New Research Highlights Top Nonprofits Providing Educational Support for At-Risk Youth in Minnesota
Nonprofit Rankings Result of Philanthropedia and Minnesota Philanthropy Partners’ Latest Custom Research Project
St. Paul, Minn., and Washington, DC—October 3, 2013—Philanthropedia, a division of GuideStar, and Minnesota Philanthropy Partners, which supports The Saint Paul Foundation, Minnesota Community Foundation, and more than 1,700 additional charitable affiliates across Minnesota, today announced the results of custom research that identifies the top 20 nonprofits working to support the education of Minnesota’s at-risk youth.
“Minnesota traditionally receives high marks in education, yet there are significant achievement gaps between white students and students of color and low-income students,” said Carleen Rhodes, president and CEO of Minnesota Philanthropy Partners. “Our state ranks 38th out of 44 states for black-white achievement in fourth grade math and 37th out of 45 in reading, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. We hope that this list of high-impact nonprofits will help others find organizations that are making great strides in closing the achievement gap in Minnesota.”
Philanthropedia surveyed 85 experts with an average of 14 years of work experience providing educational support for at-risk youth and asked them to identify organizations having the greatest impact on a local level. The experts were asked to recommend up to four high-impact nonprofits and up to two promising start-up nonprofits working in this diverse field, which include nonprofits that focus on advocacy, training, in-school support, out-of-school instruction, and more.
“Throughout this research, it has been eye opening to discover all of the innovative ways that Minnesota nonprofits support at-risk youth of all ages,” said Jasmine Marrow, manager of Philanthropedia research at GuideStar, the leading source of nonprofit information. “Many of these organizations can, and do, serve as much larger models for effectively closing the gap in student outcomes.”
Experts reviewed 119 organizations and identified 20 as performing the best when it comes to meeting their missions, with a tie for 12th place:
- College Possible
- The Bridge for Youth
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Twin Cities
- YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities
- YWCA of St. Paul
- Northside Achievement Zone
- Achieve Minneapolis
- Minnesota Minority Education Partnership
- Genesys Works
- YouthLink
- Cookie Cart
- (tied) Breakthrough Twin Cities
- (tied) Harvest Preparatory Charter School
- Hiawatha Leadership Academy
- MIGIZI Communications
- Youthprise
- Washburn Center for Children
- Project SUCCESS
- Youth Farm and Market Project (YRMP)
To learn more about each organization, meet the experts, and read the reviews, please visit http://myphilanthropedia.org/top-nonprofits/minnesota/educational-support-for-at-risk-youth/2013.
The research is an example of Philanthropedia's custom research offering, which utilizes Philanthropedia's unique methodology to harness experts' insight on nonprofits. Minnesota Philanthropy Partners also commissioned research to identify high-impact environmental nonprofits (released in October 2011), workforce development nonprofits (released April 2012), those nonprofits improving access to arts and culture (released October 2012), and those improving access to healthy foods (released April 2013).
“Expert-driven recommendations have tremendous potential to improve the pace of social change,” added Marrow. “We are proud to work once again with Minnesota Philanthropy Partners to identify high-impact nonprofits across that state so that donors and funders can support strong organizations.”
The expert-identified nonprofits are highlighted on Philanthropedia's blog and MNSights magazine, a free bi-annual magazine published by Minnesota Philanthropy Partners. To see the results, please visit: http://myphilanthropedia.org/top-nonprofits/minnesota.
For the complete list of Philanthropedia top nonprofit rankings, visit www.myphilanthropedia.org. For more information about Philanthropedia’s ranking methodology, please visit: http://www.myphilanthropedia.org/how_we_rank. For those interested in working with Philanthropedia on a custom research project, please contact Jasmine Marrow at jasmine.marrow@guidestar.org.
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Media Contact:
Lindsay J.K. Nichols
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About Minnesota Philanthropy Partners
The Minnesota Philanthropy Partners network includes The Saint Paul Foundation, Minnesota Community Foundation, F. R. Bigelow Foundation, Mardag Foundation and more than 1,700 additional charitable affiliates. Together, the MN Partners network shares expertise and services to make charitable giving thrive and benefit all Minnesotans. Learn more at mnpartners.org.
About Philanthropedia
Philanthropedia, www.myphilanthropedia.org, is an online resource for donors who want to make a bigger difference with their charitable giving. Philanthropedia was founded on the belief that experts working in the field, such as foundation professionals, researchers, and nonprofit senior staff, are best suited to evaluate nonprofits in a more holistic way. In April 2011, Philanthropedia was acquired by GuideStar.
About GuideStar
GuideStar, www.guidestar.org, connects people and organizations with information on the programs and finances of more than 1.8 million IRS-recognized nonprofits. GuideStar serves a wide audience inside and outside the nonprofit sector, including individual donors, nonprofit leaders, grantmakers, government officials, academic researchers, and the media.
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