MAXCourage 2022 Annual Report

Dear Friends,
As MAXCourage begins its 32nd year, I am happy to report on our strong financial position,
our outlook for the future, and our plans for further expansion. It’s been a year of change and
growth at MAXCourage.
Our new Program Director, Molly McCafferty, joined us this summer. She is the first teacher to
serve in this role, coming to us from a Boston Charter School. With Molly working in tandem
with Board Member Jane Skelton, we have an updated curriculum for the 2022-2023 school
year, detailed further along in this publication.
FINANCES
FY22 was a successful year in terms of revenue at $450k, while expenses remained
unchanged. Revenue increased 70% from the prior year, and 35% from the year prior to the
pandemic. We received new grant funding from the following foundations: Liberty Mutual,
The Red Sox Foundation, AC Ratshesky Foundation, Commonwealth Corporation,
Northeastern Community Partners, and Love Tito’s Corporation. The return of an “in person
gala, which also served as our belated 30th anniversary celebration, added to the success of
the year. The gala grossed $217k in revenue, with 30% of attendees new to MAXCourage.
On the expansion side, in 2021-2022 we added 55 new schools and have furthered our
Gateway City expansion with Worcester for the 2022-2023 school year. With a lens of
accessibility and equity, we have begun to offer our curriculum in a series of writer’s workshops
in partnership with after school programs all over Boston. A renewed strategic partnership with
Boston Public Library allows our curriculum to exist in youth programs in branches all over the
city. Additionally, retired teachers, many of whom taught the MAXCourage Curriculum, are
now supporting students with MAXCourage through the Boston Teachers’ Union’s “Homework
Helpers” program. New partnerships with Roxbury Youth Services and Menino YMCA Hyde
Park are also providing our program to communities that may not currently have a school
connection with MAXCourage.
This Fall, we have convened a Teachers Consortium, as a means for seasoned MAXCourage
teachers to connect with those newer to our curriculum, with an eye to sharing best practices
for implementation. Teachers have flexibility with the curriculum to best serve the needs of
their classrooms,. Some use the original novels and curriculum guides, others have used our
publication, The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond, as the “mentor text” for their ELA
units. Children in Boston, New Bedford, and Barnstable are able to read each other’s stories
alongside stories from Mongolia, Yemen, and Belize, among others. Supporting teachers, and
therefore supporting students, has been MAXCourage’s mission since day one.
This year, our Board of Directors created a Sustainability Committee with a focus on Diversity,
Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. All Board Members and staff have been asked to complete
a certification in DEIB on LinkedIn—this certification does not expire. With new funding, we
will begin alumni outreach and database updates later this year with a Northeastern Co-op
student. Additionally, on the Board side, 100% of Board Members supported MAXCourage
financially this year, with 65% giving a three-year pledge to show sustainability of funding.
In-Kind
Gifts
12%
Investment
14%
Other
0%
FY22 REVENUE
Temp Restricted
5%
Unrestricted Gifts
39%
Events, net
of expense
21%
Grants
9%
FY21 EXPENDITURES
Program
70%
Administrative
16%
Advancement
14%
HOW TO HELP
To make a monetary donation, please go
to maxcourage.org/donate or use your
smartphone camera to access
this QR code below.
Every donation helps as we raise every dollar
in support of our curriculum, provided
completely free to all teachers and students.
If you can support us, please check to see if
your employer provides an opportunity for a
matching gift!
To volunteer for our now virtual essay
judging day in February, please contact
our program director, Molly McCafferty,
at molly@maxcourage.org
Please contact us if you can connect us with
a new school or school system nationally or
internationally.
Save the date and join us for our 2023
Gala on May 5, 2023. Consider sponsoring
a table — details to follow!
CONNECT WITH US
maxcourage.org
SUPPORTING TEACHERS
& STUDENTS SINCE 1991
Watch this space—it’s an exciting time here at MAXCourage and I look forward to keeping you
updated. Please save the date for our 2023 Gala on May 5th. Feel free to reach out to me with
any questions at carrie@maxcourage.org.
In Gratitude,
Thank you for your support!
twitter.com/maxcourage
facebook.com/maxcourage
instagram.com/mwccurriculum
Annual Giving 2022
July 1, 2021—June 30, 2022
Carrie Coughlin
Executive Director
263 Huntington Ave., Box 366. Boston, MA 02115
617-373-7399 Info@maxcourage.org
“I aimed for the sky even if it felt like
I was buried deep into the ground.”
— A MAXCourage participant

CURRICULUM UPDATE
Prompted by feedback from the program’s teachers and caregivers—and by the broader
context of the Covid-19 pandemic and its disruptions to students’ academic, social, and
emotional development—MAXCourage set out this year to update its well-established
curriculum. The goal of the update is to systematize and strengthen the seamless integration
of ELA and SEL skill-building that our program, by the very nature of its mission, is uniquely
well-positioned to deliver. Each classroom activity in the guide is explicitly aligned with both
Common Core State Standards for 6th grade ELA, and with SEL Competencies from the
framework developed by CASEL, the nation’s leading organization advancing evidence-based
best practices for Social-Emotional Learning. Some activities have been carried over from
previous iterations of our curriculum and refined, while others are completely new. In all of
them, students are asked to think, read, write, and speak about how people can enact their
character values in response to adversity.
Designed to be flexible to individual classrooms’
unique needs, the teaching guide can be
used alongside any novel being taught,
and teachers are empowered to use
whichever elements work for them.
The mini-lessons build towards the
longstanding and beloved capstone
project of the program, in which
students write personal narratives
about an experience of courage in
their lives. A panel of community
members selects a number
of these essays for publication
in MAXCourage’s annual book,
providing a platform to amplify youth
voices and storytelling.
The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) has been a leader in
the SEL movement since first introducing the term more than two decades ago. The CASEL 5
addresses five broad, interrelated areas of competence and examples for each: self-awareness,
self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.
The CASEL 5 can be taught and applied at various developmental stages from childhood to
adulthood and across diverse cultural contexts to articulate what students should know and
be able to do for academic success, school and civic engagement, health and wellness, and
fulfilling careers. Source: www.casel.org
Students’ Highlights
• “Writing the essay”
• “Reading about other
kids’ definition of
courage”
• “Sharing my story and
hearing others”
• “Writing about myself
from my heart”
• “Learning about Max”
• “How I was able to
have a voice and talk
about things that I’ve
gone through”
• “Being able to express
things that you’ve been
bottling up”
• “Improving on my
writing skills”
• “Getting published
in a book”
TEACHERS REPORT DUE TO MAXCOURAGE:
Increased Empathy
Increased Self Awareness
Increased Community in Classroom
Increased Enjoyment in Writing
Increased Enjoyment in Reading
PARENTS REPORT DUE TO MAXCOURAGE:
Students now understand the meaning
of courage
Increased student empathy
Increased student self awareness
Increased student individual courage
Increased enjoyment in writing
Increased enjoyment in reading
GOVERNANCE
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Stephanie Warburg,
President
BOARD MEMBERS
Brant Binder
Amy d’Ablemont
Burnes
Astrid Burns
Sally Fay Cottingham
Mimi Neal Eger
BOARD EMERITUS
Carrie Minot Bell
Suzanne Fisher
Bloomberg
Barbara Hawkins
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Katie Schuller Bleakie
Lisa Clark
Janet Coleman
Merry Conway
Kit Cunningham
Heather Faris
Carmen Fields
Robert Gittens, Esq.
CJ Hacker
Jill Lenhardt
Kate Lubin
Ann Ogilvie
Macdonald
77%
85%
62%
73%
46%
100%
74%
68%
76%
68%
48%
Frederick Warburg,
Vice President
Pamela Humphrey
Joan Bennett
Kennedy
Elizabeth
Goodenough
Ann Gund
Katherine
McManmon Hoyt
Julie Joyal
Kasey Kaufman
Rona Kiley
Marsha Yamaykina
MacLean
Kristen Suliivan
McEntyre
Ryan Naples
STAFF
Carrie Coughlin,
Executive Director
Gil Leaf
Karen Leopold
Lois Lowry
Alexandra Marshall
Martha Pierce
Diana Rowan
Rockefeller
Alex Saltonstall
Max Warburg
100%
STUDENTS REPORT
THEY WOULD
CHANGE NOTHING
ABOUT THE
CURRICULUM
Elizabeth Evans D’Ascensao,
Secretary
Julie Norman
Samuel Plimpton
Diane Schmalense
Clayton Schuller
Jane Skelton
Molly McCafferty,
Program Director
Donna Storer
Rev. Liz Walker
Lisa Walker
Jonathan Warburg
Janet Wu
Joyce Yaffee
FY22 DONORS
$25,000
Gordon & Llura Gund 1993
Foundation
$20,000—$24,999
Barbara Jordan &
Robert Pemberton
Liberty Mutual Foundation
Sigrid & Ladd Thorne
$10,000–$19,999
Liz and Jeremiah Daly
Barbara Hawkins
Lucile & William Hicks
Barbara & Amos Hostetter
Chris & Jacquelyn Light
Kate Lubin & Glendon Sutton/
Richard K. Lubin Foundation
Lisa Pierpont & Brant Binder
A.C. Ratshesky Foundation
$5,000–$9,999
Nancy Adams & Scott Schoen
Carrie Minot Bell & George Bell
Daphne & Brandon Berger
Jennifer & Jonathan Block
Richard Burnes
Astrid & Thomas Burns
Edmund & Betsy Cabot
Charitable Foundation
Amy & Ethan d’Ablemont Burnes
Swanee Hunt
Jill Lenhardt
Marsha & Mark MacLean
Berneda Meeks, J &
E Slavik Foundation
Julia Norman
Suzanne Bernard Plimpton
& Samuel S. Plimpton, Jr.
Diane & Richard Schmalensee
Jennifer & Steve Walske
Stephanie & Jonathan Warburg
Ashley & Alex Wayman
$2,500 - $4,999
Fiona & James Benenson
Mimi & George Bennett
Commonwealth
Corporation - Workforce
Training Fund Program
Mimi & Bryan Eger
Fifth Generation Inc.,
Love, Tito’s
Elizabeth Goodenough &
James Leaf
Ann & Graham Gund
C.J. & Michael Hacker
Elizabeth L. Johnson Fund
Holly & Bruce Johnstone
Kristen Sullivan McEntyre
Pfeiffer Foster Fund
Helen Randolph
The Red Sox Foundation
Sarah & Hans Sherman
Joan & Edwin Tiffany
Julia Turner & Ben Wasserstein
Frederick Warburg
Lynda Schweitzer Wood
$1,000–$2,499
Katie Schuller Bleakie
Suzanne & Jeffrey Bloomberg
Kathleen Bratton & Brian Wruble
Patricia & Timothy Brennan
Angela & Benjamin Cavallo
Whitney Cheever
Christopher Comenos
Jamie & Kevin Connors
Joan & Prescott Crocker
Cummings Community Giving
Margaret & Dave Donahue
Sarah & William Ducas
Courtney & Tim Egan
Katherine Fellens
Hilary & Christopher Gabrieli
Robert Greenglass
Kristin & John Gulliver
Ann & John Hall
Susan & C. Michael Hazard
Katherine McManmon Hoyt
& Robert Hoyt
Kasey Kaufman & Michael
Horwitz
Angela & Jeff Laliberte
Joyce & Edward Lawrence
Heejin Lho
Ellie Malloy
Bridget & Joel Marquis
Alexandra Marshall &
James Carroll
Northeastern University City &
Community Engagement
Lia & William Poorvu
Hadley & Alexander Powell
Tina Rathborne
Anne & James Righter
Diana Rowan Rockefeller
Susan & David Rockefeller
Laura & Alexander Saltonstall
Jessica & Daniel Schmitz
Clayton & Emily Schuller
Ellen & Steven Segal
Kristin & Roger Servison
Susan Sloan & Arthur Clarke
Epp Sonin & Arie Derkson
Fredericka & Howard
Stevenson
Lisa Taffe
Ladd Thorne Jr.
Jonathan Wilson
Joyce Yaffee
$500–$999
The Alchemy Foundation
Meghan & David Almquist
Gabrielle Baron
Christina Bascom
Elizabeth & Joseph Bascom
Charitable Foundation
Enid L. Beal & Alan Wolfe
Rachel & Ryan Belanger
Pia Ostros & Juan Ignacio
Betanzo
Yvan Bodart
Kimberly Boyd
Nancy & Jack Braitmayer
Kennett Burnes
Mabel H. Cabot
Danielle Chaplick/Gallagher
Benefit Services
Brooke Chamberlain Cook
Nancy & Laury Coolidge
Sally Fay Cottingham
Kit Cunningham
Gene & Lloyd Dahmen
Lynn & Bruce Dayton
Natalia Egan
Martha A. Erickson
Carmen Fields & Lorenz Finison
Alexander Fuller
Betty & Russell Gaudreau
Bess & James Hughes
Mary Johnson
Katherine & Nick Keches
Kathleen Kenney
Lauren Krzynowek & Tyler Hart
Yelena Lembersky
Anne & Colin McNay
Kyle Morrisey
Greg Munroe
Kathy Neal
Nutter McLennan & Fish LLC
Chelsea & Andy O’Brien
Stephen Owen
Slocumb & E. Lee Perry
Wendy & Samuel S. Plimpton Sr.
Sue & Bernard Pucker
Eliza & Richie Quincy
Patty & Charles Ribakoff
Louise Riemer
Zainub & Justin Ruane
Donna & Robert Storer
Patricia & David Straus
David Van Ness Taylor
Phyllis Vineyard
Lisa & David Walker
Victoria & Thomas Whitney
$250–$499
Lisa & Joel Alvord
Lynne & Richard Breed
Andrew Brewster
Karen Britton
C & P Buttenwieser Foundation
Elizabeth Chapin
David Cody
Merry & John Conway
CJ Coughlin & Tim Croke
Jennifer & Nicholas Crocker
Darnell Dunn
Whitney & Gavin Fitts
Barbara Glauber
Vicky Graboys
Susan Hackley & Paul Henry
Irina Iatco
Judy & Roger Kamm
Lawrence Lawler
Otile McManus
Barbara Millen
Ryan Thomas Naples
Carolyn & Robert Osteen
Whitney & Ryan Patton
Elizabeth Robbins
Barbara Rodriguez
Condee N. Russo
Bridget & James Saltonstall
Tina & Paul Schmid
Brent Shay
Ellen C. L. Simmons
Jane Skelton
Callie & Jason Slocum
Michael Smith
John Snyder
Robert Straus
Kate & Benjamin Taylor
Emily Thompson
Karen Tobin
Lucie Wall
$249 & UNDER
Francis D. Adams
Liga & Martins Aldins
Blakeman Hazzard Allen
Anne T. Almy
Gwen Art
Anne Ashmore-Hudson
Carolyn Attenborough
Andrea Bloch &
William McPadden
Steven and Ellen Branfman
Gloria and David Brewster
Ginny and James Bride
Edith Moricz-Cody and Alan
Cody
Pat and Larry Kreger Cohan
Sally Stoddard Collier
Linzee Coolidge
Sandra and William Dick
Richard Dimino
Catharine-Mary Donovan
Margaret Dray
Alexandra Fallon
Heather Faris
Rebecca Forkner
Hugh Fortmiller
Blanche & Adel Foz
Robert Gittens
Susan Green
Grossman Family Charitable
Foundation
Susan M. Halby
Bridget Halligan
Elin & John Harris
Trevania & John Henderson
Zachary Kastenhuber
Martha King
David Lawton
Mary Ellen Hawes Lees
Karen Leopold
Lyn Lloyd
Melissa Ludtke
Helen Marston
Deirdre & Peter Martin
Hope & Shaw McDermott
Nancy McFadden
Bernard H. Mehlman
Parinaz Motamedy
Kathryn O’Connell
Ashley Perkins
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David Podell
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Elizabeth & Christopher Reece
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Catherine Rurode
David Russell
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Elaine Shiang
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Nancy & David Thompson
Susan Trausch
Gay Vervaet
Hannah Vokey
Kathleen Wattles
Judith Wheelock
Anna Whitcomb
Elizabeth & Benjamin White
Virginia B Wickwire
Pamela and Barry Zuckerman
IN KIND DONATIONS
Daphne & Brandon Berger
Astrid & Tommy Burns
Kate Coughlin &
Jonathan Hausner
Jamie & Kevin Connors
Elizabeth Evans D’Ascensao
Mimi & Bryan Eger
Haley Fortier
Holland & Knight, LLP
Kristen Sullivan McEntyre
Northeastern University
Diane and Richard Schmalensee