Your investment is needed to give a child a mentor and to provide the professional support necessary to ensure a quality relationship. We're experts at mentoring and we're efficient with your dollars. We use volunteers and partner institutions to stretch your dollar further. Your support returns many times the investment and is good for our community.

Your donation means fewer kids in trouble in Southwestern Illinois. More children with a "Big" in our community means:

• More children graduating high school
• More of our community's children making positive life choices
• More children doing better in school
• More kids who get along better with their families and friends
• Fewer children resorting to violence as a way to solve their problems

With your dollars:

• We recruit volunteers and carefully screen each volunteer before pairing him/her with a child.
• We interview each potential Big, and each Little and their family.
• We maximize child safety.
• We provide each "match" with close support by a professional social worker.
• We provide family support, direct assistance, referral and intervention services.
• We provide volunteers with orientation and training to help them be more effective mentors.
• We organize group mentoring activities for children who are waiting to be paired with a Big Brother or Big Sister.

In recognition of our agency's dedication to ethical and honorable business practices, the Better Business Bureau included us among 12 Greater St. Louis organizations awarded the prestigious Torch Award in October 2009. In its 2003 survey of 200 large charities, Forbes Magazine selected Big Brothers Big Sisters as one of its top ten charities, making the publication's "gold star" list of charities which it believes are worthy of donor consideration. The magazine rated these non-profits on how efficiently they collect and distribute dollars, focusing on three critical categories: charitable commitment, fundraising efficiency, and donor dependency.

This year, Charity Navigator once again gave Big Brothers Big Sisters the 4-star "exceptional" rating (the highest possible) for its efficient financial management and growth. We are proud of these accomplishments and strive to build on our success, with your support.

You have the power to change the lives of disadvantaged children in Southwestern Illinois just by making one phone call, writing a check or donating online. It only takes a minute but the rewards last a lifetime.

Online
Make a secure, tax-deductible online donation to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwestern Illinois.

By Phone
Please call the Development Department at (618) 398-3162.

By Mail
Please mail your personal check made payable to:
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwestern Illinois
6400 West Main Street, Suite 1G
Belleville, IL 62223

On behalf of our many children and families, we thank you for your support!

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwestern Illinois is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization. Donations to Big Brothers Big Sisters are fully tax-deductible as allowed by federal law. For a copy of our most recent 990, please visit www.Guidestar.org or call Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwestern Illinois Development Department at (618) 398-3162.