826 Valencia

Programs

1. Workshops:In our Workshops program, we served 438 students during the 2024-2025 school year. This year, we adapted to our students needs and energy, and decided to do more writing projects that incorporated illustrations and creativity. A highlight was the October haunted house project, where students developed a sales pitch for their haunted house and then built a diorama. At the end of the project, students presented their sales pitch, showcasing all their haunted amenities.

   $1,157,152 spent
   22% of program spending

2. In-School Programs: 826 Valencia partners with public schools throughout San Francisco to collaboratively develop writing curricula and bring 826 staff and volunteer tutors into partner schools, where we provide individualized writing lessons and tutoring. In FY25, we supported 48 teachers and 1,650 students at 13 schools. Our Black Student Cohort, an auxiliary program to our In-Schools programming, served 21 elementary school students as well.

   $1,102,660 spentof which $170,002 as grants$170,740 earned by the program
   21% of program spending

3. Field Trip Programs: 826 Valencia hosts Storytelling & Bookmaking and Choose Your Own Adventure writing field trips for elementary students at its Mission Center and podcasting field trips for middle and high schools at its Tenderloin Center. In FY25, we served 4,172 students with 195 field trips. Our podcasting field trips yielded 1,947 student podcasts that reached 29,147 listeners through our SoundCloud page.

   $1,011,840 spent
   19% of program spending

4. After-School Programs:826 Valencia provides free after-school tutoring and writing support at five locations in San Francisco, including our three Writing Centers and our partner schools, Buena Vista Horace Mann (BVHM) and Dr. Charles R. Drew Preparatory Academy. Students enroll for a minimum of two days per week for individualized homework support and writing projects. After-school programs served 333 students in 2024-25. One highlight was a science-themed writing project at our Mission Center, where students imagined discovering a new plant or animal species. This writing project culminated in professionally produced species posters created by 826s design team, which were displayed in our Mission writing center.

   $721,751 spent
   14% of program spending

5. Leadership and Future Pathways:826 provides middle and high schoolers with opportunities to build skills, knowledge, and resources that strengthen the high school-to-college-to-career pathway. In FY25, we awarded five $20,000 college scholarships to graduating seniors who will also receive ongoing college persistence and completion support from our partner ScholarMatch. We provided another 204 twelfth-graders with college application and essay support through in-person workshops, both at our writing centers and with partner schools. Our Youth Leadership Advisory Board, Black Literary Achievement Club, and Middle School Leadership Program offered paid internships, leadership development, and career readiness support to 94 teens. We also provided hands-on workforce development experience and stipends to 62 high school and college students and transitional-aged youth who interned with our education, volunteer, design, and store teams.

   $603,151 spent
   11% of program spending

6. Summer Workshops and Camps:We served 792 students in summer 2025 through project-based writing camps and workshops. Programs included: A) Exploring Words Summer Camp, where students in grades 3-5 work on writing projects that included persuasive writing, screenwriting, field journals, identity/Narrative writing, community mural poetry, and creating fantasy worlds; B) Exploring Leadership Summer Camp, where students in grades 6-8 develop leadership and communication skills by exploring issues that face their communities; C) Young Author's Workshop (YAW), an creative writing camp where high schoolers explore a range of literary genres and compose literary works; and D) writing workshops for students in grades 3-8 through our community partners in the Tenderloin.

   $442,880 spent
   8% of program spending

7. Other Program Accomplishments include the operation of two retail stores (Mission District, Mission Bay). The stores sell educational materials, books for children, and other whimsical childrens toys, and serve as a community touchpoint in the neighborhoods where we operate. Other Programs also include the design and publishing infrastructure for our various publishing programs, our workforce development program for AmeriCorps associates and paid interns, and our volunteer program.

   $302,911 spent
   6% of program spending

The 7 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $5,342,345.