2023 Archives - First Tee - Silicon Valley

Annual Review 2023

2023 was a year of growth for First Tee – Silicon Valley. We served MORE kids!

In 2023, 5,241 Course Participants and School Students, who were 85% Ethnically Diverse and 60% Low Income, experienced our life skills and golf skills program.

Our youth development program has now positively transformed the lives of 95,747 youth through proven programs on-course, in-school, and after-school since 2005.

FTSV signed a new 25-year agreement in April, 2023 for expanded access at Rancho del Pueblo Golf Course for our character-building course program. This nearly doubled our class capacity so that we may include many more kids and teen participants and enable them to take even more classes. Our school program completely recovered from COVID set-backs and we are now serving more students than ever at Title 1 schools.

Program Snapshot

Course Participation Impact

100% of our long-term class students graduate high school
100% of our long-term teen class participants attend college
90% of class participants achieve all A’s and B’s in school

Participant Survey Results

97% Coaches were fun and cared
96% Had a fun experience
95% Felt included as part of the group
94% Coaches helped me with my golf skills
89% Coaches helped me with my life skills/lessons

Course Participation

1,208 unique participants took an average of 2 classes at our golf locations yielding 2,226 total registrations

85% Ethnically Diverse
30% Low Income Families received Financial Aid for total of $112,000
59% Male and 41% Female
20% Teens (age 13+) including 22 Junior Council participants focusing on career exploration, post high school education, and community service.
61% at Rancho del Pueblo Golf Course; 20% at Baylands Golf Links; 12% at Gavilan Golf Course and 7% Other – FTSV office and multiple locations

School Participation

3,015 students experienced our in-school and after-school program in their setting.

27 total partners – San Jose (15), Mid-Peninsula (7) and South County (5)
85% Ethnically Diverse
75% Low Income students
24 of our 27 were Title I Schools
49% Female and 51% Male

Volunteerism

4:1 Coach to Participant Ratio due to increased volunteerism
73 Total Adult Volunteers
87 Teen Junior Coaches from our program
7 Board Directors
14 Board Ambassadors

Youth Opportunities

FTSV Teens were selected for various leadership and golf opportunities where many received special recognition through scholarships.

Ashley Pang and Isabella Herrera were selected to attend the John Deere Drive Your Future Academy for girls
Camille Thai, Norah Yang, and Franky Sumcad competed in the First Tee National Championship
Raashika Biswari and Alexandra Varo were selected to attend the First Tee Game Changers Academy Honoring Joe Louis Barrow
Camille Thai, Norah Yang and Josh Jang represented FTSV at the 2023 PURE Insurance Championship Impacting the First Tee
Dylan Chan was selected to attend the First Tee Youth Leadership Academy
Elise NJ and Li An Panfil were selected to attend the First Tee Youth Leadership Summit
Li An Panfil was selected to the First Tee College Scholarship Program
Katelyn Chan was selected to the First Tee Make Your Mark on the Community $4,000 Scholarship
Jonathan Tessmann received the FTSV Joyce Taylor Eagle Award and $5,000 College Scholarship
Salma Rivera received FTSV Dennis Kettmann Memorial $5,000 College Scholarship
Shivam Maji and Katelyn Chan achieved First Tee ACE certification
9 Seniors announced their College Admissions
22 Teens joined FTSV’s new Teen Council advisory youth group
7,991 total hours served = $159,840 equivalency in In-Kind Labor

Financial Snapshot

While it was a year of growth for kids served, it was a challenging year for fundraising after coming off our highest revenue year ever ($1.8M). Fundraising challenges were brought on by donor reluctance due to economic uncertainties, new donor acquisition challenges in a competitive non-profit landscape, and an unexpected cancellation of a Q4 fundraising event. However, FTSV is proud to share that our operations are very stable.

We are optimistic about launching a comprehensive campaign to endow our programs and build facilities that will secure our future growth.

FTSV raised $1.544M. The operating expense distribution of $1.625M was approximately 75% for Programs, 21% for Fundraising, and 4% for Administration.

$651,048 Contributed Income

$313,676 Grants and Foundations

$ 20,168 Corporate Giving

$317,204 Individual Giving

$893,217 Earned Income

$368,781 Participant Class Registration Fees

$501,914 Golf Events: TopGolf, Open, Invitational, Classic (Includes Foundation, Corporate, Individual donations)

$ 22,522 Miscellaneous

$1,544,265 Total Income

Download 2023 Annual Review Presentation

Published: 02-05-2024 EDITED: 04-17-2024

FTSV’s Li An Panfil Selected for First Tee College Scholarship

First Tee – Silicon Valley participant and Junior Coach Li An Panfil has been selected for the First Tee College Scholarship program. During her four years in college, Li An will receive an educational grant to help with tuition, as well as access to personal development workshops, internships and employment opportunities post-graduation. Additionally, Li An will be matched with an adult mentor, someone who will act as a resource and motivator as she goes through college. Congratulations Li An on the recognition of all your hard work!

Li An was selected for this program because of her stand-out participation during the First Tee Leadership Summit, as well as her long track record of hard work within First Tee – Silicon Valley. This leadership summit is one of the National Opportunities available to our participants who go above and beyond, providing workshops and learning experiences aimed around developing leadership skills. Li An was at home as a leader here, rising to the occasion and making the most of this opportunity, attracting the attention of facilitators and eventually being selected for the scholarship. We are so proud to have Li An representing us on a national scale.

We had the opportunity to ask Li An about how First Tee has impacted her

“First Tee has played a big role in developing my perseverance”. Having been in the program since the third grade, she has really grown up in First Tee, moving through the different golf skills, and most importantly, life skill lessons. For her, the Goal Ladder stands out the most. She said “[the] goal ladder has really helped me. It has become a natural part of when I plan things, I don’t even have to specifically think about it”.

With tools for building achievable, measurable goals, Li An continues to accomplish what she sets her mind to. This includes doing very well academically, excelling as a junior coach, and, in the future, being accepted into a college where she will continue to thrive.

As a junior coach, Li An has been a rockstar. Her attitude and kindness shine through the work she does, as she passes on the life skills First Tee has taught her down to the next generation. Not only does she work to help bring up others, Li An also gets personal fulfillment out of coaching. When asked, she said “[the participants] put me in a good mood. Seeing people I know and them remembering things about me, and people showing that they care brings me up. It’s a big community feeling, showing that I am making a big impact, spreading knowledge and helping people to improve and be their best self.”

For her next steps, Li An is currently planning on attending a four-year university, now with the support of the College Scholar program. In the future, she wants to pursue a career in healthcare, a field where her perseverance, positive attitude and innate care for others will definitely play a role. Congratulations again Li An!

If you are interested in more information on our National Opportunities, please visit our website or reach out to Program Coordinator Phoenix ([email protected]).

FTSV Participant Katelyn Chan Awarded Make Your Mark Grant!

Congratulations to FTSV Participant Katelyn Chan for being awarded the Make Your Mark Grant!

Through the Ace Giving Back to the Community class, Ace First Tee participants like Katelyn have an opportunity to make their mark on their community, and leave behind a legacy of impact and service to inspire future Ace participants. To qualify for this Grant, a minimum of 24 hours must be devoted to a project or initiative that seeks to apply knowledge gained at First Tee and bridges service to the greater community. The project must make an impact on a cause or organization in the participant’s community while highlighting the impact First Tee has had on their learning and preparation to succeed in this initiative.

Beginning this Winter, FTSV will allocate $500 in her name to the Ace-Give Back Volunteer class to collectively pursue an enhancement or appreciation project that benefits the FTSV community. FTSV is doing this to reinforce the Make Your Mark Grant and to teach our teens about working as a team and project management.

Katelyn was one of 5 selected from across the country based on her volunteer work at Plateful and ArtReach. At Plateful she contacted restaurants and delivered their excess food to homeless shelters. At ArtReach, she made and distributed care packages for different organizations or community groups. She made support cards for hospital workers, toys for dog shelters, and ordered/delivered handwarmers for the homeless. She credited First Tee – Silicon Valley and the performance and process goal lessons for helping her create and follow through on an action plan to be successful.

“Many people in high school brag about how much they can procrastinate,” said Katelyn, “but at First Tee – Silicon Valley we learn the importance of setting due dates, creating plans, and taking initiative. It is great to grow up and spend a big chuck on my life with First Tee, and be around such a supportive group of people who push me to be the best version of myself. Thank you so much for this grant, I am so surprised!”

Congratulations Katelyn! Your work in the community shows high character, empathy, and a desire to make the world a better place. Thank you!

If you are interested in joining our program like Katelyn did years ago, please click here or contact us at [email protected] or 408-508-4880 for more information.

Change the Game for MORE Kids!

Who helped you get to where you are today?

Mentoring is priceless. If you had a mentor growing up, you know that having someone to listen and give support, encouragement, and guidance to overcome life’s challenges can be transforming. When we look back on the 95,000 kids First Tee – Silicon Valley has worked with, we are filled with pride and joy knowing that our mentors and our youth development program was there for the kids of our community.

Meet Salma and Nancy. These sisters have progressed and benefitted enormously from our program. Golf was never on their radar but their mom learned about First Tee – Silicon Valley through a family friend. Their mom really liked the life skills we were teaching and the girls felt included and enjoyed the community that they developed with their First Tee peers and coaches. Salma and Nancy were able to participate for 6 years due to our financial aid program. They are first generation Latinas to graduate high school and go to college in their family due to the character-building skills cultivated by our mentors (See Salma’s impact video at the bottom).

Our kids face a lot of heavy stuff. The pressures of social media, loneliness, mental health struggles, family dynamics, inequities of living in Silicon Valley and devasting world events are all adversely affecting youth. We create time and space for our kids to share what’s going on in their lives so they reach out and connect with us.

We have long-term mentoring impact. Our intentional focus on the recruitment, retention and progression of our participants teaching a proven curriculum by high quality mentors has a big impact. 100% of our long-term kids graduate high school and 100% attend college while learning life skills that make them good citizens!

Help us Mentor MORE Kids!

We are thrilled to share that we have new 25-year agreement for expanded access at Rancho del Pueblo Golf Course which doubles the number of kids and we can serve. Help us grow our program and help us mentor more kids.

Your $500 donation will underwrite one low-income course participant and one Title 1 student to experience our program. That is less than $1.50 a day for authentic, one-on-one mentorship teaching our character-building life lessons that have proven to make a difference. On behalf of kids like Salma, we thank you!

We are here, and have been every day since 2005 changing the game for MORE kids.

Thank You for helping to make that happen!

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