1

Introduction
‍

1

Introduction

Annual
Impact Report

2021-2022 School Year

We are proving what’s possible when you empower the next generation of leaders with the skills, networks, experiences, and confidence necessary to launch a strong career.

© 2022 Braven, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Photo: Joshua Christie | Purpose Portraits
Spring 2018 Fellow
Chris Latonnel Consumer Banking Product Finance Analyst, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Spring 2021 Fellow
Yamilex Batista Talent Acquisition Coordinator, McCann Health

Driving toward
a better system

Driving toward a better system

Fall 2021 Fellow
Fridda Fernandez  Student Development Coordinator, Future 5
Photo: Joshua Christie | purpose Portraits

Fellows continue to be deeply impacted by the pandemic, uncertain labor market and now, a potential recession. At Braven, we’re working towards creating a fundamentally better system that allows our nation’s talented young people the opportunity to achieve economic freedom.

This report highlights Braven’s impact through the stories of our inspiring Fellows.

Are Braven Fellows getting quality opportunities that put them on the path to economic mobility and the American promise?
Are we impacting more students and maintaining program quality?
Is Braven supporting Fellows on the path to internships and college completion?
Are Braven Fellows developing the soft skills and networks needed for success?
Are we building employer and higher education partnerships with true shared value?

Why our work matters

ONLY 30% OF 1.3 MILLION LOW-INCOME OR FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS who enroll in college each year will graduate and secure a strong first job or enter graduate school. That’s nearly 1 million students every single year who are not on the path to greater economic mobility.

Mission

Braven empowers promising college students with the skills, confidence, experiences, and networks necessary to transition from college to strong economic opportunities, which lead to meaningful careers and lives of impact.

Vision

The next generation of leaders will emerge from everywhere.

Spring 2021 Fellow
Naïssa Charles  Software Engineer, Publicis Sapient
Photo: Joe Mazza | Brave Lux Inc.

The Braven Model

Braven empowers promising underrepresented college students on their paths to quality economic opportunities through a semester-long, cohort-based course and a lighter-touch post-course experience that lasts through college graduation.

In our classic higher education model, students take the course for credit either in-person or virtually. Students who come through our innovation programming via college success organizations receive a financial stipend in lieu of credit.

01

Are Braven Fellows getting quality opportunities that put them on the path to economic mobility and the American promise?

quality
economic
opportunity

The National Labor Market

Sunny with a Chance of Hurricane

Job prospects for new college graduates are back to pre-pandemic levels

Anticipated Hiring Increase for the Class of 2022

26%

INCREASE IN EMPLOYER PLANS
to hire new graduates from the Class of 2022 as Compared to 2021 1

72%

of employers increased salaries for entry-level jobs between 2021 and 2022 2

Decreasing Unemployment Rates

1 NACE 2022 Jobs Outlook
2 Monster: Bring On Gen Z
‍3 Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States Department of Labor via Data Commons
‍

NATIONAL NON–BRAVEN FELLOW STATISTICS

Yet, the economy is not as robust as job numbers assert

Inflation is at its highest rate in four decades.4 The U.S. is trying to keep a delicate balance of reducing inflation without increasing unemployment and starting a recession. New college grads are most vulnerable in a recession.5

Increased Inflation & Fear of an Impending Recession

Inflation Hits New Four-Decade High 6

9.1%

INFLATION RATE AS OF JUNE 2022

Increased Wages Versus Inflation

Wage growth in the last one to two years has not kept up with inflation, meaning salaries have less buying power even if they are nominally higher.7

Recent college graduates with student loan debt and other bills are already feeling the impacts of this squeeze.

4 Why a Not-So-Hot Economy Might Be Good News, The New York Times
5 How to Explain This Weird Job Market, The Wall Street Journal
6 Consumer Price Index since 1913 through June 2022 - Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
7 Tight labor markets and wage growth in the current economy, Brookings

The Strength of Roles Braven 2021 Graduates Secured

UPDATED OCTOBER 2022 3

HOW WE DEFINE QUALITY ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES

Quality role: a full-time role that requires a bachelor’s degree and includes some combination of promotion pathways, employee benefits, and a market-competitive starting salary, or enrollment in graduate school
Pathway role: a role that does not require a bachelor’s degree but helps students’ financial sustainability, is aligned with career interests, and will likely lead to more career-accelerating possibilities through skill development
Non-quality role: a role that does not require a bachelor’s degree and offers limited runway to additional career-accelerating opportunities and/or is not aligned with students’ career interests

1‍ This includes jobs data for 84% of FY21 graduates from our core model universities: Lehman College, Rutgers University-Newark, and San José State University. This does not include data from Spelman College, where we just launched with sophomores.
2‍ National benchmark estimates are based on data from NACE’s First Destination Survey, and underemployment research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
3 Since releasing the 2022 Jobs Report, we have updated our estimate for Braven graduates’ national peer benchmark from 45% to 46% to reflect a change in our methodology of estimating national peer employment rates (as sourced from National Association of Colleges and Employers’ First Destination Survey).

The Strength of Roles Braven 2021 Graduates Secured

In 2021, 680 Braven Fellows graduated from college.1 These are the strengths of the roles they've landed. Given this group of Fellows graduated into a challenging labor market, we’re encouraged to see that more than 4 out of 5 Fellows secured quality or pathway roles.2

Spring 2021 Fellow
Bryan Javier Business Development Representative, Infor
Photo: Joshua Christie | purpose Portraits








Across lines of race, Braven Fellows outpace peers nationally in quality economic outcomes

Quality Economic Opportunities

UPDATED OCTOBER 2022 2

1 Braven FY21 Fellows include those for our core model schools: Lehman College, Rutgers University-Newark, and San José State University. Sample size of Black Fellows: 139; Latinx/o/a Fellows: 211; Asian Fellows: 171. This does not include data from Spelman College where we just launched with sophomores. National estimates are based on data from NACE’s 2019 First Destination Survey (the latest pre-pandemic class available as of September 2022) and underemployment research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
2 These numbers reflect a correction to the national estimates by race that were originally published in the 2022 Impact Report and had undercounted national quality employment rate.
‍

Fall 2021 Fellow
Khangal Ariungerel Associate, Silicon Valley Bank
Photo: Darius Riley | Hour Voyses









Internships

The Most Important Predictive Factor in Post-Graduation Outcomes

The more internships students have in college, the better their chances of securing a quality post-graduate outcome.

54%

Going from 0 to 1 internship in college increases a student's chances of a quality outcome by 54%. 1

29%

Each additional internship increases the probability of a quality outcome by 29% more than an additional point in GPA.

1 Based on internship and post-graduation outcomes analysis of Braven college graduates at Lehman College, San Jose State University, and Rutgers University-Newark between FY16 and FY21.

Fall 2020 Fellow
Diana Ng Du Social Media Publishing Coordinator, Ubisoft
Photo: Darius Riley | Hour Voyses

The Braven Equation

With Braven’s help, Chris Latonnel built the foundation to get on the path to the American promise.

Spring 2018 Fellow
Chris Latonnel  Consumer Banking Product Finance Analyst, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Photo: Joshua Christie | Purpose Portraits

02

Are we impacting more students and maintaining program quality?

scale & program
quality

More than 5,100 Fellows served nationwide

9

years of service

5

U.S. regions

2021-2022 Braven Fellows in our classic model

1,182

New Fellows completed the Braven course in the 2021-2022 school year at Lehman College, Rutgers University-Newark, San José State University, and Spelman College 1

2021-2022 Fellows who identify as

1 Braven's innovation programming, which includes our 10-week National Louis University model and our BravenX stipend model, are not included in Braven's definition of a "classic" model.
2 Fellows who identify as multiracial, as collected in Pre- and Post-Accelerator Surveys, are included in the count of people of color. The percentages of Black, AAPI, and Latinx/a/o Fellows may sum to a different percentage from the overall people of color count because Fellows can select more than one race/ethnicity with which they identify.

94%

course PASS RATE for
all 2021-2022 fellows

85%

Average level of
content mastery

most popular majors

Psychology
Business Administration
biology
Political Science
Health Sciences
Economics
Sociology
English
International Studies






03

Is Braven supporting Fellows on the path to internships & college completion?

internships
& college
completion

Internship hiring rises
but disparities persist

Quality experiences during college that connect students’ education with their career aspirations are critical for post-graduation success.1 Despite increases in internship hiring, disparities persist across racial and gender lines in obtaining these experiences.

To evaluate the diversity of the internship cohort more deeply, the National Association of Colleges and Employers conducted a disproportionality analysis to assess whether the proportions of the 2020-2021 intern cohort data are proportional to the enrolled, four-year college-attending student population.

NATIONAL NON–BRAVEN FELLOW STATISTICS

1 Student Outcomes Beyond Completion: National Findings From the 2021 Strada Alumni Survey
2 NACE 2021 Internship & Co-op Survey - custom disaggregated analysis performed for Braven

Fall 2021 Fellow
Gabriel Yee Treatment Plan Project Engineer Intern, Valley Water
Photo: Darius Riley | Hour Voyses

Encouraging levels of internship attainment for Braven Fellows

For college students, internships serve as critical proof points of experience that open professional doors. Compared with their peers nationally, our Braven 2021 graduates nationwide were 11 percentage points more likely to have at least one internship during their college experience.

Internship Attainment

Disaggregated by Race

Nationally, about half of the internships in the U.S. were canceled in spring 2020.1 Despite this, Black and Latinx/o/a graduates of the Braven class of 2021 outpaced their peer graduates of color in internship attainment.

1 Glassdoor: COVID-19 And The Lost College Internship
2 Source: National Association of Colleges and Employers 2021 internship data (custom cut)
2 Includes 2021 Braven graduates at Lehman College, San José State University, and Rutgers University-Newark

Fellows’ Internship Experiences

What They Gained

Spring 2021 BravenX Fellow
Breiana Moore Data Analyst Intern, Recipe for Change
  
During my internship with Recipe for Change, I fine tuned my networking skills while building relationships with organizations in the Chicagoland area. My internship also allowed me to use my research skills in both qualitative and quantitative methods while gaining experience within my industry.
Spring 2022 Fellow
Malik Aldridge Marketing Intern, Boxd
Photo: Joshua Christie | purpose Portraits
During my internship, I learned the importance of community. I also learned valuable habits that I can take with me throughout my professional career.
NetApp was our Capstone Challenge sponsor, allowing me to gain a greater connection with their recruiters and helping me land an internship. I have always been a really introverted person, but through Braven I learned how to develop a strong elevator pitch that highlights my accomplishments and experiences.
Fall 2021 Fellow
Marina Baltazar Services Intern, NetApp
Photo: Darius Riley | Hour Voyses
Fall 2020 Fellow
Ernest Duversaint Virtual Courtroom Intern, Newark Community Solutions
Photo: Joshua Christie | purpose Portraits
Through my internship, I learned how to properly manage a social media page and effectively collaborate on projects with different departments. Whether working in a workplace you own or you're a part of, being able to collaborate and work together is what helps you get the work done.

Encouraging levels of on-time graduation

Braven Fellows are persisting and graduating at encouraging rates.1 By comparison, about 7 in 10 of their peers nationally graduate college on time.2

1 Includes graduation data of 595 all-time Braven Fellow graduates, exclusive of any Fellows who took Braven as a senior.
2 Implied 6-year graduation rate for Black, Latinx, and Asian students who persisted from freshman to sophomore year at four-year public institutions. Sources: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics, 2020 release of Tables 326.10, 326.30, and 306.50.

Spring 2021 Fellow
Lizet Portillo Trade Marketing and Cornerstone Communities Manager, adidas
Photo: Joshua Christie | Purpose Portraits

04

Are Braven Fellows developing the soft skills and networks needed for success?

skills
&
networks

Growth in
non-cognitive measures

Each semester, Braven measures growth in non-cognitive factors between the start and end of the Braven Accelerator. Non-cognitive factors, which are not usually measured through traditional assessments like standardized tests, are associated with academic and lifetime success and can play large roles in explaining job search and career behaviors and outcomes.1

IN 2021-2022, BRAVEN FELLOWS SHOWED STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT GROWTH
ACROSS THE NON-COGNITIVE FACTORS THAT WE MEASURE

1 Frank, J.L. (2020). School-Based Practices for the 21st Century: Noncognitive Factors in Student Learning and Psychosocial Outcomes. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Vol. 7(1) 44–51.

Job Search Self-Efficacy: The belief that you can successfully perform the behaviors required in a job search to land a job

48%

Career Self-Efficacy: The belief that you can successfully perform behaviors for career planning, decision-making, and progression

21%

Networking Self-Efficacy: The belief that you can successfully develop and use social networks by acquiring and cultivating contacts

43%

Spring 2022 Fellow
Nia Mubanga People Advisory Services Intern, Ernst and Young
Photo: KAT GODUCO

The Power of Mentorship

Upon completion of the Braven class, Fellows are invited to join the Professional Mentoring (PM) Program through which they receive 12 weeks of 1:1 coaching from a professional in their desired career field.

The PM Program is one of the most impactful interventions in our post-course experience: 38% of participants secured a career-accelerating opportunity during the Spring 2022 cycle.

To meet the needs of our Fellows, we have grown the PM Program by 78% from the Spring 2021 to the Spring 2022 cycle. We also strive to create better mentoring matches with each cycle.

Recruited Fellow Mentees per Professional Mentor Program CYCLE

Because of my Braven Professional Mentor Ms. Olson, I now know I have what it takes to become accepted into a prestigious MSW program. By working with her, I was able to improve my time management skills, polish my resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile. Thank you, Ms. Olson, for keeping me focused on my lifelong goals.
Fall 2021 Fellow
Sadaf (Sofia) Latif Graduate Student, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Those who have achieved professional success have a responsibility to pay it forward. Braven has developed an incredible framework around this mission and volunteering as a mentor is a meaningful way to help close these gaps. My mentee Sofia is extraordinarily focused and motivated, and it has been extremely rewarding to work with her.
Professional Mentor
Shelby Olson Principal, CareerLife Directions

05

Are we building employer and higher education partnerships with true shared value?

shared
value
collaboration

Employer Collaboration Spotlight

Our collaboration with Deloitte helps open doors to the American promise.

Roger Arrieux Jr.
Partner, Deloitte & Touche LLP
NYC Founding Board Chair & National Board Member
Muna Sheikh
Managing Director, Deloitte & Touche LLP
Bay Area Board Member
Ron Sonenthal
Partner, Deloitte Tax LLP
Chicago Board Member
At Deloitte, we’re deeply committed to embedding purpose into everything we do – diverse recruiting practices, inclusive leadership development, and our impact in the communities where we live and work. We are investing in Braven’s mission and efforts to create a more equitable society through annual funding, recruitment of Braven Fellows, and skills-based volunteering engagements.
Kwasi Mitchell
Chief Purpose Officer, Principal, Deloitte US
Fall 2017 Fellow
Jennifer Dios Analyst, Deloitte Consulting LLP
Photo: Joshua Christie | purpose Portraits
Braven helped me develop skills and confidence I needed to transition from college to my first job here at Deloitte. I am grateful for what I learned from the Braven experience as it helped me to grow personally and professionally.

$1.5

million

in investments to propel students majoring in business, accounting and STEM along their educational journeys through the Braven experience, in addition to serving as lead sponsor of the Professional Mentoring Program.

The Deloitte Foundation is dedicated to accelerating innovation and equity in education. We are proud to support Braven’s efforts to empower students as they aspire to meaningful careers.
Erin Scanlon
President, Deloitte Foundation
Fall 2021 Fellow
Marina Baltazar
Photo: Darius Riley | Hour Voyses

Higher Education Partner Spotlight

Braven works in partnership with four-year institutions of higher education to build upon students’ academic pursuits with rigorous experiential learning that helps students solidify their future paths. By expanding access to a national pool of diverse professionals and employer partners, Braven complements institutions’ career resources for students.

In January 2022, Braven launched our partnership with Spelman College, our first with a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) and all women’s college. All Spelman sophomores take the Braven Accelerator as part of their Sophomore Experience.

Spelman by the Numbers

423

fellows completed the course in spring 2022

315

Mock Interviewers collectively
volunteered 748 hours

52

Leadership Coaches
volunteered 3,120+ hours
This partnership provides access to career guidance that Spelman scholars will benefit from for years to come. At Spelman, our goal is to provide students with the competitive edge they need to excel in any field, and through this exciting partnership with Braven our students will enter the job market equipped with the skills necessary to navigate a 21st century workplace and thrive as leaders in a competitive marketplace.
Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D.
President of Spelman College (2015-2022)
I love working with young people. It's been really rewarding to see the transition in each of them and to know that I've played some small part in that. Because of volunteering with Braven, I'm able to live out my purpose – to leave someone better off after having met me than they were before.
Stacey A. Frazier, MBA
Deputy Director Operations, NYC Dept. of Education
Leadership Coach, Braven
What surprised me most about the experience was how much I learned. Braven gave me so many different tools and strategies to succeed in any career. Braven also taught me consistency and determination. You must work at the things that you want or they will not happen.
Kyla Evans
Spring 2022 Fellow

In January 2022, Braven launched our partnership with Spelman College, our first with a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) and all women’s college. All Spelman sophomores take the Braven Accelerator as part of their Sophomore Experience.

Spelman by the Numbers

423

fellows completed the course in spring 2022

315

Mock Interviewers collectively
volunteered 748 hours

52

Leadership Coaches
volunteered 3,120+ hours
We’re so excited to partner with Braven as part of the Spelman Pathways: Creating Your Path to Life and Career Excellence initiative. This innovative and unique partnership aims to prepare students for success as college graduates as they approach and negotiate the world beyond the undergraduate experience.
Venetta Coleman, Ph.D.
Director of Institutional Effectiveness and
Director of the Quality Enhancement Plan

We couldn’t do it without you

Supporters ($10K+)

A Better Chicago
Abrams Foundation
Achieve Atlanta
Anonymous (6)
Arbor Rising
Arrow Impact
Arthur & Toni Rembe Rock
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Bloomberg Philanthropies
Carnegie Corporation of New York
Carroll and Milton Petrie Foundation
Charles Ashby Lewis and Penny Bender Sebring
Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies
Cleveland Avenue Foundation for Education
College Futures Foundation
Crown Family Philanthropies
David Cohen & Kristin Argo
Deloitte Foundation
ECMC Foundation
Erol Foundation
Finnegan Family Foundation

Franklin and Catherine Johnson Foundation
Grace & Thomas Voorhis
Gray Foundation
John & Wendy Cozzi
KIPP Foundation
Kelly & Thom Mannard
Leslie Family Foundation
Lisa & Joseph Amato
MR Macgill
Mansueto Foundation
Marc and Jeanne Malnati Family Foundation
Meghan Mackay & Allen Thorpe
Michael & Susan Dell Foundation
Michelle Boyers
Mindy Rogers
New Profit, Inc.
Osa Foundation
Paula Sneed & Lawrence Bass
Paul M. Angell Foundation
Peery Foundation
Prosper Road Foundation

Ranee Lan & Jeremy Liew
Rick Witmer
Robert Mize and Isa White Trimble Family Foundation
Ron & Kathy Sonenthal
Sarah Peter
Schultz Family Foundation
Sergey Brin Family Foundation
Shellye Archambeau
Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund (SV2)
Siragusa Family Foundation
Sobrato Family Foundation
Square One Foundation
Strada Foundation
Stupski Foundation
Susan & Thomas Dunn
Tammy & Bill Crown
The 1954 Project
The Carson Family Charitable Trust
The Heckscher Foundation for Children
The John P. and Anne Welsh McNulty Foundation
The Mayer and Morris Kaplan Family Foundation

The Walton Family Foundation
Tipping Point Community
Tull Foundation
Valhalla Foundation
Victoria Foundation
Vivo Foundation
William and Charlene Glikbarg Foundation

Partners

HIGHER EDUCATION PARTNERS
Lehman College - CUNY
National Louis University
Rutgers University - Newark
San José State University
Spelman College (Launched 2022)


EMPLOYER PARTNERS
LEAD
Barclays
Capital One
Credit Suisse
Deloitte
Goldman Sachs One Million Black Women
LinkedIn
Morgan Stanley
NBA Foundation
Prudential Financial
Salesforce
Workday
‍

ANCHOR
Adobe
Anonymous
Clayton, Dubilier & Rice
Cognizant US Foundation
JPMorgan Chase

KEYSTONE
ADP
AEA Investors
Amazon
Audible
Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance
Blackbaud
Brooks Brothers
CIBC Bank USA
Cisco
CME Group Foundation
Lazard Asset Management
Northern Trust
Okta

PwC
Schwab Foundation
ServiceNow
Stanley Black & Decker
UBS
Western Digital
‍
INNOVATION
Cadent
FCBCURE
Fortune Media
GLG
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey
Indeed
IQVIA
Kirkland & Ellis
McKinsey & Company
Morton Salt
NetApp
PierceGray
RSM

IMPACT
Accenture
Anonymous
Atlassian
Bain and Company
Carmel Partners
Chicago Sky
College Board
Cramer-Krasselt
Denali Therapeutics
Electronic Arts
eos Products
FTI Consulting
Google
Gucci
Guggenheim Partners
Hall Capital Partners
Johnson & Johnson
KENDO
Loop Capital
Maru Group

Maxim Healthcare Services
Medline
Mondelez
Montefiore Medical Center
NJPAC
Oracle
Panasonic
Parker Dewey
Piper Sandler
RWJBarnabas
Tegus
Wilson Dow
WW