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City Service 2003-04 Applicant Profile
| Name: |
Boston Soccer Legacy Fund, Inc.
(CityKicks) |
Mission: |
To enrich the lives and enhance the futures
of urban girls and empower them to realize
more of their potential by connecting them
with the social-emotional, physical, and educational
benefits of participating in an after-school
soccer program structured to be inclusive
and emphasize health and life skills. |
History, Goals, &
Achievements: |
CityKicks is the sole
program of Boston Soccer Legacy Fund, Inc.,
founded in 1994 to further the teaching of soccer
to Massachusetts youth, especially those "who
might not otherwise have the opportunity or
resources to learn, play, or otherwise participate
in the game." The founders - a group of
Boston professionals - believed that all young
people should have the chance to participate
in soccer. After raising seed money, former
attorney Anne Strong was engaged to launch the
after-school soccer program for girls in the
public middle schools in 1999. CityKicks started
with teams at six schools in Roxbury and Dorchester,
serving about 80 girls. Today the program serves
over 130 girls a season with teams at schools
in Brighton, Jamaica Plain, Mattapan, Roslindale,
South Boston and West Roxbury. |
| Programs & Services: |
CityKicks participants
learn, practice, and play soccer after school
for 7-8 weeks in the fall and spring. Because
nearly all the girls are new to team sports,
the program strives to maximize participation
by making the experience welcoming and fun.
There are no try-outs or cuts, nor are standings
kept. Effort, teamwork, and good sportsmanship
are recognized. CityKicks provides coaches,
referees, transportation, equipment, uniforms,
field and game scheduling, and other logistical
needs and uses the existing school community
to deliver the program.
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| Annual Budget: |
$75,000 |
| Staff: |
1 full-time, occasional
work study students and interns, 2-3 part-time
fundraising |
| Board: |
3-4; meets ad hoc
as needed; no committees |
| Fundraising: |
Web site offers online
donation information; combined federal campaign;
foundation
grants |
| Donor Base: |
Friends, acquaintances,
family, people who donated through the Catalogue
for
Philanthropy |
| Fundraising
Challenges:
|
Needs to raise $25,000-$30,000
immediately to fund a half-time, in-house development
professional for a year; would like to conduct
an initiative to identify, cultivate and build
a donor base of "natural constituents"
in greater Boston (soccer alumnae/i, parents,
adult recreational players, fans, others who
care about children in the city, corporations
for whom the program might be a good philanthropic
fit). CityKicks needs a well-researched and
considered strategy for accomplishing this that
can be implemented by the Executive Director,
graduate student interns, and work-study students. |
| Consultant
Needs:
|
CityKicks seeks assistance
in creating a focus for fundraising goals, in
building a base of individual donors and creating
a successful direct mail program, and in evaluating
the success of the program as a whole. A consultant
with experience in organizing and implementing
direct mail and individual donor campaigns,
who is also skilled in developing and implementing
methods of evaluating a program, would best
benefit CityKicks. |
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