buildOn
Breaking the cycle of poverty, illiteracy and low expectations through service and education
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
buildOn's Service Learning Program
buildOn's Service Learning Program centers youth in their own power to create positive change in Boston, Bridgeport, The Bronx, Chicago, Detroit, and Oakland. buildOn students have contributed more than 2.4 million hours of service to their communities. buildOn equips youth with the knowledge, confidence, and skills to identify strengths and challenges in their communities and draw on those strengths to address challenges head-on. Students gain a deeper understanding of the issues facing their communities and experience tangible opportunities to create change. Youth develop teamwork and leadership skills that prepare them to apply for college, internships, and career opportunities in pursuit of their life goals.
By helping seniors, the unhoused, and younger kids, buildOn students learn to lead by first learning how to serve. buildOn’s programming is run by buildOn staff in partner schools, year-round, with specialized programming for school breaks and summer vacations.
buildOn's School Construction Program
Equity is at the center of buildOn’s work in rural communities with high rates of poverty, illiteracy, and out-of-school children across Burkina Faso, Guatemala, Haiti, Malawi, Mali, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Senegal. buildOn mobilizes communities, Ministries of Education, and government officials to construct schools in rural areas that lack adequate school infrastructure. buildOn provides engineering, materials, and skilled labor, while the community contributes land, local materials, and volunteer labor. buildOn classrooms are spacious and earthquake resistant, and come equipped with desks, blackboards, and gender-specific latrines. buildOn closely monitors the school's success, and communities that uphold their commitment to education and gender equality are eligible for additional buildOn schools. To date, buildOn has constructed 2,341 schools where 307,419 children and adults are currently receiving an education.
buildOn's Adult Literacy Program
buildOn’s Adult Literacy Program (implemented in Burkina Faso, Haiti, Malawi, Mali, Nepal, and Senegal) has provided 26,229 women and 6,746 men with the opportunity to build a better life for themselves and their families through literacy, numeracy, and entrepreneurship. Through the promotion of basic education in communities with high rates of poverty and illiteracy, the Adult Literacy Program addresses poverty reduction, health and sanitation (including the importance of prenatal care), human rights, and conflict resolution. buildOn’s income-generating initiatives give participants the entrepreneurship knowledge and skills needed to improve the socio-economic conditions in their households and the broader community. Participants often collectively establish a small-loans system to lend money to community members so they can start their own businesses.
buildOn's Enroll Program
buildOn's Enroll Program is implemented in communities with high rates of poverty, illiteracy, and out-of-school children across Burkina Faso, Guatemala, Haiti, Malawi, Mali, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Senegal. To date, buildOn has mobilized rural communities, Ministries of Education, local government officials, parents, teachers, and school administrators to enroll more than 100,000 out-of-school-children. buildOn identifies school-age children who are not currently enrolled in school and works with their families to ensure they can start learning. buildOn addresses multiple barriers to primary education, including distance to schools, poor infrastructure, classroom overcrowding, inhibitive education costs, discrimination, and child labor. Dependent on community needs, Enroll Program strategies may include school construction, community engagement, sensitization and capacity building, Accelerating Education Programs, income-generating initiatives, and birth registration.
Where we work
External reviews
Photos
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 inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, 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 get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
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
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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.
buildOn
Board of directorsas of 05/12/2023
Jim Ziolkowski
buildOn
Marc Friedman
buildOn
Sanjay Gupta
Michigan State University
Randi Hedin
RPX Research
Suzie Ivelich
Suzie Ivelich Consulting
Dan Janki
Delta Airlines
Margaret Keane
Synchrony
Missy Kiernan
Shelly Leibowitz
Morgan Stanley
Alan Murray
FORTUNE
Rassaan Parris
The High School for Energy and Technology
Meisha Ross Porter
The Bronx Community Foundation
John Seifert
Ogilvy
Karen Seitz
Fusion Partners
Hilary Smith
NBC Universal
Eric Sandifer
Blaylock Van, LLC
Jim Ziolkowski
buildOn
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 ? Yes -
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:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
Transgender Identity
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 05/10/2023GuideStar 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 ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- 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 have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- 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.