We caught up with this year’s Nonprofit Organization of the Year to see how the Philadelphia business community has contributed to their success. Check out what Andy Kucer, Executive Director, Students Run Philly Style has to say as we highlight one of the excellent small businesses that drives the Greater Philadelphia region. Join us to celebrate the 36th Annual Excellence Award winners on Thursday, November 8.
Nonprofit Organization of the Year
Where did the idea for your business come from?
In 2004, Students Run Philly Style was founded as an anti-obesity initiative after Susan Sherman, the President and CEO of the Independence Foundation was impressed with a similar program on Los Angeles and wanted to bring the concept to Philadelphia. Shortly after the program started in Philadelphia, the organization learned that the impacts of the program reached far beyond the original anti-obesity intentions. Youth graduating the program were exhibiting a decrease in violent behavior, an increased connectedness to adults, peers and community, improved academics and attendance and the ability set and achieve long-term goals. The program then shifted from being a running program to being a mentoring program that used long distance running to build lasting and impactful relationships between the volunteer mentoring and Philadelphia youth. The program design now marries mentoring and goal setting and achievement and helps Philadelphia youth see that anything is possible.
Describe the moment that you decided to go into business for yourself.
In 2016, Students Run Philly Style became an independent organization. Students Run started as a program of the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium and was very appreciative of the years in which the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium incubated it in its infancy as it gained its footing. In 2016, the organization made the decision that organizational independence would allow the Students Run Philly Style to capitalize on its brand and better serve Philadelphia youth. Students Run incorporated as its own entity, applied for and received its own 501(c)3, and went into business on its own. This was made possible by a very supportive cohort of stakeholders including the Board of Directors, funders like the Independence Foundation, Philadelphia Foundation, and SpringPoint Partners, and a dedicated and motivated staff that deeply cares about the Students Run mission.
Who has been an inspiration to you as a business owner and why?
Our students are a daily reminder of why we work so hard to make Students Run Philly Style the premier mentoring organization in Philadelphia. The road to running a long distance race takes so much work and dedication. Our students are waking up early, running that extra mile and overcoming a wide array of adversity along the way. They always make it to the finish line and watching them achieve their goals are an incredible inspiration to our volunteers, staff and Board of Directors.
What makes your business model special?
Mentoring has been shown to be a very impactful and cost-effective way to positively impact young people’s lives. When one thinks of those who have achieved their goals in their life, most can point to how a mentor helped shape their lives in one way or another. Students Run not only uses (and often surpasses) best practices in mentoring, but it adds an element of goal setting and achievement that compliments mentoring perfectly. When a Student sets a goal, works towards it, overcomes adversity in pursuit of it, the support they get from a mentor is critical. When the day comes to achieve that goal and they cross the finish line, it is at that moment that everything comes together and the students see what all of that hard work allowed them to accomplish. Crossing that finish line along-side their mentor marks a moment in their relationship that the students will never forget. It is this marriage of mentoring and achievement that makes Students Run so special.
What is your business philosophy?
We hold ourselves to a standard of never compromising on the quality of the program. Philadelphia youth deserve non-profits that will not deviate from the integrity and quality of a program at the expense of reaching more youth or meeting grant deliverables.
We also hold the inclusivity of the program at the forefront. We value ensuring the program is available to anyone no matter their background, specific circumstances or family situation. Everyone is welcome so long as they hold up our program values of courage, effort and respect. It is why the program is free to our participants and why we make sure all aspects of our programming are welcoming and open to all.
What is the most challenging about owning/running a business in the region? How do you deal with the challenges?
For Students Run, its about funding. We are limited about what we can do by the support we have. We would love to be in every school, but would not put ourselves in a place to do that if we did not have the financial support to ensure we could keep it going and deliver the highest quality of programs. We are working hard to find a diverse group of stakeholders and building innovative and impactful partnerships.
How has the Greater Philadelphia business community impacted your success?
The expression, “it takes a village” is definitely the case at Students Run Philly Style when supporting the 1,400 youth enrolled in our programs. In Philadelphia, the business community as embraced the organization and this has manifest through financial support, skills-based volunteering, partnerships, and in-kind support. As the organization has grown and the program has evolved, the Philadelphia business community has been nothing but supportive and impactful.
Others will be looking to you for advice about starting and/or operating a business here. What are you top 3 tips?
- Ask for help. If you saw a person drowning and someone had a boat and you did not point out to them the person in the water, they would be mad if they learned the person drowned and you didn’t ask them for help.
- Plan with scale in mind.
- Perfect the product before you go to market and never compromise organizational values.
What does it mean to you personally and/or to your business to be named an Excellence Award winner?
It is a wonderful honor to be named an Excellence Award winner. It validates that we have had a legacy of impact on the region and the Philadelphia business community sees the value in what we do and where we are headed. It reminds the organization, our volunteers, and the students we serve that the community sees and appreciates what we do and that our potential is limitless. This has been a truly energizing honor and has motivated us to keep rolling up our sleeves on behalf of Philadelphia youth.
What are your strategic growth plans for the next 3-5 years?
SRPS is in the middle of its strategic planning process. It does seem like a key part of the plan will be building the SRPS brand, deepening its impact in Philadelphia, and improve its reach to youth experiencing the greatest adversity.
What resources or opportunities in the Greater Philadelphia region helped your business succeed?
From the prospective of the Executive Director who took over from the founder: Support and partnerships with local organizations and companies have been critical to the success of the organization. From financial support and sponsorships to mobilizing volunteers to the mom and pop shop who sets up a water station for Students Run youth, each have provided what they can to make our program stronger and we are incredibly grateful. Partners have also share expertise, connections and modeling that allowed our organization grow from service 50 youth to serving 1400 youth annually.
What resources do we need more of in the region to help our business community succeed?
Like all nonprofits, SRPS relies on the generosity of foundations, corporations and individuals to sustain the programming. It was support of the generous and thoughtful individuals and businesses that have enable such growth. We would love to find new ways to partner with organizations and would love the opportunity to meet with more businesses who are also committed to bettering the region.
Is there another business in the region you admire? Why?
There are so many! Philadelphia Runner is a great example of a business we admire. They have been so successful in building a strong and supportive community and are genuinely focused on improving the health of the region. They have been generous with time and expertise with Students Run and the partnership started the first week both Students Run and Philadelphia runner opened up our businesses. They serve on the Students Run Board, they co-host event with us, and have been a financial supporter since the beginning. We are thrilled to call them a partner.
What’s something that you think would surprise people about your business?
That we serve 1400 youth each year.
That students in our program:
- Achieve a long-term decrease in BMI
- Experience improvement in cardiovascular fitness
- 90% increase, or maintain, high level of ability to set long term goals
- 80% of youth increase, or maintain, high levels of confidence
- 5% of youth are promoted to the next grade
That our program is completely free to the students, communities, and schools we serve.
That we are able to do all of the work we do with a very lean team of 7!
Where do you see your business in 10 years?
We see Students Run as the region’s most impactful mentoring program. We want to be the gold standard in this space for years to come and keep pushing ourselves to have bigger impacts and help more youth to achieve their potential. We hope to become a national model for what combining mentoring and achievement can accomplish. We want to be a brand in Philadelphia that is as Philadelphia as the Eagles or water ice. Students Run in Philadelphia and are excited to help shape the community for years to come.
Be sure to grab your tickets to help celebrate Anyd and his team at Students Run Philly Style as the Nonprofit Organization of the Year honoree at the 36th Annual Excellence Awards on Thursday, November 8.
