YBBBS Annual Report 2023

OUR MISSION IN ACTION

ON THE COVER

Bigs Sierra and Belle share thoughts on their match: “Being Solei’s Bigs means the world to us. We get to put everything else aside for a few hours to invest our time in mentoring an incredible kid, showing her that her dreams are worth chasing, and reminding her how great she is. What YBBBS provides is an invaluable experience and we are thankful to be a part of it.”

Bigs Sierra and Belle enjoy a day at the zoo with Little Sister Solei

Still going strong: Big Tusanne and her Little Cordeli were matched in 2020, left, and enjoyed an NAZ Wranglers game in 2023, at right.

A Message from our Executive Director

Since the pandemic, we have strategically shifted focus to include serving youth up to age 24 in our programming with intentionally added components to address needs expressed by our community and our constituency.

Even before the world changed overnight, we knew we needed to continue serving our amazing communities while innovating, updating, and continually assessing relevance in the way we conduct our mission.

In 2021, we had a vision of soaring above the clouds with intentional, meaningful, professionally supported mentoring relationships.

In 2022, we worked hard to lay the “runway,” plan the flight path, and train our “pilots” to take YBBBS to new heights. And in 2023, we got the wind beneath our wings, and ran our first test flights!

These new programs, or “test flights” included efforts in:

• Our signature Workforce Development Program: Big Futures

• Expansion of program service age to 24

• Creation of the Darla DeVille Luau Fund

• An agency reorganization

• Investment in professional development of our Board, Staff, and Volunteers

• Internal capacity building support such as automating operations and technology efficiencies

• Deepening relationships in the community

• Re-envisioning how we have done business and will need to into the future

We worked to best understand what support was needed to ensure the creation of long-time relationships, matches that have a well-crafted quality as well as the resiliency to thrive in these testing times. This past year set us up to really explore how we will serve going into the future, and what adjustments need be made to ensure our launch, flight and landings are making the mark.

We are grateful beyond expression to the many supporters who waited in the security lines, boarded our metaphoric planes, buckled up, and are now sharing the journey. The destination can only be attained when any Yavapai Count youth who wants one is paired with a mentor, collectively ALLOWING EVERYONE TO ACHIEVE THEIR FULL POTENTIAL!

Erin Mabery Executive Director

Big Sister Deborah and Little Sister Marlena take a selfie to celebrate receiving their five-year match certificate

About Our Program

Serving as Program Director for Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters has been an invaluable experience. I began my career with the agency as a match advisor in 2019 and have witnessed continual growth internally and externally. My experience here has helped me understand how crucial mentoring is for the youth in our community and our future leaders of America. Without always being aware, we are influenced by mentors throughout our life. Our agency creates a structure for mentorship that is intentional and professional.

In 2023, we made strides to improve the outcomes at our agency. The first change that we implemented was expanding our services to serve youth up to the age of 24-years-old.

We noticed a need to offer support for this age group and we now serve 20 youth in the community who are over 18. Our support includes relationship support, community resources, goal setting, community connections and monthly Big Futures workshops. Our monthly workshops are the second change that we included to better serve the community. These monthly workshops teach soft skills to youth to equip them for their future. We believe that these skills can be a tool for them to reach their “Big Future.”

The third thing that I want to share is our growth towards quality. Our professional staff has received external and internal coaching/training to enhance the professional skills needed to create and sustain long-term quality mentoring relationships. Our agency has created a program team that examines each program function with a quality lens while continuing to keep safety a first priority.

Lastly, I want to thank our mentors for the work that they are doing each day. Our vision is that mentoring allows everyone to achieve their full potential. Without our volunteers, this wouldn’t be possible. Our staff, families, and community members thank you for being a part of the difference that we are making each day.

Chandra Williams Program Director

Big Futures

Big Futures is a career-oriented program specifically tailored for young people up to the age of 24, aimed at equipping them with essential skills and knowledge required as they transition into the workforce, all under the guidance of their Big Brother or Sister.

The program’s focus over the last six months has been centered on its expansion and an in-depth exploration of soft skills vital for success in the workplace.

The Big Futures program is designed to bridge the gap between education and employment, offering our Littles an opportunity to learn, practice, and apply skills that go beyond traditional academic learning. The mentorship component of the program provides invaluable guidance, helping our Littles navigate the complexities of the job market and make informed career choices.

Moreover, the program’s exploration of soft skills recognizes the importance of attributes such as communication, confidence, understanding who they are physically and mentally, and problemsolving in today’s workplace. By focusing on these competencies, Big Futures is not only preparing our young people for employment but also helping them thrive in their chosen careers.

Additionally, Big Futures acknowledges the pivotal role the Bigs play in shaping the career trajectories of our Littles. Recognizing that mentors are a significant piece for the program, Big Futures aims to empower them with tools and resources to better support their Little in reaching their desired outcomes, fostering a collaborative and effective mentorship dynamic.

Big Futures has made notable strides in the past six months by expanding its reach and delving deeper into the development of essential soft skills. This program serves as a valuable resource for young individuals looking to enter the workforce, offering guidance and the practical skills necessary for a successful career transition.

Big

Laine Paglia Program Administrator

How We Do It: Financial Report

Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters powers its mentoring mission through Community and Foundation Giving, Grants and Fundraising Events.

Highlights from our IRS 990

Total Income: $1,248,754

Total Expenses: $1,206,780

Net Assets: $1,453,100

For a full financial report, the agency’s latest 990 is available at azbigs.org.

2023 Notable Numbers

• More than $76,000 raised through generous Tax Credit contributions.

• Over $67,000 raised during the Mariano Golf Tournament.

• The goal of $85,000 was exceeded during Bowl For Kids’ Sake with nearly $92,000 raised.

• Over $200,000 in grants were received.

• Community giving reached over $587,000.

OUR OUTCOMES

92% of mentored youth kept or created plans for high school graduation and beyond 85% of mentored youth stayed on track with or improved their grades

84% of mentored youth remained stable or improved with depressive symptoms

75% of mentored youth kept strong or increased sense of family connectedness

Donor Relations & Development

Hello! My name is Heather Seets and I am the new Donor Relations Director for Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters. I am a Prescott, Arizona native and I am honored to be able to give back to my community through my career.

The YBBBS Development Team has a big year planned and we have set our goals higher than ever! We plan to continue our fundraising efforts through our annual Bowl for Kids’ Sake event that takes place in both Prescott and Camp Verde and we are currently planning our 2024 Annual Gala that will be bigger and better than ever!

We continue to build our grant and foundation dollars by applying to organizations that support our mission and wish to see us continue to grow.

In addition to our traditional fundraising events, the YBBBS Development Team is reaching out in new and innovative ways. We are building strong relationships in the community that lead us to deeper conversations about community involvement, financial giving and legacy planning. Not only are we continuing to build on the extremely strong relationships we have had for decades, but we are also welcoming people new to Yavapai County to become a part of YBBBS.

I firmly believe we will exceed our financial expectations in the upcoming year and I thank you for your part in that! Together, we will “create and professionally support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the promise in us all.”

Heather Seets Donor Relations Director

Bowl For Kids’ Sake 2023: Let the Good Times Roll

The 2023 Gala: Follow the Call of the Disco Ball!

Communications & Marketing

Did you know that 1-in-3 young people in America are currently growing up without a sustained adult mentor in their life?

As part of the national organization of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, YBBBS often adopts their unifying branding campaign standards like “It Takes Little To Be Big,” launched in 2023.

This campaign was designed to overcome two of the biggest reasons cited as barriers to becoming involved in our mission: Time and a perceived burden of mentorship.

We highlight that 10 minutes over some coffee or a pizza can literally last a lifetime. Playing ball can be a game changer for a young person. You don’t need to invest hours of your life to be the mentor who sparks a light within local youth.

Our program is proven to create positive youth outcomes including educational success, higher aspirations, greater confidence and improved relationships. Through branding and promotion, we can show potential Bigs, Littles, Donors and others that getting involved and invested in our organization doesn’t need to be overwhelming.

Visit azbigs.org for more information and follow us at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Robin Layton Communications & Marketing Director

Outreach & Community Partnerships

Outreach through community events, social media, radio, print media and mail, TV, email and more keep the YBBBS Mission connected to our communities from Prescott to Dewey to Prescott Valley to Chino Valley to Paulden to Cottonwood to Clarkdale to Camp Verde to Sedona.

With over 240,000 Yavapai County residents, YBBBS couldn’t reach across our large service area without the help of our partners:

The Daily Courier

The Verde Independent Prescott Woman Magazine

Arizona’s Hometown Radio Group

Yavapai Broadcasting KNAU Sparklight Signals

Prescott e-News Sedona Wish List

Our reach and where you can find us

Agency Website

azbigs.org

7.5K users in 2023

OUR MISSION IN ACTION

The BIG App

Resources for guardians, youth & Bigs 365 downloads in 2023

Social Media

Facebook: 1,900 Followers

LinkedIn: 458 Connections

Instagram: 389 Followers

Twitter (X): 408 Followers

YouTube: Check out our agency videos!

Big Heather and Little Elina were matched during the pandemic. Now they do activities at the library and they participate in a STEM group.

The Darla DeVille Luau Fund

Darla DeVille, APS Community Affairs Manager, walked into the Hassayampa Inn on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023, to a colorful display of leis, Hawaiian shirts, and chants of “Darla, Darla, Darla!”

The surprise party, hosted by Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters and sponsored by APS and the Hassayampa Inn, honored DeVille’s over-10 year commitment to Yavapai County. Nearly 100 family, friends, and community members from government, business, private, and nonprofit agencies joined the event.

The party also kicked off the creation of the Darla DeVille Luau fund. This fund will be used to support the Bigs and Littles of Yavapai County at an annual Darla DeVille Luau. “This event will continue to reflect DeVille’s spirit of Aloha as a time for our Matches to come together to celebrate the power of mentoring and the exciting futures of our Littles,” shared Erin Mabery, Executive Director of YBBBS.

“We are so grateful for the support of our community and their recognition of Darla’s impact on our county. We will share a portion of the Luau fund donations from this event with our sister affiliate in Maui, HI, as they rebuild their community after the devastating wildfires. Going forward, this fund will support our Big and Little luaus each year for both sides of the Mingus – as Darla would say

– and we look forward to spreading the Aloha spirit right here in Yavapai County.”

DeVille, past chairperson of the YBBBS board, was honored with emotional speeches, and Hawaiian-themed food, and was treated to a special dance by Big Brother and YBBBS board member, Eric Costanios.

“The spirit of Aloha is alive and well in Yavapai County,” said DeVille. “It is in the true spirit of Aloha that we care for one another and the youth of our community …Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters supports the entire county and partners with so very many other agencies and businesses. We are big, professional, intentional, and meaningful! A new fund honoring that spirit of Aloha is extremely humbling and we hope our community and beyond embraces the spirit of Aloha and gives with their heart.”

“For everyone who attended, it was moving to hear your memories and kind words. In her time at APS, Darla has touched every nonprofit, municipality, and more across our vast county. And I think she was right in saying that the praise showered on her reflects our community’s generosity,” said Mabery.

Another source of income to support our mission comes from the clothing donation bins you may see around the county. The donated items go to a SAVERS Phoenix storefront and YBBBS receives about $36K annually from the resold donations.

Your business or organization can defend and inspire the potential in the youth of Yavapai County by placing a Big Brothers Big Sisters Clothing Donation Bin on your property.

We will provide:

• On-site bin placement

• Weekly pick-up

• Bin maintenance

• Professional appearance

Partners provide:

• Approved bin location

• Promotion of location

Local Matches like Big Bro Ron and Little Bro Gage, below, benefit from your generosity that helps us fund our professionally supported one-to-one mentoring services for local young people.

SAVERS Clothing Donation Bin Partnerships

Prescott Fry’s, 3198 Willow Creek Road

YBBBS offfice, 3208 Lakeside Village Drive

Taylor Hicks Elementary, 1845 Campbell Ave.

Natural Grocers, 1470 Gail Gardner Way

Wal-Mart, 1280 Gail Gardner Way

True Value Hardware, 846 Miller Valley Road

CVS, 506 N. Miller Valley Road

Mountaintop Christian Fwsp, 1519 W. Gurley St.

Bennett Glass, 722 E. Sheldon St.

Prescott Adult Center, 1280 E. Rosser St.

Lowe’s, 2300 Rt. 69

Fox & Bear Trading Post, 3250 Gateway Blvd.

Petsmart, 3911 Rt. 69

Former DAV building, 730 5th St.

YT Gospel Rescue Mission, 602 Lincoln Ave.

CCJ Thrift Store, 531 Madison Ave.

Community Pregnancy Center, 1124 E. Gurley St.

Disabled American Veterans, 400 W. Gurley St.

Prescott Valley

Ace Valley Hardware, 7211 1st St.

Chino Valley

Depot 89, 23050 Rt. 89

Farmers Insurance, 1496 Rt. 89

Chino Valley High School, 70 E. Center St.

Realty One Group Mountain Desert, 1689 Rt. 89

Cottonwood/Clarkdale

CVS, 1179 Rt. 260

Twice Nice, 297 S. Main St.

House of Ruth, 280 S. Main St.

Living Waters, 1380 E. Mingus Ave.

House of Ruth, 1198 E. Mingus Ave.

Clarkdale-Jerome Elementary, 1615 Main St.

St. Vincent’s De Paul, 825 W. Mingus Ave.

Sedona

Cultural Park, 74 Cultural Park Lane

Sedona Recycles, 2280 Shelby Drive

Paw Prints, 2081 Rt. 89A

Twice Nice, 110 Airport Rd.

Paw Prints, 6040, Rt.179

Camp Verde

Twice Nice, 527 S. Main St.

MATFORCE, 600 S. 1st St.

New River

New River Elementary, 48827 Black Canyon Hwy.

Social Enterprise

YBBBS is nationally accredited as a Service Enterprise, recognizing its exemplary volunteer practices

Service Enterprise accreditation signifies that organizations have the capability and management expertise to strategically use volunteers to improve the performance of their organization.

The value of the Service Enterprise Initiative in a changing volunteer landscape:

Between 2021 and 2022, Americans contributed an estimated total of 4.1 billion hours of labor as volunteers. This equates to a value of $122.9 billion from volunteer work alone. Yet, despite these seemingly high numbers the facts are clear: fewer Americans are volunteering and, of those who are, they are volunteering less. In an age of declining volunteer rates among service organizations, nonprofits across the country are working to reach their full potential with a smaller number of volunteers.

“Utilizing the SEI model and framework, we can monitor and track any changes to reflect how

we are serving our communities, identify when we need to change how we can better support and recognize our volunteers, and celebrate achievements against this rubric. This framework is timeless and can be used for many years to come,” said Erin Mabery, YBBBS Executive Director.

For every $1 invested in effective volunteer engagement, organizations can expect $3-$6 in return through more effective program delivery. Service Enterprises are significantly more adaptable, sustainable and better resourced to do their work.

YBBBS passed every level of evaluation:

LEADERSHIP INVOLVEMENT PLANNING

FUNDING & RESOURCE ALLOCATION TECHNOLOGY

RECRUITMENT & CULTIVATION ONBOARDING

SUPERVISION & SUPPORT TRAINING

TRACKING & EVALUATION COMMUNICATION

GROWTH & CHANGE COLLABORATION

Our Board

A Message from Chairperson Wendy Ross

As the Director of Human Resources and Risk Management for Yavapai County, I know first hand the power of mentoring and how it impacts performance in the workplace.

Here at Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters, our Mission is to create and professionally support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the promise in us all.

Whether you are the mentor or the mentee, there is something powerful, and something to be learned by all involved.

I’m excited about all that we have accomplished this past year, but am particularly proud of our Big Futures program, which is a career-focused series designed to help youth from 6th grade up to age 24 gain knowledge of skills they need as the enter the workforce.

Monthly workshops with topics such as Work Ethics, Communication Skills, Confidence and more are being offered to mentor support our youth, now and into the future.

I’m also very proud of the professionalism of the staff of YBBBS, who take great care to provide professional, meaningful and intentional matches, as well as ongoing support, to ensure quality, lasting relationships between Bigs and Littles.

I’m so appreciative of the community support we receive – whether it is at our Annual Gala, Bowl For Kids’ Sake or through AZ Tax Credit donations.

We know we can’t do what we do without the enduring support from our donors! As we look forward into 2024 and beyond, we are dedicated to continue to provide professional, intentional and meaningful mentoring to the youth of Yavapai County!

THE CURRENT BOARD

Wendy Ross, Chairperson Yavapai County Director of HR

Veronica Aguilera, Vice Chairperson Wisepath Financial Group

Jonathan Knight, Treasurer Desert Financial Credit Union

Toni Jarnagin, Secretary Tech Data/Synnex

Tricia Lewis City of Cottonwood & T&E Development Director

Sherri Pimental Servicemaster of Prescott

Matt Brassard Owner, Matt’s Saloon

Eric Costanios

VA Bob Stump Medical Center

Darla Deville, Past Chairperson APS

The outgoing chairperson, Darla DeVille, APS, passed the gavel to Wendy Ross, Yavapai County, at the June 2023 meeting of the YBBBS board. Big

Wendy Ross YBBBS Board Chair

We extend our gratitude to our community partners for ensuring our continuing Mission

Mr. & Mrs. Perry Massie

Mr. Don Pence

Ms. Barbara Mariano

Isabel Arnone

Mr. & Mrs. Larry Plaster

Advanced Coatings

Allan’s Flowers

Allegra Marketing Print and Mail

Amazon Distribution Center

Arizona Community Foundation

Arizona Diamondbacks

Arizona Public Service

Arizona Ranch and Resort Cars

Arizona’s Hometown Radio Group

Beck Legacy Group

Big O Tires

Black Bear Diner

CAFMA Firefighter Charities

Canyon AeroConnect

Century CTO

Chino Heating and Cooling

Connolly Electric

Desert Financial Credit Union

Dignity Health YRMC

Dominoe’s Pizza

Dutch Bros. Coffee

E&J Gallo Winery

Edward Jones

El Gato Azul

Fann Contracting

Mr. Bill Smith

Lorna Pabst De Acosta

Suzanne Vermilya & Richard McFaul

Ms. Peg Rhodes

Mr. & Mrs. Jim Clemens

Farmers Insurance

Ferguson Enterprises

Findlay Toyota

Findlay Toyota Center, PV

Foothills Bank

Gila River Indian Community

Goettls HD Mechanical

Hotcakez Baking Company

Kiwanis Club of Prescott

Lamb Chevrolet

Ledbetter Lawfirm

LLC

Little Caesars Pizza

L&L Borok Foundation

Margaret T. Morris, Foundation

Mariano Family

Matt’s Saloon

Mitch Medigovich

NACKARD Pepsi

NAPA Auto/Arthur Elliott

Olsen’s Grain

OneAZ Credit Union

Panera Bread-Prescott

Phat Scooters

Pinnacle Bank

Pioneer Title Agency

Nick Moceri & Margi Tays

Jean Risdon

Rebecca & Ron Finken

Polara Health

Prescott Newspapers Inc.

Prescott Women’s Magazine

Printpack

Raskin’s Jewelers

Salt River Materials Group

Sentry CTO

Service Master of Prescott

Slater & Rutherford CPAs

Smelter Town Brewery

State Farm Insurance

Stratos Wealth Partners

TC Carpet Care

Texas Roadhouse

The Club at Prescott Lakes

The Daily Courier

The Halle Foundation

UniSource

United Way of Yavapai County

Wells Fargo Foundation

Yavapai Block Co.

Yavapai Broadcasting

Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe

Yavapai Title Agency