Students Run Philly Style

Name of Agency Students Run Philly Style

Fellow's Job Title Development Associate

Proposed Project Goal for the Fellowship

The general goal of the Fellow will be to assist Students Run Philly Style in raising funds and increasing awareness of the program. The Fellow will achieve this goal by requesting $140,000 in foundational funding, by coordinating events seeking to raise $100,000 and by organizing fundraising efforts so as to streamline the program’s development systems. The Fellow will build on the grant management system created by the previous Fellow and will assist in new communications efforts. All of the Fellows’ efforts will contribute to the overall goal of Students Run Philly Style, by providing the program with the financial support needed to continue the program’s services to Philadelphia’s at-risk youth.

Agency Information

Address 260 S. Broad St, 18th Flr

Website www.studentsrunphilly.org

Number of Staff 3

Agency Mission Students Run Philly Style is the only program in Philadelphia that offers marathon training to help youth succeed in life. We do this by connecting students with adult mentors who help them accomplish goals beyond their dreams, including the completion of a marathon.

Job Description

The Fellow’s Duties and Responsibilities

• Compose narratives for and compile grant proposals to foundations • Manage online donor database, determine areas for improvement • Assist in organizing special fundraising initiatives and events • Increase points of contact for donors and potential donors • Increase knowledge and awareness of the program by contributing to communications projects such as press releases, newsletters and the Students Run Philly Style blog • Develop systems to aid Development Committee (subset of Advisory Board) in meeting fundraising goals

The Skills/Qualifications a Fellow Should Have to Succeed in This Position

Strong communication skills (writing, listening, speaking) Ability to synthesize information Creativity & resourcefulness Organizational skills Initiative and desire to lead projects independently

Community Need

The Community Need the Fellow Will Address

Students Run Philly Style serves youth ages 12-18 throughout Philadelphia, concentrating its efforts in the neighborhoods of that have among the highest rates of poverty, obesity, heart disease, violent crime and school dropout in the city according to the Public Health Management Corporation’s Community Health Database. These neighborhoods include North, West, Northeast, South and Southwest Philadelphia and Germantown. The majority of children in the target area are African-American and 40% are below the federal poverty level. A recent study by the CDC revealed that only 42% of Philadelphia school students attend physical education classes at least once a week. Furthermore, Public Health Management Corporation’s 2006 Household Health Survey reports that 46% of children from the Students Run Philly Style target area are at risk of obesity. The preceding data show that Students Run Philly Style’s target population suffers from poor health, in addition to high levels of violence, school dropout and, violent crime.

How the Agency Addresses This Need, and How the New Capacity Created by This Fellow Will Help Alleviate the Problem

Students Run Philly Style promotes physical well-being and healthy behaviors in underserved communities by offering marathon training and mentorship to young people. Since its inception in 2004, the program has served over 2,000 young people in Philadelphia. Students Run Philly has a unique method of addressing the several needs of its constituents. Above and beyond providing a healthy activity for youth, the program provides its students with consistent and positive adult running leaders, who act as mentors first and coaches second. These volunteer mentors are the foundation of the program and are trained to help students translate their running skills into life skills. The program’s volunteer mentors, in addition to a diverse set of activities that take place over the course of a nine-month running season, help students to prepare for the Philadelphia Marathon, learn how to be leaders among their peers and excel in school. With the chief responsibility of development and communications, the Fellow will expand Students Run Philly Style’s capacity to serve its constituents by securing funding from both previously committed and new corporations, foundations and individuals and by increasing the program’s visibility to these same groups. One of the program’s greatest challenges in recent years has been achieving sustainability. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation generously and chiefly funded the first four years of Students Run Philly Style’s six year existence. By design, that funding expired in 2007 and the program has been working to garner support from a diverse pool of funders using creative and varied approaches in the last two years. The Fellow will help Students Run Philly Style solidify and refine its fundraising and communication efforts, helping the program to achieve sustainability and continue to deliver services to Philadelphia youth.

The Level of Community Involvement in the Fellow’s Project

The Fellow will have a relatively high level of community involvement in working to fundraise and increase awareness of the Students Run Philly Style program. Many of the program’s fundraising events are highly intertwined with community members. In particular, fundraising initiatives such as Run for Philly’s Future, Sponsor-a-Student and Young Friends require a high level of community interaction. The Fellow will also attend all of Students Run Philly Style’s community events and, in both these settings, will seek out the individual stories of participants, family members, community volunteers and funders. Primarily through interviewing these key community players and engaging the wider community in communication work such as the newsletter and blog, gathering and relaying these stories will be paramount to the Fellow’s communication work.

Work Environment

The Agency’s Plan for Training and Orientation

In the first two weeks of the Fellow’s service with Student’s Run Philly Style, he/she will be oriented to the program by the program staff with the help of an orientation handbook created by our outgoing Philly Fellow. Orientation will involve concrete training in administrative tasks, software and databases as well as a more abstract component that will acquaint the Fellow with Students Run Philly Style’s program philosophy and history. The Fellow will be introduced to the program’s large network of volunteer mentors during our summer clinic series and will also meet independently with key board members and donors. In the final phase of the Fellow’s training, he/she will work with the NNCC’s Grants Manager to get a comprehensive introduction to non-profit development work. Fellows are also encouraged to attend external trainings in non-profit management and grant writing. In the last several months, our current Fellow has attended four trainings hosted by outside organizations.

Name and Title of Fellow’s Immediate Supervisor

Amalia Petherbridge, Assistant Director

Plans for Supervision of the Fellow

For the majority of the projects, the Fellow will report to the program’s Assistant Director. For grant proposals and grant report projects the Fellow will report to the program director. The Fellow will primarily work independently and will often work together with staff to complete development projects.

Will Fellow Be Working at the Same Address Listed Above?

Yes

Will the Fellow Have Their Own…

Office? Fellow will not be provided with

Desk? Fellow will have their own

Computer? Fellow will have their own

Approximate Percentage of Time the Fellow Will Work….

Independently 40%

As a Team Member in a Group Setting 40%

As a Team Leader in a Group Setting 20%

Will the Fellow Be Expected to Travel for the Position?

If So, How Often and Where?

Will the Fellow Need the Following…

A Driver’s License? No

Their Own Car? No