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>View discussions about this entry Country: United States
Organization: Giants Community Fund
Sport: Baseball
Year the initative began (yyyy) 1994
Positioning in the Mosaic of solutions
What is your signature innovation, your new idea, in one sentence? Junior Giants goes far beyond free, non-competitive baseball instruction; it reaches the hearts of at-risk youth through unique initiatives in health, education and violence prevention.
Describe your innovation. What makes your idea unique and different than others doing work in the field? Junior Giants is a free program offering baseball instruction to underserved children living in the inner cities and outlying rural communities. By providing baseball equipment such as bats, balls, gloves and a player handbook, volunteer training and oversight all at no cost, Junior Giants leagues give children everything they need to enhance their fitness level, learn positive lessons and have fun. As a non-competitive program, Junior Giants leagues do not keep score, instead emphasizing principles like self-esteem, teamwork and scholarship over wins and losses for both participants and coaches alike. These principles are reinforced through the "Four Bases of Character Development: Confidence, Integrity, Teamwork and Leadership."
Over and above, the Fund has created programs with positive messages focusing on health, violence prevention and education. For example, the Round the Bases Reading Program encourages participants to read with their teammates during the summer months. Readers "travel around the bases" earning Giants branded incentives as they read more books to complete their scorecards. What are the existing barriers, the biggest problem, your innovation is hoping to address/change? Junior Giants was established with the purpose of providing youth with a meaningful partnership with thier local community-based organizations, as well as to change the mindset of young people to participate and better themselves on the baseball field instead of falling victim to the negative influences they may face on the streets.
Delivery Model: How do you implement your innovation and apply it to the challenge/problem you are addressing? The Junior Giants Program is administered in more than 75 different geographic regions through the efforts of Police Activities Leagues (PAL), Parks and Recreation Departments, Boys and Girls Clubs, YMCAs and caring community members, all of whom serve as the commissioners, coaches, umpires and mentors for the boys and girls who participate. Each organization uses the Junior Giants framework and philosophy for consistency, building upon the local organiztion's established connections with families in their neighborhoods.
How do you plan to grow your innovation? Since the inception of our program in 1994, our Junior Giants "brand" awareness has grown across three states. We now serve nearly 15,000 underserved children each year. Giants fans, donors and beneficiaries alike recognize Junior Giants as the team's most significant youth initiative and often designate donations specifically to benefit this program. These gifts allow for us to incorporate more cities and their youth each year. While Junior Giants relies on this form of giving, the program also encourages people to get involved as mentors, coaches, umpires or assistant coaches.
Provide one sentence describing your impact/intended impact. By offering at least 2 days a week of baseball to communities devoid of positive after-school and summer choices, Junior Giants continues to change lives.
What impact has your innovation had to date/or what is your intended impact? Exactly who are the beneficiaries? Without the Junior Giants Program more than 64% of our participants (9,480) would not be able to play organized baseball. Our non-fee program targets boys and girls ages 5-18 in moderate to low income families.
Please list any other measures reflective of the impact of your innovation? The impact of our innovation is clear in the number of new participants that enter the program each year. For example, nearly 46% of the 2007 players joined Junior Giants for the first time. We are also proud of our attention to market our baseball program to the female youth. Junior Giants now serves over 4,000 girls each season. Every year we hold a clinic structured around female participants and coaches alike.
What are the main barriers to creating or achieving your impact? As the Junior Giants program serves over 75 geographic locations within three states, the Community Fund relies on the help of community officials to administer the program. Therefore we must maintain open and clear lines of communication to assure that the program is running successfully. Geography can be a challenge, but we have ensured enough touchpoints for efficiency.
How is your initiative financed (or how do you expect your initiative will be financed)? As any other 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, we must hold innovative and successful fund raising events throughout the year to support our initiative. This includes: golf tournaments, memorabilia auctions, vehicle donations, luncheons, glove drives and corporate and individual donations.
If known, provide information on your finances and organization. Full-time Staff: 3
Part-time staff: 4 Volunteer Staff: 1800+ Fund Raising Events: 2007 Play Ball Luncheon 225,000 Exp.-Play Ball Luncheon (68,000) Net Fund Raising Revenue 646,100 Total Net Fund Raising Events and Donations 1,376,100 Interest Income 12,000 Junior Giants (700,000) Administrative Fees (150,000) Total Grants, Contributions and Operating Expense (1,608,000) What is the potential demand for your innovation? As mentioned above, the Junior Giants program continues to grow each season. Through that growth, the Community Fund has gained a reputation for innovation and integrity. On an ongoing basis, we are contacted by community organizations to inquire about applying for the program to serve their location. Junior Giants has also been the model program for other MLB teams. For example, the St. Louis Cardinals' Redbird Rookies and the Atlanta Braves' Little Braves were structured after the Junior Giants.
What are the main barriers to financial sustainability? Fundraising is always a challenge, as it is often for other non-profit organizations. Being a public charity (not a corporate foundation) we do not have a stream of income from the team. In fact, we are in competition for the same "fan dollar" as many sales ventures of the team. The Community Fund must concentrate our energy throughout the year on publicizing and selling our events to raise money for the Junior Giants program.
What is the origin of this innovation? Tell us your story. At a time when municipalities are eliminating youth activities and sports programs due to budget cuts, communities have been forced to become increasingly self-reliant, especially in providing support to their youngest and most vulnerable members – children. Therefore, in 1994 the Giants Community Fund Board of Directors decided to dedicate its efforts to create the Junior Giants Program as a positive alternative to gangs and drugs for at-risk youth.
Please provide a personal bio. Note this may be used in Changemakers marketing material. Sue Petersen was hired by the Giants in 1993 and has been Executive Director of the Giants Community Fund since 1995. She manages the team's public charity, including its community outreach, grant-making, fundraising, in-game ceremonies and special partnerships with businesses and community-based organizations. Sue has been a featured speaker at several Sports Philanthropy Project conferences and was recently profiled in both 7x7 Magazine and the San Francisco Business Times. A Bay Area native and UC Berkeley graduate, she began her career in the Diocese of Oakland schools and the San Francisco Education Fund.
Contact Information:
Sue Petersen
Executive Director Giants Community Fund (Non-Profit) Discussions about this entry |
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Junior Giants
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It sounds as if the Junior Giants have been a labor of love for you, Sue, ever since you joined the Giants Community Fund in the early Nineties. I'm sure that if all of the time that you've devoted to the Junior Giants had been compensated, you'd be very rich now. Instead, you've accrued a different sort of wealth, that which comes from having brought to life such a successful program.
I'm curious--since you serve seventy-five different communities in three states, would the Junior Giants qualify for funding from Major League Baseball itself and not just from the Giants team? You're clearly doing more than merely serving the Bay Area, and that would seem to make you eligible for assistance from the League Association itself.
Steve Byars
Marshall School of Business
University of Southern California