Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA)

Roxanne Spillett. ROXANNE SPILLETT President and CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of America Roxanne Spillett leads the largest network of facility-based youth development organizations in the world. Boys & Girls Clubs of America's 1,100 local affiliates operate some 4,000 Club locations throughout the nation and on U.S. military installations worldwide. With a combined staff of more than 50,000 full- and part-time employees… See full bio.

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Story: Boys & Girls Clubs of America had its beginnings in 1860 with three women in Hartford, Conn.: Mary Goodwin, Alice Goodwin and Elizabeth Hammersley. Believing that boys who roamed the streets should have a positive alternative, they organized the first Club. A cause was born. Character development has been the cornerstone of the Boys & Girls Club experience since the first Club opened in 1860. The first Club professional, John Collins, devised a system of informal guidance to attract boys into the Club, capture their interest, improve their behavior and increase their personal expectations and goals. The procedures Collins used constituted a clearly planned, socially scientific system of taking boys off the street and promoting their development towards a successful, productive future. This system formed the basis of the Boys & Girls Club environment. It is still in use today with proven results. Boys & Girls Clubs of America believes that character development, the basic building block in personal development, should be an integral aspect of every Club program and activity. In support of this conviction, Aaron Fahringer, a regional director for the west coast in the 1950s, scripted the Boys & Girls Club Code as part of the celebration of the golden anniversary of the Movement. The code was adopted as official by the National Council in 1955, and was used extensively in the 50s and 60s. The Code is still displayed in many Clubs today.

Evidence of Impact Summary:

Boys & Girls Clubs of America has been praised for the broad reach of its programs. Boys & Girls Clubs of America provides positive activities for a very large number of youth in both urban and rural communities. They help connect youth with a strong positive network of adults.
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Organization Strengths Summary:

Boys & Girls Clubs of America is devoted to staff development through training, seminars, and direct support to field operations. They also provide model programs using grants to allow local clubs to enhance programs and servides to youth.
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Areas for Improvement Summary:

According to experts, Boys & Girls Clubs of America needs better follow up and communications with their national advisors and volunteers. Additionally, they might benefit from flexibility for innovative programs beyond their paradigm.
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ROXANNE SPILLETT President and CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of America Roxanne Spillett leads the largest network of facility-based youth development organizations in the world. Boys & Girls Clubs of America's 1,100 local affiliates operate some 4,000 Club locations throughout the nation and on U.S. military installations worldwide. With a combined staff of more than 50,000 full- and part-time employees and some 200,000 board and program volunteers, the organization annually serves some 4 million children and teens. Club programs help young people achieve academic success and healthy lifestyles, develop good character, and engage in citizenship and public service. Spillett’s 1996 appointment to the presidency of BGCA marked a new era. She led BGCA through a decade of major expansion, implementing a growth strategy that doubled the size and scope of the Boys & Girls Club network and tripled its revenues. Simultaneously, the organization unveiled a dynamic new brand strategy – featuring national spokesperson Denzel Washington – which is heightening the public profile of Boys & Girls Clubs. Today, Boys & Girls Clubs of America ranks among the Top 10 nonprofit brands in America. Spillett also spearheaded the drive to increase services for children in nontraditional environments, including public housing and Native American lands. One of her most noteworthy achievements is the initiation of a unique partnership with the Department of Defense, which has chartered Boys & Girls Clubs on 390 U.S. military installations worldwide. She also initiated international efforts to assist other nations in establishing youth centers. Under Spillett’s leadership, BGCA has created generation-changing initiatives in education, technology, financial literacy and civic engagement. The organization also significantly enhanced the capacity of local Clubs in technology, human resources, and board and resource development. Her proudest accomplishments include uniting Clubs behind a common agenda and helping to raise hundreds of millions of dollars to support the Boys & Girls Club network. With a keen financial acumen, Spillett successfully implemented an aggressive and highly focused financial strategy to create new revenue streams for local affiliates. Spillett also built one of the most prestigious and engaged nonprofit boards in America, establishing an enviable governing body that includes national leaders and key executives of Fortune 500 companies. Consistent with her efforts to recruit professional talent, Boys & Girls Clubs of America was selected as one of the top 50 "Best NonProfit Organizations to Work for" in 2010. Her 1996 appointment to the presidency of BGCA marked a major milestone in a career spanning more than 30 years of Boys & Girls Club work. Spillett joined BGCA as director of the National Health Project. In the course of her career, she was promoted to positions of increasing responsibility, including vice president of the Northeast division and senior vice president of Program Services. In recognition of her numerous achievements, Spillett was selected as one of the “Power 50” by The NonProfit Times for three consecutive years. She also received the Excellence in National Executive Leadership Award presented by the National Human Services Assembly, an association of leading nonprofits in the fields of health, community development and human services. Newsweek has cited Spillett as one of the "15 People Who Make America Great," part of the magazine’s annual Giving Back Awards. President George W. Bush appointed Spillett to the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation, which promotes volunteerism, community service and good citizenship. She is past chairperson for Leadership 18, an alliance of executives from the nation’s most influential nonprofits, and serves on the boards of BoardSource and the Goizueta School of Business at Emory University in Atlanta and as a trustee of America’s Promise Alliance. Spillett earned her bachelor’s degree in education from the State University of New York, and did graduate work in guidance and counseling at St. Lawrence University. She also studied public health administration at Hunter College in New York. Today, she teaches graduate students in the nonprofit management program at the Mendoza College of Business at Notre Dame. In recent years, Spillett has received a number of honorary doctorate degrees: one in law, from the University of Notre Dame; and three in the humanities, from Trinity College in Hartford, Bryant University in Rhode Island and Marian College in Indianapolis. In 2008, Spillett led the launch of Impact 2012, a five-year strategic plan that positions BGCA more powerfully than ever as an advocacy organization of national scope and influence. The plan commits BGCA to ensure lasting impact in the lives of youth; increase high school graduation rates; build stronger revenues for Clubs; reach beyond Club walls to support families, and inspire generations of children to a level of civic engagement not seen since the founding of our nation.

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