Upside Down Foundation Inc SUMMARY Mission Inspiring academic success and leadership through mentoring Contact Information Primary Address 800 S Osprey Avenue Sarasota, FL 34236- Alternate Address PO BOX 17791 Sarasota FL 34276 Phone 941 724-0887 Email pgd247@aol.com Website www.upsidedownfoundation.org General Information nprofit Tax Exempt Status Upside Down Foundation Inc Public Supported Charity Incorporation Year 2007 State Charitable Solicitations Permit June 2018 State Registration May 2017 1
BACKGROUND & NEEDS Impact Statement Practicing Good Decisions (PGD) has recently celebrated its sixteen year anniversary! In 2002, PGD recruited, trained and empowered 4 mentors to work with 16 elementary students. In 2017, PGD have served over 100,000 volunteer hours. PGD received its 4th outstanding Innovative Program Award from Sarasota County Schools. Elementary students' reading fluency increases by a minimum of 85% when they complete the PGD program. Teachers want PGD mentors to come into their classroom during valuable teaching time to help their students increase their reading their reading skills. Needs Statement 1. Meet our financial budget, $145,000 2. Create and execute meaningful fund raisers... $15,000 3. Continuing education and organizational development... $3,000 4. Technology... $5,000 5. Time... $? Background Statement Greg Truitt, raised in Sarasota, FL, realized his dream of playing in the NFL by becoming the oldest rookie in 1994. Upon graduating from Penn State in 1988 and playing for two National Championships, Greg entered the hotel / restaurant industry for six years. In 1994 he had an opportunity of a lifetime to tryout with the Cincinnati Bengals as a special teams player and he made it. During Greg's six year career, he was nominated for NFL Man of The Year for his work with children. Greg's outreach to children began in 1994, as a motivational speaker reaching over 200,000 elementary and high school students nationwide. It was a brief interaction with a local elementary school teacher that changed the course of his life. After speaking to a local third grade class, Greg asked the teacher how the students were doing. She responded that generally speaking the class was doing quite well, but pointed out one student who was in danger of repeating third grade for the third time if he didn't pass the upcoming state test. When Greg asked what he could do to help, she replied simply, "Would you read with him?" It was this brief exchange that led him to read with the student every school day for six weeks. The impact of this small investment was tremendous: the student passed the state test, and Greg was inspired to create Practicing Good Decisions (PGD), a reading mentor program funded by the Upside Down Foundation which has impacted thousands of students across the state of Florida. It was clear from the inception that investing in quality mentoring leads to powerful long-term benefits for both mentors and their elementary school pupils. The program's remarkable growth, from only four mentors working with sixteen elementary students in its pilot year, to 250 mentors helping over 750 students, is testimony to it's overwhelming success. Today, PGD is a multiyear award winning reading mentor program that inspires academic success and leadership through literacy. Statement from the Board Chair Our team has served well for the past 16 years and we look forward to inspiring academic success and leadership through mentoring. Statement from the CEO/Executive Director It has been a honor to serve as a mentor for the past twenty years. Everyday is a gift and an opportunity to help another human being realize their gifts. Fredrick Douglas once said, "Once you learn to read, you will be forever free." Reading is the single most important academic building block of education and a strong predictor of future 2
scholastic success. We have found that positive consistent mentoring is a powerful effective tool to accomplish this goal. We are excited and committed to developing the life and leadership skills of high school students while increasing the reading fluency of elementary students. Practicing Good Decisions is a proven, multi-year award winning program that provides real solutions for real needs. Thank you for considering to support our organization and mission. Areas Served FL- Sarasota FL- Manatee The Upside Down Foundation serves multiple elementary and high schools in Sarasota and Manatee County. Service Categories Primary Organization Type Secondary Organization Type Tertiary Organization Type Education Youth Development Employment 3
PROGRAMS Practicing Good Decisions Description Practicing Good Decisions (PGD) is a multi-year award winning reading mentor program that recruits, trains and empowers its mentors to help their students achieve reading success! The program coordinates over 250 mentors from seven high schools that individually work with students from six local elementary schools. Mentor teams travel weekly to the schools to practice reading fluency, comprehension skills, site word mastery and test taking skills. They model how practice and discipline leads to reading success, and help their students to adopt this approach to goal attainment. The sixteen-week program allows for consistent and regular one-on-one sessions which foster solid, trusting relationships critical to its success. Mentors are thoroughly trained in reading strategies, and receive ongoing support and weekly monitoring from a teacher and a PGD representative. Monitors play an important part in helping guide both the student and mentors as they develop their unique skill sets. Budget $112,000.00 Category Program Linked to Organizational Strategy Population Served Short Term Success Long Term Success Education, General/Other Literacy K-12 (5-19 years) When an elementary students completes the sixteen week reading mentor program, the elementary will have increased their reading fluency by a minimum of 85% PGD mentors quickly achieve celebrity status on campus, and it is not uncommon for onlookers to be struck by the massive number of high school students walking down the hallways, all volunteering to make a difference in the lives of young students. There is nothing more gratifying than hearing the excited elementary students shout in anticipation, "Our mentors are coming!" as the high school students approach their classrooms. It was clear from the inception of PGD that investing in quality mentoring leads to powerful long-term benefits for both mentors and their elementary school pupils. The program's remarkable growth, from only four mentors working with sixteen elementary students in its pilot year, to 250 mentors helping over 750 students, is a testimony to it's overwhelming success. Today, PGD is a multi-year award winning reading mentor program that inspires academic success and leadership through literacy. Program Success Monitoring During each mentor session a PGD mentor will track and log the progress for every elementary student. 4
Program Success Examples This is a thank you letter written by a 1st grade teacher who partners with Practicing Good Decisions. This year my 1st grade classroom has had the pleasure to work with the Practicing Good Decisions mentors. The amount of time was perfect and the impact was great! My students greatly benefited from the one-on-one individual fluency practice. t only did my class make more than a one year's growth academically, through the PGD program in only 5 months, which is amazing feat by itself, but my students also grew socially. My class was excited each week to read with their PGD mentors, and they beamed when they had the opportunity to communicate with them. Thank you, PGD mentors, for taking the time out of your busy schedules to work with my students. Your time will stay with these students not only throughout their learning careers, but throughout their lives. Comments Program Comments by Organization The challenges facing Practicing Good Decisions is its growth. PGD has had tremendous growth and continues to recruit top high school students to become effective reading mentors. Our main goal is to maintain the same high standards, expectations and experience for both the high school and elementary students. 5
MANAGEMENT CEO/Executive Director CEO/Executive Director Greg Truitt CEO Term Start Feb 2012 CEO Email pgd247@aol.com Experience The entire board of the Upside Down Foundation volunteers their time to raise funds for the Practicing Good Decisions Program and other future projects. The CEO, Greg Truitt, is the founder of The Upside Down Foundation. Greg was raised in Sarasota, FL and is a graduate of Riverview HS. Upon graduating from Penn State University, where he was a student athlete and national champion for Joe Paterno and the Nittany Lions, he excelled with Marriott Hotels as a restaurant manager. After working six years in the hotel/restaurant industry, Greg signed a two year contract to play football for the Cincinnati Bengals becoming the oldest rookie in NFL history. He was nominated for the NFL Man of The Year Award for his extensive work with inner city schools. Greg played for six seasons with the Bengals, was a union representative for three seasons, wrote a financial workbook and facilitated an annual rookie financial seminar to educate incoming rookies on how to build a strong financial future. Greg has held motivational seminars for over 300,000 students both nationally and internationally inspiring students to develop the mind of a champion. He has produced a national and international award winning publication called TEAM magazine which to date has generated over a half a million dollars in scholarships for high school students. His most recent creation, Practicing Good Decisions (PGD), is a multi-year award winning reading mentor program, which has produced outstanding results in developing the reading fluency of elementary students while developing the life and leadership skills of high school students. To date, PGD has produced over 55,000 volunteer hours and has helped to increase the reading fluency of elementary students by a minimum of 85%! Greg's focus is to use his gifts, strengths and influence to educate, inspire and challenge community members to step up to the plate and serve their country well. Co-CEO/Executive Director Co-CEO/Executive Director Eddye Howard Co-CEO Term Start Feb 2012 Email veniceml@aol.com Staff & Volunteer Statistics Full Time Staff 1 Part Time Staff 4 Staff Retention Rate % 100 Professional Development Contractors 1 Volunteers 300 6
Management Reports to Board CEO/Executive Director Formal Evaluation Senior Management Formal Evaluation nmanagement Formal Evaluation N/A N/A Collaborations The Practicing Good Decisions Program collaborates with both elementary and high schools within Sarasota County. Comments Management Comments by Organization The Upside Down Foundation has focused more of its energy on developing the Practicing Good Decisions program and has taken steps to balance its efforts to equally develop both the foundation and the PGD program. 7
GOVERNANCE Board Chair Board Chair Greg Truitt Company Affiliation Self-employed Board Term Feb 2012 to June 2017 Board Chair Email pgd247@aol.com Board Co-Chair Board Co-Chair Eddye Howard Company Affiliation Ed Howard Lincoln, Mazda & Nissan Board Term Feb 2012 to June 2017 Board Co-Chair Email veniceml@aol.com Board Members Name Affiliation Status Mickey Chard Bonefish Proprietor Voting Eddye Howard Ed Howard Lincoln, Mazda & Nissan Voting Greg Truitt Self-employed Voting Nathan Weinbaum Veteran Affairs Voting Board Demographics - Ethnicity African American/Black 0 Asian American/Pacific Islander 0 Caucasian 4 Hispanic/Latino 0 Native American/American Indian 0 Other 0 0 Board Demographics - Gender Male 4 Female 0 t Specified 0 Governance Board Term Lengths 2 Board Term Limits 99 Board Orientation 8
Number of Full Board Meetings Annually 4 Board Meeting Attendance % 94 Board Self-Evaluation Written Board Selection Criteria Percentage of Board Making Monetary Contributions 100 Percentage of Board Making In-Kind Contributions 100 Constituency Includes Client Representation Comments Governance Comments by Organization With great assistance from the Community Foundation of Sarasota and others, we are making great progress in developing our board to become efficient and effective. 9
FINANCIALS Current Financial Info Tax Year Begins 2016 Tax Year Ends 2017 Projected Revenue $205,000.00 Projected Expenses $202,110.00 Total Projected Revenue includes "in-kind" contributions/ donations Endowment Value $0.00 Spending Policy Percentage 0 Tax Credits Capital Campaign In a Capital Campaign Campaign Purpose We are currently focused on increasing our fund raising intiatives through private, public and business donors. We will soon be starting an endowment to secure the future of the foundation and PGD program Campaign Goal 200000 Dates July 2018 to June 2021 Raised To Date 0 as of July 2018 Anticipate Campaign Within Next 5 Years? IRS Form 990s 2015_2016 990 2014_2015 990 990 2013-2014 990 2012-2013 990 990 990 990 990 Solvency Short Term Solvency Current Ratio: Current Assets/Current Liabilities -- -- -- Long Term Solvency Long-Term Liabilities/Total Assets 0% 0% 0% 10
Historical Financial Review Revenue and Expenses Total Revenue $105,160 $106,456 $45,089 Total Expenses $107,097 $102,938 $195,515 Revenue Sources Foundation and Corporation $0 $0 $0 Contributions Government Contributions $0 $0 $0 Federal $0 $0 $0 State $0 $0 $0 Local $0 $0 $0 Unspecified $0 $0 $0 Individual Contributions $54,928 $43,500 $27,500 Indirect Public Support $0 $0 $0 Earned Revenue $0 $0 $0 Investment Income, Net of Losses $0 $0 $0 Membership Dues $0 $0 $0 Special Events $50,232 $62,956 $17,589 Revenue In-Kind $0 $0 $0 Other $0 $0 $0 Expense Allocation Program Expense $75,393 $72,057 $0 Administration Expense $31,704 $30,881 $195,515 Fundraising Expense $0 $0 $0 Payments to Affiliates $0 $0 $0 Total Revenue/Total Expenses 0.98 1.03 0.23 Program Expense/Total Expenses 70% 70% 0% Fundraising Expense/Contributed Revenue 0% 0% 0% Assets and Liabilities Total Assets $17,670 $19,607 $16,089 Current Assets $17,670 $19,607 $16,089 Long-Term Liabilities $0 $0 $0 Current Liabilities $0 $0 $0 Total Net Assets $17,670 $19,607 $16,089 Top Funding Sources Top Funding Source & Dollar Amount Contributions, gifts, grants $54,928 Fundraising $62,956 Contributions, gifts, grants $27,500 Second Highest Funding Source & Dollar Fundraising $50,232 Contributions, gifts, Fundraising $17,589 Amount grants $43,500 Third Highest Funding Source & Dollar Amount 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 Comments Financial Comments by Organization 11
We have not had an audit for the foundation due to the amount of revenue. When we reach the amount that the Community Foundation of Sarasota recommends an audit, we will do so. Financial Comments by Foundation Foundations and corporations are included with individual contributions as they are not separated in the IRS Form 990. Financial figures were taken from the Federal 990s. 12
PLANS, POLICIES & LICENSES Plans Fundraising Plan Communication Plan Strategic Plan Strategic Plan Adopted June 2012 Years Strategic Plan Considers 1 Management Succession Plan Continuity of Operations Plan Policies Organizational Policies and Procedures Written Conflict of Interest Policy ndiscrimination Policy Directors and Officers Insurance Policy Whistle Blower Policy Document Destruction Policy Awards & Recognition Award/Recognition Organization Year Outstanding Innovative Program PALS 0 Government Licenses Is your organization licensed by the Government? Planning & Policies Comments Planning & Policies Comments by Organization Planning & Policies Comments by Foundation Created 07.27.2018. Copyright 2018 13