Boys and Girls Club Use Data to Determine Whether to Expand Services

The Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee are in the process of re-assessing their current Club locations, as well as programs offered within Milwaukee Public School facilities as Community Learning Center (CLC) programs. Their Board of Directors is conducting a long term planning exercise to determine the need to potentially expand services at current branches, move some programs to new locations, expand the number of CLCs, or decide whether a new “Traditional Club” location may be needed.

In the spring of 2006, the Nonprofit Center of Milwaukee analyzed the Boys and Girls Club client service patterns, and determined penetration rates in various market areas. Several potential participation models were also developed, accounting for children already served and the pattern of children identified by the census, to find under served areas. The models assumed conservative participation rates in order to predict how many children might be available to attend a new location. The models were then used to help determine the potential for further expansion throughout the city.

This story was initially published in Stories: Using Information in Community Building and Local Policy in June 2007.

Todd Clausen, Data Center Project Manager for the Nonprofit Center of Milwaukee was interviewed for these stories. Michael Barndt was the Data Center Coordinator.

This story was written by staff at the Urban Institute. The Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee was the Milwaukee partner in the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership, a learning network coordinated by the Urban Institute, at the time of the story. All partners ensure communities have access to data and the skills to use information to advance equity and well-being across neighborhoods.