Better Youth, Inc.
We're better together...
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Bridging the Digital Divide
In 2016, there continues to be a severe ethnic diversity in Film & Television Production. There is still a wide gap between those who have access to technology and the skills to benefit from this knowledge and those who don't. A recent report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation states that in low-income central-city neighborhoods, 84% of households with children do not own computers. As a result, many miss out on opportunities to benefit from technology by accessing training, learning valuable computer skills, and communicating with others.
Many of the Los Angeles' racial and cultural tensions are caused by the lack of fulfilling job opportunities available to youth living in L.A.'s disadvantaged neighborhoods. Specifically, the shortage of employment and training options that allow them to make a decent wage, establish in a stable career and support themselves.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
AIM-N-INSPIRE
A digital and media arts certificated youth training program where youth are trained on media arts curriculum including filmmaking, animation and interactive gaming. Program youth receive specialized certification of technical skills useful for the marketplace. Assigned mentors support professional development, social emotional learning, program matriculation and completion.
Real To Reel: Global Youth Film Festival
A community-based exhibition platform that activates an enterprising cohort of foster and at-risk youth who pair with their industry mentors to further their marketplace pursuits and experiential learning. RTRG provides the opportunity for program alum to forge alliances with a global peer group and industry professionals. The annual fall media showcase is hosted by Los Angeles Film School.
Where we work
Affiliations & memberships
State and Federally Registred Apprenticeship Program 2022
State Registred Pre-Apprenticeship Program 2023
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Our goal is to deliver our school and community based media arts and training programs to youth in target community areas. Our secondary goal is to assist with job and academic placements.
OUR THREE-YEAR OBJECTIVE (2018 – 2020):
• Serve 5,000 youth, ages 12-24, in our target service areas
• Train/certify youth and provide work/internship opportunities for program participants in their area of interest.
• Improve academic performance in 75% of students, decrease drop out rate and Increase number of high school students applying to college and catalyze 21st century workplace opportunities.
• Evaluate and prove our success with case management data
• Provide an enhanced sense of self and a reduction in violent behavior as reported by parents/guardians and teachers in 90% of direct service youth.
Our end goal is to demonstrate, by measurable results and needs assessment tools, how substantiated models of instructional resources consistent with California standards coupled with a strong creative mentoring and media training arts program, can significantly impact the success trajectory of under-resourced youth.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Better Youth is currently equipped with certified and trained facilitators and is positioned as a certifying organization. We validate through various new media training and certification platforms.
OUR INITIATIVES
• Group, Peer, Virtual and One-on-One Mentoring
• Media Arts Curriculum and Technical Training
• Validating and Certification of 21st Century Skills
• Leadership & Character Development
• Civic Engagement & Advocacy
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP
SYD STEWART - FOUNDER/ EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/MENTOR
Syd Stewart is a performance poet, actor, and writer and the founding member and Executive Director of Better Youth, Inc. She is a local educator for GirlUp, a teen girls empowerment initiative. Ms. Stewart was a former Director for Ushers New Look Foundation and LAUSD/Beyond the Bell Arts in Education program where she managed a half of million dollar 21st Century grant program for two high schools and five community satellite sites for three years.
SHAWN JACKSON - OPERATIONS CONSULTANT/MENTOR
Shawn Jackson, former Technical Program Director for the Boys and Girls Club, has served as a program consultant by providing assistance with program evaluation, curriculum development, data analysis, and building technology infrastructure. He has worked with organizations such as Special Services for Groups (SSG) to strengthen quantitative and qualitative assessments and
data reporting. As a community resource veteran, Mr. Jackson has spent years researching the growing practice of new media and web-based technology use, specifically among youth-serving nonprofit organizations. We have collaborated on several community projects specific to Watts and South LA and we consider Mr. Jackson to be a program and data collection specialist.
MIGUEL COLEMAN - ARTISTIC DIRECTOR/MENTOR
Miguel Coleman is a tech entrepreneur, director and producer of community cultural events for youth and families. He is skilled at coordinating and promoting High Profile/Celebrity events and corporate sponsored non-profit ventures. Mr. Coleman has over 5 years non-profit experience including program development, execution, and supervision of staff. He has over 6 years experience teaching youth film & multimedia production throughout the Inglewood School District and Los Angeles Unified School District and is well versed in digital and social literacy.
JOHNA RIVERS - PROGRAM COORDINATOR/YOUTH LEADER
Johna is a seven-year program alum who has transformed her leadership skills and abilities and now coordinates programs for youth. She is a writer, poet and filmmaker who advocates for foster youth, working in her community with noted leaders including Representative Karen Bass, and Congresswoman Maxine Waters. Ms. Rivers was recognized by the UN Foundation as a Youth Champion, is an alum of Ushers New Look Foundation, LAUSD's Take Action leadership program and has traveled as a cultural ambassador.
LARRY HUGHES - BOARD CHAIR/MENTOR
A financial consultant working on Wall Street with many investment banks and individuals, Larry Hughes has been active with Better Youth for over five years. His financial expertise is gained by years of experience with corporations such as Nathan and Lewis, Met Life, America Portfolios and Oppenheimer. Mr. Hughes has worked with youth in his community to educate them on economics and fiscal responsibility.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
REAL TO REEL: Global Youth Film Festival
Participants receive project management experience and job readiness certification
Participants exposed to networking opportunities and Industry professionals
Participants received paid hands-on and project-based learning internship
Participants engaged in global citizenship and social responsibility
1350 total youth impacted including Other Youth Served
Approximately 150 in 2015, 500 in 2016 and 700 in 2017
Includes youth producers, filmmakers, online engagement, events
BETTER CREW: Media Arts Training & Certification Program
Career Awareness, Training & Exploration
Paid youth internship in micro filmmaking
90% youth retention rate
118 total youth served (2015 / 2016)
64% youth earned certificates, training validations, and/or course completion
100% improved social emotional behavior (according to Youth Development Reflection)
100% demonstrated improvement in soft skills / 21st Century skills
15 youth progressed to internships and/or advanced continuing education, training or employment opportunities
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Better Youth, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 10/19/2023
Ms. Magali Lamourelle
Ms. Robin Mayemura
Skydance Media
Term: 2021 -
Mark Larouche
Capital Group
Nick Stotzer
Firehouse Church
Naomi Manning
Warner Media
Johna Rivers
Disney
Dr. Dominique Mikell
University of Reno
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 10/19/2023GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.