Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay, Inc.

Who are the people you serve with your mission?

We serve boys and girls (ages 5-12) who live in Alachua, Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Marion, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, or Sumter Counties, who want and have requested a Big Brother or Big Sister and who have been approved to do so by their parent/legal guardian, and who are typically at risk for academic failure or involvement with the juvenile justice system. Approximately 45% of the children we serve are boys, 55% are girls, and over 75% are children of color. Approximately 90% of the children we serve are growing up in families at or below the poverty level. These children are recommended to us by their school counselor, teacher, parents and other legal guardians, religious leaders, neighbors, or others.

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

What significant change resulted from feedback?

One recent change was to find volunteer Bigs who would be willing to work with their Littles in person, versus virtually. The parents/legal guardians of new children coming into our system, as well as those for existing children, requested in-person mentoring in almost all cases, as their children were wanting the benefits of in-person experiences and relationships. Virtual mentoring can work effectively but is not nearly as popular as in person.

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, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded

What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback