1991 -1997: The Early Years

’91 – ’92

•  Six Wall Street professionals established Minds Matter to mentor and tutor inner-city high school students, as well as assist them with applications to competitive preparatory schools.
•  Two students completed first year of Minds Matter program and attended Pomfret School and Harvey Academy on full scholarships.

’92 – ’93

• Officially incorporated as a nonprofit organization, Minds Matter of NYC, Inc., and obtain tax-exempt status as a public charity under section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, making donations to us tax-deductible.
• Minds Matter expanded its mission to help students  find academically enriching summer experiences at college, universities, and preparatory schools.
• Grew to 14 students, meeting weekly at City College of New York in Harlem.

’93 – ’94

• Interest in program escalates. Grew to over 25 students representing nine schools and 50 volunteers from 43 different companies.
• Junior Program, for tenth and eleventh graders, assists 18 students gain acceptance to summer programs.
• The senior program begins helping returning seniors apply to college.

  ’94 – ’95

• Junior Program sends 19 students to pre-college programs; six with full scholarships.
• Fourteen seniors accepted to colleges including Georgetown and New York University.

 ’95 – ’96

• Union Bank of Switzerland generously donated office cafeteria space for mentoring sessions.
• Twenty-one students graduated to summer programs  and nine seniors to college.

  ’96 – ’97

• Expanded curriculum to include special workshops including College Admission Officer and Career Panels.
• Twenty-four students in Junior Program admitted to leading summer programs.
• Senior program assists 12 students with college admissions process.

 ’97 – ’98

• Twenty six students participated in Summer Program, all gaining acceptance to school of their choice. Junior program is renamed Summer Program.
• Senior Program grows to 14 students.

1998 -2001: Coming of Age

    ’98 – ’99

• Received the Dedicating Resources for Education and Motivation (DREAM) Award from the New York City Council’s Education Committee for dedication to improving the educational experience of New York city students.
• J.P. Morgan Chase generously donated office space  for mentoring sessions.
• Twenty five students gained acceptance to summer programs and 21 seniors graduate  to college.

  ’99 – ’00

• Grew to over 50 students representing 10 schools and more than 180 volunteers from 75 companies.
• Sapna and Ashish Shah generously donate $100, 000 to create the Achievement Award Scholarship, awarded each year to an academically  and financially deserving college-bound senior.
• Renamed Summer Program to Prep Program.
• Prep Program graduates class of 36 and 15 seniors gain acceptance to top universities.

  ’00 – ’01

• The Minds Matter experience came full circle: The first Minds Matter mentee returned to be a mentor.
• SAT program initiated to provide students with 13 weeks of structured test preparation.
• Received $20, 000 from the Ford Foundation Good Neighbor Fund.
• Initiate Advisory Board of community leaders to provide strategic counsel to Minds Matter leadership.
• Def Jam records founder Russell Simmons served as guest speaker to talk to students about urban youth and entrepreneurship in the hip-hop industry.
• Forty-one Prep program students gained acceptance to summer programs and Senior Program graduates 19 student to college.

2001 -Today: Success

  ’01 – ’02

•  Created Financial Development Team to strengthen fundraising efforts.
•  Hosted the First Annual Minds Matter Soiree and raised more than $14,000.
•  Formed partnership with Kintera, a leader in non-profit online marketing, to streamline fundraising efforts.
•  Received $20, 000 from Ford Foundation Good Neighbor Fund for second consecutive year.
•  Became the member of the Mentoring Partnership of New York.
•  Russell Simmons provided students with office visit to Phat Farm company headquarters.
•  New York City mayoral candidate Mark Green serves as guest speaker for students to discuss leadership and public service.
•  Celebrated tenth anniversary with “Decade of Dedication” brunch. Twenty-five alumni  and community members attend event to observe organization’s progress.
•  Prep Program celebrated 39 summer program acceptances and Senior Program graduates class of 23 students.

  ’02 – ’03

• Former  New York City volunteers began building foundation for expansion chapter in Boston.
• Three seniors named New York Times Scholarship semifinalists.
• Raised more than $40,000 through Second Annual Soiree and Silent Auction.

  ’03 – ’04

• Founded first expansion chapter – Minds Matter of Boston Inc. launched with their first class in January 2004.
• Named as beneficiary of Stern Graduate School  of Business Charity Ball.

 ’04 – ’05 

• Founded second expansion chapter Minds Matter of Denver, Inc., with its first class in the Fall of 2004.
• Hired first full-time employee, Rissa Durham, as Executive Director of Minds Matter of NYC, Inc.

2005 -2009: Growth

 ’05 – ’06

• Selected Chicago, Illinois, and Portland, Oregon, as sites for the third and fourth expansion chapters.
• Hired second full-time employee, Martha Bloem, as Program and Development Assistant.

 ’06 – ’07

• Established national headquarters to guide and support local chapters.
• Implemented first full year of Writing & Critical Thinking curriculum.

 ’07 – ’08

• Selected Cleveland, Ohio as location for the sixth chapter.
• Secured first two national grant commitments from Barclays Capital and the Pershing Square Foundation.

 ’08 – ’09

• First national television appearance with a feature on Bravo’s Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style.

 ’09 – ’10

• Los Angeles and San Francisco, California were selected as locations for the seventh and eighth chapters.

 ’10 – ’11

•  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was selected as the ninth chapter.