behind-the-scenes look at the numbers, the ROI, and the real impact this organization is having on present and future generations.

Some trivia that might surprise you about the Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows:

• There are 22 locations in Northern Nevada, serving kids from 6 to 18 years old
• The cost of an annual membership at the Club is $20; no child is ever turned away due to the inability to pay
• There is a waiting list of kids who want to work in the kitchen – cafeteria line, running the dishwasher, whatever — they love it so much
• The Club has a popular traveling basketball team called “The Ballers”
• It takes $3,000 to support a single child for one year
• The annual Cioppino Feed in Reno has been running for almost 40 years and raised nearly $1 million for the Boys & Girls Club this year
• The “Money Matters” program, backed by Charles Schwab, teaches kids in the Club about money management, compound interest, credit cards, investing, creating a budget, and more
• The Club compiles statistics on how well their programs and services are working, which they use to calculate an actual return on investment to present to donors and to the community
• With a fully-staffed and outfitted kitchen, the Club is vending meals to other childcare facilities to subsidize their costs
• The Club encourages and facilitates regular monthly donations in amounts as small as $10/month, making a real difference for the Club
• Around 100 people from the Reno community show up twice a week to play pickleball at the Club
• 21 years ago, the Club had an annual budget of about $800,000; the budget has since grown to $7,000,000

Some trivia that might surprise you about the Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows:

• There are 22 locations in Northern Nevada, serving kids from 6 to 18 years old
• The cost of an annual membership at the Club is $20; no child is ever turned away due to the inability to pay
• There is a waiting list of kids who want to work in the kitchen – cafeteria line, running the dishwasher, whatever — they love it so much
• The Club has a popular traveling basketball team called “The Ballers”
• It takes $3,000 to support a single child for one year
• The annual Cioppino Feed in Reno has been running for almost 40 years and raised nearly $1 million for the Boys & Girls Club this year
• The “Money Matters” program, backed by Charles Schwab, teaches kids in the Club about money management, compound interest, credit cards, investing, creating a budget, and more
• The Club compiles statistics on how well their programs and services are working, which they use to calculate an actual return on investment to present to donors and to the community
• With a fully-staffed and outfitted kitchen, the Club is vending meals to other childcare facilities to subsidize their costs
• The Club encourages and facilitates regular monthly donations in amounts as small as $10/month, making a real difference for the Club
• Around 100 people from the Reno community show up twice a week to play pickleball at the Club
• 21 years ago, the Club had an annual budget of about $800,000; the budget has since grown to $7,000,000

Listen to the Recording

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