BBB Wise Giving Report for
Teen Voices

BBB Wise Giving Report issued December 2010
BBB Wise Giving Report expires December 2012


This BBB Accredited charity meets all 20 Standards for Charity Accountability. Find out more...


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Charity Contact Information

Name: Teen Voices
Address: 80 Summer Street, Suite 300
  Boston, MA 02110
Phone: 617-426-5505
Web Address: www.TeenVoices.com
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BBB Wise Giving Alliance Comments

Formerly known as:Women Express

Year, State Incorporated: 1988, Massachusetts
Affiliates: None
Stated Purpose: "to support and educate teen girls to amplify their voices and create social change through media."

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Evaluation Conclusions

              

Teen Voices meets the 20 Standards for Charity Accountability.
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Programs

              

Sisters Helping Other Unheard Teens is a journalism mentoring program that creates a magazine called Teen Voices which allows Teen Editors to write, research, and edit submissions under the guidance of college-level mentors. Girls attend workshops on sexual health, domestic violence, substance abuse, career exposure, college preparation, and others. During the summer, girls work 25 hours a week for 6 weeks and are paid minimum wage through grants provided by summer funders. The Peer Leaders program consists of 5 former Teen Editors that increase their leadership skills by facilitating workshops, planning events, designing curricula, and presenting at conferences, community events, and to the media. They are paid minimum wage for their work, which also includes assisting the Teen Editors and helping with the administrative tasks. Teen Voices is a magazine that publishes original poetry, memoirs, essays, reviews, art, and opinions annually from teens around the world. The Teen Editors work on the submissions and prepare them as features for the different sections of the magazine. The print edition of Teen Voices is published biannually while the online version is published monthly. Boston Girls Writing Community is a public forum that brings together low-income teen girls of color who are writers and poets. The Professional Development program aims to allow staff and Peer Leaders provide expertise, consultation, and leadership on various issues to youth workers, media staff, and academicians, with 8-10 presentations, interviews, and/or workshops annually.

For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2009, Teen Voices's program expenses were:

  
Program services 514,280
Total Program Expenses: $514,280
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Governance

              

Chief Executive : Jennifer Amory, Executive Director
Compensation*:
$79,153

Chair of the Board: Alice Poltorick
Chair's Profession / Business Affiliation: Director of Communications

Board Size: 13

Paid Staff Size: 10

*July 1, 2008 - June 30, 2009 compensation includes annual salary and, if applicable, benefit plans, expense accounts, and other allowances.
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Fund Raising

              

Method(s) Used:

Direct mail, telemarketing, special events, print advertisements, radio, grant proposals, Internet appeals, cause-related marketing, and membership appeals.
Fund raising costs were 15% of related contributions. (Related contributions, which totaled $743,808, are donations received as a result of fund raising activities.)
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Tax Status

              

This organization is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It is eligible to receive contributions deductible as charitable donations for federal income tax purposes.
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Financial

              

The following information is based on Women Express's audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2009.

Source of Funds  
Foundation and corporate grants 463,738
Gifts and contributions 139,338
In-kind goods and services 76,081
Program revenues 73,573
Special events (net) 42,962
Government grants 21,689
Interest income 592
Total Income $817,973


chart



Uses of Funds as a % of Total Expenses

Programs: 69%  Fund Raising: 15%  Administrative: 16%  Other Expenses: Less than 1%

Total income   $817,973
  Program expenses $514,280
  Fund raising expenses 110,754
  Administrative expenses 118,556
  Other Expenses 559
Total expenses   $744,149
Income in Excess of Expenses   73,824
Beginning net assets   354,520
Ending net assets   428,344
Total liabilities   51,740
Total assets   $480,084

Note 1: Women Express's audited financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2009 report gifts of in-kind income of $76,081. This amount consists of volunteer services ($59,041), legal fees ($10,308), strategic planning ($1,500), and office/program supplies expenses ($5,232).

Note 2: In the financial section above "Other expenses" ($559) represents loss on disposal of equipment.

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An organization may change its practices at any time without notice. A copy of this report has been shared with the organization prior to publication. It is not intended to recommend or deprecate, and is furnished solely to assist you in exercising your own judgment. If the report is about a charity and states the charity meets or does not meet the BBB Standards for Charity Accountability, it reflects the results of an evaluation of information and materials provided voluntarily by the charity. The name Better Business Bureau is a registered service mark of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc.

This report is not to be used for fund raising or promotional purposes.

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