CEO REPORT FOR JANUARY 2010
By Lowell Perry, Chief Executive Officer
JUMPING INTO JANUARY
I extend greeting s to you all, as we enter into a new year. 2010 promises to be another challenging year for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee as we seek to build on the momentum of a record year in 2009. We remain committed to doing what is necessary to take this business to scale and thereby better position this agency to serve more children and families well. As I mentioned this past December, while we served over 2500 children last year, it is estimated that there are in excess of 75,000 young people who would benefit from this program.
We are taking a conservative approach for the first half of this year to ensure we don’t run out too far in front of ourselves. Quality and safety of our matches remains a focus for 2010. It is imperative that we attract the requisite resources this year as well to maintain the growth curve to continue to reach more of those aforementioned 75,000 who would love to have a big brother or big sister.
With your help, we can do it over time. When we invest our time, talent and treasure in our kids, every single one of us benefits in the long run. The data support that the outcomes related to children and youth who come through our program has a direct impact on educational attainment opportunities, public safety, and healthier lifestyles for all. Yes we face many challenges but we can’t give in or give up. Are you all ready to keep this ball rolling?
Our program team kicked off the year with 74 new matches in January. 27 were Amachi matches. Although revenue for the month was $48,000 (32%) below projections, it was partly offset by the agency coming in $32,000 (14%) below budget. Most of the variation was due to timing of a grant we expected to receive in January that actually just came in this month (February).
TOP LEVEL BBBSMT PERFORMANCE METRICS
CATEGORY GOAL FOR 2010 STATUS AS OF 01/31/10
Unrestricted Revenue $2.79 million $99,434
Children Served 2803 1727
Total “open” matches – all 2026 1662
Total “new” matches made 1146 74
CB Matches
- 6 month retention 87% 92%
- 12 month retention 70% 69%
- Avg. match length 21 months 18.8 months
- Closure rate 21% 4%
- Match contact rate 94% 95%
SB Matches
- 6 month retention 85% 0%
- 12 month retention 42% 52%
- Avg. match length 13 months 10.8 months
- Closure rate 36% 3%
- Match contact rate 95% 93%
THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH
“Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work; you don’t give up.”
Anne Lamott
