The Catalyst May 2019

A New and Larger Home for the Boys and Girls Clubs

"On their way to full, effective, positive adulthood.”

Durham NC is home to the first African-American Boys and Girls Clubs in the United States. Over its 80-year history, 5,000 youngsters have made the Club their after-school "home." Today, with a more diversified membership, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Durham and Orange Counties  (BGCDOC) provides hundreds of youngsters each year with age-appropriate K-12 programming, summer camp experiences, and wonderful off-site activities in and beyond the community. This year, the Club is undertaking its biggest challenge yet! They'll acquire and renovate new Club facilities in the center of the Durham community. By positioning academic preparation as the focal point of its programming and by engaging volunteers from local universities, corporations, agencies and groups, BGCDOC has a distinctive and very personal impact on the youngsters it serves .  Club members are significantly better prepared academically: 84% are on track to graduate from high school on time and 80% expect to go to college. Compared to non-Club peers, teen pregnancy and court-involvement don't exist among Club members. They flourish in an environment where character-building, leadership skills and healthy choices are emphasized. “We are steadfast in creating individual and generational change. We use evidence-based, outcomes-driven programming. We know that the Club prepares local youngsters for 21 st century success. They are on their way to full, effective, positive adulthood.” Jerome Levisy, CEO The Raleigh-Durham region is burgeoning with dozens of new families and businesses relocating to the community each month. To meet the growing demand, the Club's Board recognized the need to grow - to accommodate more children and teens and to deepen and broaden the programs the Club offers its members.

A New Location Catalyzes Capacity-Building

With this growing demand in mind, the Club retained The Whelan Group to map out a five-year vision for the Club, to conceptualize a major fundraising campaign designed to underwrite the Club's physical expansion, and to identify the capacities needed to translate this vision for a 21st Century Club into reality. The vision imagines a two-phase expansion in the Club's growth trajectory:  Phase I calls for the development of new and larger space for the Club's activities in Durham along with resources to invest in program development and expansion of the Club's invested assets. The Phase II expansion would be planned during Phase I and implemented once this first phase is completed. Mirroring the innovations developed for the Durham program site, this phase calls for the Club to shift its attention to membership development, programming, staffing and facility needs of the Club's Chapel Hill program site.

Annual and Capital Campaigns: Investing in Futures

To bring this dynamic vision into focus, we worked with the Executive Director, the staff, and a Planning Committee to design a realistic Phase I campaign with a $7.5 million goal – recognizing that nearly $3 million of this goal was already in place. The feasibility study identified additional sources for support, the campaign's voluntary structure, as well as the materials and infrastructure needed to make the campaign successful. This campaign, along with enhanced annual giving, are designed to create a new and larger Club in Durham with greater fundraising capacity and a solid financial position. In addition, these efforts will put the Club in a vastly stronger position to take on Phase II of the Club's growth plan -- creating vibrant programs and services to meet the needs of the children and teens in the Chapel Hill community.

To learn more about TWG's work with BGCDOC, click here.

Find out more about The Whelan Group and our services to non-profits. Call us at 212-727-7332 or email i [email protected] .  We want to hear about your organization's next steps.

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