Ninetenths
NineTenths (formerly known as “Young Professionals of Los Angeles”) was a group of young professionals that supported innovative education related organizations in Los Angeles between 2000-2008. The group began in 2000 when a group of friends in Los Angeles found themselves thrust into highly specialized professional careers. Although they had been active in their communities while in school, they found their schedules rigid and their access to a collaborative volunteer infrastructure limited. Additionally, they quickly realized they were gaining professional expertise that could be of value to community organizations. Seeking a way to leverage their resources on behalf of the Los Angles community while nurturing their own strengths as future leaders, they founded NineTenths, a highly selective group of young leaders across professional disciplines, from attorneys to artists to financial advisors, who collaboratively ran a slate of practical programs dedicated to supporting innovative education related organization in Los Angeles.
NineTenths engaged two education-related community organizations from 2000-2008, The Inner City Education Foundation (“ICEF”) and School on Wheels (“SOW”). In each of these engagements, members executed the NineTenths five-step process for community initiatives:
1. Choose a pressing area of need in the Los Angeles community;
2. Leverage research, networks, and the networks of our advisory board and past speakers to identify the most innovative nonprofit or community organization working to fill that need;
3. After choosing an organization to partner with, establish a framework for collaboration, including defining what needs NineTenths can fill for the organization, establishing a timeline and goals for filling those needs, and setting the metrics for measuring progress towards those goals;
4. Marshal the professional and personal resources of NineTenths and its members to meet those goals, including via volunteering, pro bono professional services, strategic alliance building, etc.; and
5. With the goals met over a pre-determined time period, we dedicate NineTenths’ funds raised by members to honor and promote the programs of the chosen innovator and to announce the successes of the collaboration.
Both ICEF and SOW benefited tremendously from the support and hard work of NineTenths and have continued their successes as leaders of the L.A. Community today. In addition to professional services and support provided by members, NineTenths raised over $150,000 for these organizations.
In addition to supporting promising local community organizations, NineTenths hosted almost forty speaker series events in a collaborative forum where community leaders shared their life experiences and offered practical advice on how best to impact local communities. This speaker series included John Anderson, Founder & Chairman of Topa Equities, the Hon. Frank Baxter, Former Chairman of Jeffries and Ambassador to Uruguay, William J. Bratton, Chief of Police for the City of Los Angeles, the Hon. Eric Garcetti, President of the Los Angeles City Council, and the Hon. Henry Waxman, Congressman, 30th District (California).
By 2008, the members of NineTenths had grown into senior leadership roles within their own organizations and had taken on new challenges on Boards and other community service engagements in Los Angeles. Former members of NineTenths continue to support innovative Los Angeles-based education organizations today and recently raised over $20,000 for a new charter school in Carson, California, the New Millennium Secondary School, which was founded by a former NineTenths Executive Director.
Case Study: Innercity Education Foundation of Los Angeles
“NineTenths engaged ICEF at a critical growth phase, providing contacts throughout Los Angeles and adding value through aggregating their group’s collective efforts and resources.”
– Mike Piscal, CEO, ICEF
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
A key differentiator of NineTenths from many other young professional organizations is our leadership in, and firm commitment to, public service. Core in our values is the betterment of the community in which we live.
NineTenths partners with not-for-profit entities that share our goals of leadership, growth through education, and the betterment of our community. Our aim is to provide innovative strategies, tools, and support from the private sector to address the challenges and opportunities facing nonprofit organizations.
“NineTenths set a standard for community service group involvement by coordinating numerous service offerings that reflected and effectively leveraged the variety of talents within its membership base.” – Bruce King, Principal, View Park Prep Charter Elementary School
NineTenths’ first community partner was the Inner City Education Foundation (ICEF), a leader in academic reform in Los Angeles. Through a two-and-half-year partnership, NineTenths helped ICEF grow from a single-school, start-up operation to an established, highly regarded institution in the education world: all three ICEF schools (elementary, middle, and high schools) are now ranked #1 in South Los Angeles per California Academic Performance Index. All facilities in the View Park Prep family are located in the View Park / Crenshaw area of South Los Angeles.
THIS IS HOW WE HELPED:
Advisory Services to the “Foundation”
“NineTenths has been instrumental in providing relevant outside resources to enhance our educational mission of preparing at-risk youth in South Los Angeles for success at the nation’s top colleges and universities.” – John Piscal, Chief Development Officer, ICEF
Through its members, NineTenths has provided a wide range of private sector expertise to the “foundation” / administration members of ICEF, including, but not limited to: legal, public relations, operations, strategic planning and fundraising.
- Strategic planning – We helped ICEF develop a three-year business plan to focus and attain its educational mission.
- Consulting. We provided a range of advice on best practices to improve organizational efficiency, including a detailed Board composition analysis.
- Marketing Automation – We implemented and trained on a relationship management system that enables consistent and complementary points of contacts with ICEF’s various constituencies.
- Grants and proposals assistance – We provided extensive grant writing work on the various foundation grant proposals, which were all submitted for consideration.
- Branding – We identified and executed on a strategic branding initiative, leading to a new logo and brand image (as seen on prior page) and enhanced web presence.
- Real estate advisory – We assisted in the research and review of potential new school sites and locations, including background, parcel locations, and related development opportunities.
- Public Relations – We leveraged our network in the media and actively spread the word about ICEF success, including a Los Angeles Times feature article on ICEF in 2005.
“NineTenths aided our PR and Communications efforts by tapping personal relationships and making personal introductions to an LA Times Education staff writer. This introduction led directly to a California section, front page article (February 6, 2005) about the successful run of the View Park Prep educational model in South Los Angeles. – Kadar Lewis, Director of Communications, ICEF
Unique Educational Experiences for the Student Body
In addition to the strategic and operational advisory services provided, we also developed and promoted hands-on, innovative programs that extol the values of personal development and leadership to the students at ICEF. We believe these values are foundational in youth achievement, and through our programs have brought a unique, applicable, real-world perspective to the student body.
Tuesdays at the View – We worked with the administration and faculty to send a contingent of 4-5 NineTenths members to View Park Elementary School every other Tuesday morning to help the 1st-5th grade students in a variety of education, learning, and developmental activities.
- Art and Theatre Programs – We led an 8-week playwriting workshop culminating in the submission of work to the California Young Playwrights Context. We reviewed the structure of plays and used A Raisin in the Sun as a model of story structure. Each student came with their own story ideas, and developed them into at least 10 pages of a play.
- Riordan Scholars Program – We introduced ICEF to an outreach program at UCLA targeting high-school students who are interested in developing business and leadership skills. Since the inception of NineTenths’ engagement with ICEF, 15 students have been accepted into the Riordan Scholars program from View Park Prep High School, the highest acceptance rate in the city.
- Real Math – We created a series of case studies that demonstrated the importance of mathematics in the real world. The case studies are designed for 9th grade algebra students, and are based on "real world" problems. Our members presented the cases to students, delivering the message that successful leaders combine excellent math skills with good judgment.
- College Preparatory and Assistance – We developed programs for both one-on-one and group tutoring -
o We secured free SAT II curriculum for the entire school for the foreseeable future. o We locked in the author of the SAT II curriculum to teach three classes to the student body over summer of 2005. o We donated an overall value in surplus of $50,000 of study materials to ICEF.
- Speaker Series – We hosted a series of speaker events at ICEF that focused on the importance of a college education and what it can do for students. Our inaugural speaker was Dr. Michael Jackson, Vice President for Student Affairs, USC.
Financial Support
Every NineTenths’ community engagement culminates in a marquee fundraising event to benefit its partner organization and celebrate the successes of the collaboration. In our inaugural event for ICEF, we celebrated our two and half years of work and brought together NineTenths’ network, membership, and corporate relationships to support our legacy program at ICEF: the NineTenths College Center. The event served as a high-level networking opportunity and community-focused philanthropic event.
SOW Case Study
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
A key differentiator of NineTenths from many other young professional organizations is our leadership in, and firm commitment to, public service. Core in our values is the betterment of the community in which we live.
NineTenths partners with not-for-profit entities that share our goals of leadership, growth through education, and the betterment of our community. Our aim is to provide innovative strategies, tools, and support from the private sector to address the challenges and opportunities facing nonprofit organizations.
“NineTenths was an inspiration to all of us at School on Wheels. This group of young people understood the value of education and were willing to offer their time, energy and skills toward our ultimate goal of helping our homeless students, kindergarten through twelfth grade, receive an education.” – Agnes Stevens, Founder & Executive Director, SOW
One of NineTenths’ partners was School on Wheels (SOW), a community leader in academic assist children in the homeless shelter system in Los Angeles to receive better educational services. SOW was founded in 1993 as a tool to assist children in the homeless shelter system in Los Angeles to receive better educational services. Oprah Winfrey, in recognizing School On Wheels in its Oprah’s Angel Network, described that “SOW isn't a vehicle, it's a team of trained volunteers who individually go into shelters to tutor children, encourage public school enrollment, and advocate for transient children.” Through a one-year partnership, NineTenths helped SOW define and gain progress toward a long-term sustainable operating platform.
THIS IS HOW WE HELPED:
Strategic Advisory Services to the Administration
“The diverse skill sets of NineTenths’ members provided strategic assistance to us at a time when we were focused on operational elements. This allowed us to focus on our vision of innovation and creativity in helping homeless students.” – Catherine Meek, President of the Board, SOW
NineTenths addressed two critical issues for SOW: 1) finding a consistent source of funding, and 2) identifying additional tutors that are qualified and reliable.
SOW operates with private donations making up 100% of its revenues. NineTenths recommended diversifying SOW's revenue sources by applying for federal funding, with SOW is eligible for. Organizations operating solely on private donations are at risk for sustainability, as philanthropic funding is difficult to obtain in down economies, and most philanthropic organizations want to see a sustainable source of funding as a condition for giving. NineTenths identified new funding sources available to SOW, both in State and Federal programs.
The second major hurdle for SOW is the constant need to identify and recruit reliable and qualified tutors. SOW's current business model relies on tutors to volunteer their time and services. Volunteer tutors are not paid and must pass a background check, which they must pay for their own fingerprint process. The lack of compensation has made it difficult for SOW to attract and retain tutors. Another obstacle is the noticeable proximity gap between tutors and homeless children. Most qualified and reliable tutors are located in middle-class and affluent neighborhoods, while most homeless children in need of services are located in poor, crime-ridden neighborhoods. Many tutors face a 30-45 minute commute, each way, to tutor a child one to two times a week. The actual work is very satisfying for the volunteer tutors, but the commute back and forth, combined with no compensation, has led to a systematic problem of too few tutors given the need.
NineTenths recommended compensating tutors, which would require significant additional funding. The funding increase would most likely have to come from public funds. The second recommendation was for SOW to approach colleges and universities about making tutoring a class requirement for education and social work majors in order create a reliable volunteer tutor base.
While SOW chose not to pursue public funding in order to remain a privately funded charity, this strategy remains pertinent and viable for other similarly situated organizations.
Operating and Planning Advisory Services to the Administration
In addition to addressing funding and tutor needs, NineTenths provided a wide range of private sector expertise to SOW’s administrative staff:
• Branding o Conducted multiple branding strategy meetings and drafted a branding strategy on behalf of SOW o Worked with SOW to edit and revise SOW mission statement, marketing pitch, and other documents related to branding • Advisory Board Assistance o Provided board composition analysis o Reviewed board composition and re-defined board strategy o Conducted board and management survey o Introduced and several new members to the board • Strategic Plan o Reviewed and advised on SOW’s existing strategic plan o Using input from board surveys and leveraging NineTenths expertise, provided input for new two year strategic plan o Assisted in assessing locations for SOW’s South LA facility • Finance/Accounting o Created a financial strategy plan for SOW o Provided a three year profit and loss comparison, statistical growth projections, and pro forma budgeting models • Information Technology o Assisted in the updating of SOW’s website including design, site mapping, and content o Provided a database and technology risk mitigation plan o Provided technical expertise with the upgrading of computers and installation of key software products to provide maximum functionality o Donated of computer hardware o Assisted with network configuration
Tutor Recruiting and Volunteering
“NineTenths took the time to really understand the spirit of what we do at School on Wheels. Many of the members spent time with our homeless students during special events and at our Downtown Learning Center. They saw firsthand the effect positive role models can have on our kids.” – Matt Rabb, Program Leader, SOW
In addition to the strategic and operational advisory services provided to SOW’s administrative staff, we also developed and promoted a tutor recruitment strategy on behalf of SOW, a major challenge according to our strategic assessment. In addition, members of NineTenths regularly contributed personal time as tutors at SOW sites. We believe these values are at the foundation of the mission of SOW, and it is important we participate in the “core” activities that define our community partners in addition to advisory services on “managing” those activities.
Financial Support
“NineTenths’ members contributed to our fundraising efforts by pursuing, supporting and championing us within their own corporate organizations. I do not believe we would have received the funds without their assistance.” – Catherine Meek, President of the Board, SOW
While part of NineTenths’ model is to provide a platform for emerging leaders to give back to their community beyond financial means, every NineTenths’ community engagement culminates in a fundraising drive to benefit its partner organization and celebrate the successes of the collaboration. While in the past we have held fundraising events, for SOW we decided to celebrate our work by forgoing the fundraiser and instead pursue alternative routes to fulfill our fundraising objectives.
Our marquee success was a $32,000 grant our members obtained from Silicon Valley-based Internet company Yahoo! Inc., which has a significant presence in Los Angeles.
We also introduced and facilitated donations from new corporate and private donors, and introduced SOW to the LA City Council and LAUSD for purposes of exposure and funding opportunities.
Media / PR and Other Support
Recognizing SOW’s mission as pro bono publica, NineTenths worked with SOW to optimize the public awareness, knowledge and recognition of SOW. Specifically, we:
• Created a media relations plan on behalf of SOW • Introduced SOW to various media outlets for purposes of exposure o Introduced and facilitated an interview of SOW with NPR (Sandra) o Produced a digital short telling the story of Agnes Stevens in support of her nomination for the Children’s Nobel Prize
In addition, we contributed various ideas and activities made possible exclusively by NineTenths’ members.
• Organized a private screening of Shrek the Third for SOW on 5/19/07 care of Paramount Pictures • Donated tickets to special events including tickets for SOW’s tutors/students to a Los Angeles Clippers game • Donated nutritional goods to SOW participants • Provided various pro-bono services including legal, PR, marketing, and real estate related services • Donated holiday baskets with gifts for SOW staff. • Introduced SOW to leadership of the Los Angeles Archdioceses to support Agnes Steven’s nomination for global award.