MAXCourage 2023 Annual Report

SUPPORTING TEACHERS & STUDENTS SINCE 1991
While it can be hard sometimes
TO BE BRAVE
AND TO KEEP GOING,
COURAGE
can bring us onto new paths, and lead us to
NEW DESTINATIONS.
-SARAH B.
Lesley Ellis School
ANNUAL GIVING REPORT 2023

Max Warburg
C O U RAG E
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Stephanie Warburg, President
Frederick Warburg, Vice President
Elizabeth Evans D’Ascensao, Secretary
Amy d'Ablemont Burnes
Astrid Burns
Sally Fay Cottingham
C.J. Hacker
Jill Lenhardt
Kate Lubin
Ann Ogilvie Macdonald
Marsha MacLean
Kristen Suliivan McEntyre
Ryan Naples
Mimi Neal Eger
Julie Norman
Sam Plimpton
Diane Schmalansee
Clayton Schuller
Lynda Wood
BOARD EMERITUS
Carrie Minot Bell
Suzanne Fisher Bloomberg
Barbara Hawkins
Pamela Humphrey
Joan Bennett Kennedy
STAFF
Carrie Coughlin, Executive Director
Molly McCafferty, Program Director
Michelle Jimenez, Program Associate
GOVERNANCE
ADVISORY BOARD
Blakeman Allen
Peter Alvarez
Carrie Minot Bell
Katie Schuller Bleakie
Yvan Bodart
Amanda Bradford
Michelle Brito
Lisa Clark
Heather Faris
Carmen Fields
Sidik Fofana
Robert Gittens, Esq.
Elizabeth Goodenough
Ann Gund
Katherine McManmon Hoyt
Kasey Kaufman
Rona Kiley
Martha Kurz
Gil Leaf
Joyce Linehan
Lois Lowry
Alexandra Marshall
Afnan Nehela
Martha Pierce
Alex Saltonstall
Ellen Segal
Mary Tamer
Jonathan Warburg
Joyce Yaffee
Dear Friends,
With the advent of the 2023-2024 school year, MAXCourage begins its 33rd year of serving middle
school students. As we look back over the years, we can see both the breadth and depth of impact
of this beloved curriculum. All over the world, 220,000 children have participated during that time.
We now connect with alumni and solicit feedback from caregivers and teachers in real time. Due to
this updated means of data collection, we can confidently say that the consequence of telling one’s
story of courage and sharing it, regardless of whether it is published, has had a substantial and
quantifiable significance to so many.
The growth of our program has been incredible this year – with reconnections to schools that
may have fallen off during the pandemic, with new schools, and with The MAXCourage Writers’
Workshop Series now available in both after-school programs and summer camps. More than
6,500 children from all over the world participated last year. Domestically, our program expanded
44%, with an increase of 31% in our hometown of Boston, MA. Our annual publication, The Courage
of Children: Boston and Beyond, reflects that growth, with our anthology of student essays growing
over 30% year over year.
Expanding the reach of our program beyond the original model in schools expands access
to our capstone essay project, and both the ELA and SEL impact, to so many more children.
The comprehensive updates to our curriculum, and the flexibility for teachers to choose their
own readings, ensure greater representation of a wide range of life experiences and cultures.
96% of teachers use the prior year’s book of student essays as the class reading for the
MAXCourage unit. 83% of teachers observed increased social awareness in their students –
understanding the perspectives and experiences of others, including those from diverse
backgrounds, cultures, and contexts. We are proud to help facilitate this!
This year we will be providing microgrants to teachers for classroom books, The MAXCourage
Writers’ Workshop Series will continue to grow with added Greater Boston YMCA sites, and we
will reach new schools both in the US and abroad. My thanks to our Board of Trustees, our
Advisory Board, and to all of you for your continued support. The doubling of our revenue from
FY21 to FY23 has fueled this fantastic growth and expanded outreach. I ask you to consider further
support as we manage our capacity to meet the demand for the curriculum. Your help is needed
particularly in the post-pandemic landscape where children and teachers need encouragement
and promotion, something MAXCourage has been providing for over three decades.
In Gratitude,
Carrie Coughlin, CFRE
Executive Director

y the NumberS
NOW I HAVE DECIDED I
HAVE HAD ENOUGH, AND
IT IS TIME TO CHANGE.
-AKAI’YAH C.,
KEITH MIDDLE SCHOOL
I NOW HAVE CONFIDENCE AND PRIDE IN
MYSELF AND MY HAIR. I AM FIERCE AND I AM
DETERMINED TO STAND IN MY OWN LIGHT.
-LANEYAH H.,
BOSTON RENAISSANCE CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOL
33%
INCREASE IN ESSAYS PUBLISHED THIS YEAR
due to new schools and The MAXCourage Writers’ Workshop Series
for out-of-school time programs.
“Our students in the afterschool program greatly benefited from their
participation in the MaxCourage essay contest. It encouraged them to think
critically about what courage means, and the numerous ways and situations in
which they and others show their courage. They reflected on the many times in
their lives they demonstrated courage, and listened to others as they shared
their essays. This fostered self-awareness and empathy. Writing an essay or
poem helped them with ELA skills in a format that did not feel onerous, and
related to something about which they were passionate. The families/caregivers,
and school administrators of the students who were published expressed joy
and overwhelming pride in their student's accomplishments.”
ehan U. Bellesini Academy
Gansuvd G. baatsagaan school
alejandro m. community prep
cyra a. proctor elementary
—Dr. Joan Arches
Professor Emerita of Human Services and Youth Work, UMass Boston
Academic Director, 3Point Foundation
sasha f. The park school
anne-sagine N.
mother caroline
academy
javier g. hurley k-8
shed b. salemwood school
I REALIZED I HAD TO TAKE LEADERSHIP.
I HAD TO DECIDE WHICH WAY TO GO.
-IVY E.D.,
HALEY PILOT SCHOOL
100% OF STUDENTS SAY THEY
WOULD CHANGE NOTHING
ABOUT THE CURRICULUM
After MAXCourage’s 22-23 Program
TEACHERS & PARENTS
observed increases in students’...
COURAGE ISN’T GETTING
RID OF ALL YOUR FEAR;
IT’S CHOOSING TO
PERSEVERE THROUGH IT.
-NADIA A.,
AL-NOOR ACADEMY
IT FELT SO THRILLING
TO JUST BE ME.
-FINLEY S.,
BARNSTABLE
INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL
78%
of our participants
are in public school
6400+
STUDENTS
participated in
MAXCourage last year
87%
ENJOYMENT
OF WRITING
74%
EMPATHY
83%
SOCIAL
AWARENESS*
74%
SELF
AWARENESS
54%
44%
increase in U.S.
participation
increase in MA
Gateway Cities
participation
*Defined by CASEL as “Understanding the perspectives and experiences of
others, including those from diverse backgrounds, cultures, & contexts.”
All data based on the 2022-2023 school year

ACCORDING TO DESE DATA,
STUDENTS IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS WE SERVE ARE...
20%
students with
disabilities
19%
English
language
learners
41%
first language
not English
78%
high needs
THE MAXCOURAGE
WRITERS’ WORKSHOP SERIES
67%
low
income
FINANCES
With the establishment of the annual fund in
2020, and the switch to a spring gala,
MAXCourage was able to diversify revenue
streams and create a path to sustainability.
Revenue has doubled from the end of FY21 in
June 2021 to the end of FY23 in June 2023 with
revenue over $500k. The FY22 and FY23 galas
were the most successful in MAXCourage history,
with an energetic and supportive committee of
young professionals combined with longtime
MAXCourage supporters in attendance. Moving
forward, the sponsorship outreach for our essay
judging and children’s events, which began in
earnest in FY22, will continue to support our
program and our constituents.
“
I’M STRONGER TODAY
”
BECAUSE
OF THIS GRIEF AND HARDSHIP.
-RILEY D.,
BOSTON RENAISSANCE
CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOL
In 2022, MAXCourage developed the Writers’ Workshop Series, its first curriculum for
out-of-school time (OST) programs, in order to reach students in their communities and
provide more young people access to the social-emotional and academic benefits of the
capstone writing project.
The curriculum guide is structured in the writers’ workshop pedagogical model, providing a
series of skill-based, easy-to-follow narrative writing lessons with SEL elements that any
after-school or summer program staff can follow and adapt to their program’s own unique
needs—whether the provider has an extensive background in the teaching of writing, or
none at all! The workshops treat
past years’ Courage essays as
“mentor texts” for students,
allowing students to identify
masterful examples of writer’s
craft in work by their own peers,
and emulate it in an evolving
draft while working within a
community of writers.
YOUTH
VOICES
EQUITY &
ACCESS
SOCIAL
EMOTIONAL
LEARNING
FY 23
REVENUE
FY23
EXPENDITURES
“
THE KID WHO WAS
”
DOING THE
BULLYING DIDN’T LIKE THAT I
STEPPED IN, BUT I HAD TO.
-KHALIL J.,
JOSIAH QUINCY UPPER SCHOOL
WRITING
DEVELOPMENT
Investment
Other 4%
5%
In-Kind
12%
Gifts
30%
Grants
15%
Events
34%
Program
67%
Advancement
19%
Administrative
14%

ALUMNI STORY
SidIk FofAna
1995 MAXFellow
James P. Timilty Middle School (now closed),
Boston, MA
In the fall of 2022, we received a note in the mail from
1995 MAXFellow, Sidik Fofana, along with a copy of his
most recent book, Stories From The Tenants
Downstairs. His note read:
“27 years ago you published an essay I wrote in the
6th grade about courage and put a photo of me on the
cover of your anthology. I am now all grown up and
have published a book of my own that I would like you
to have. I’m so happy to see your organization still making a tremendous impact and Max’s life
still continues to inspire me.”
Sidik has since joined our advisory board and was the keynote speaker at our annual gala. Sidik
brought the crowd to their feet in a standing ovation with an incredible speech about the impact
of MAXCourage on his life and his accomplishments as a best-selling author. He said:
“In 1995, at the James P. Timilty Middle School, I wrote an essay, and it changed my life. It was
the first time I was ever published in a book. It made me feel like I could write something that
could move people.”
Sidik Fofana is a graduate of NYU’s MFA program and a public school teacher in Brooklyn. His
work has appeared in the Sewanee Review and Granta. He was named a fellow at the Center for
Fiction in 2018, and is the recipient of a 2023 Whiting Award and the 2023 Gotham Book Prize.
Stories from the Tenants Downstairs, his debut short story collection composed of eight
narratives about residents of a fictional building in Harlem, has received glowing reviews from
The Boston Globe, NPR, The New York Times, and many others.
Learn more about Sidik at https://www.sidikfofana.com/
HOW YOU CAN
MAKE A DIFFERENCE
DONATE
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!
MAXCourage is able to accept Planned Giving bequests. Please reach out to our Executive
Director, CARRIE COUGHLIN, AT CARRIE@MAXCOURAGE.ORG with any questions.
VOLUNTEER
To volunteer for our 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. Our annual
Essay Judging Day will be held in person on February 15, 2024 at Northeastern University.
Details to follow.
SAVE THE DATE
Save the date and join us for our 2024 GALA ON APRIL 26, 2024 at The Park Plaza Hotel's new
Avenue 34 Space. We are actively looking for committee members to help us with this fun event!
Consider sponsoring a table — details to follow!
CONNECT
Follow us on social media to receive the latest news on how we are transforming the lives of
young people around the world.
maxcourage.org
facebook.com/mwccurriculum
instagram.com/mwccurriculum
Please take the time to watch Sidik’s speech!
617-373-7399 INFO@MAXCOURAGE.ORG