By the Hand Club for Kids Leads After School Clubs for Underserved Children in Chicago
Started in 2001, By the Hand works to feed the minds, bodies, and souls of the 1,700 children it serves.
“The people at By The Hand show me more about who God is,” eighth grader Lyla said about her experience at By the Hand Club for Kids. “Before, I knew about God. But now, I know God.”
Since its founding in 2001, By the Hand Club for Kids has grown from serving 16 children to now serving over 1,700 students, has expanded to six clubs in under-resourced neighborhoods across Chicago, and has built a charter school.
To fulfill its purpose of serving children in mind, body, and soul, By the Hand offers a variety of services, including tutoring and academic help, warm meals, dental care, eye exams, Bible studies, and chapel.
According to its annual report, of the students involved in By the Hand Club for Kids, 84% say they have a personal and saving relationship with Jesus. Every child who attends By the Hand gets a Bible and evangelistic information.
By The Hand President and CEO Donnita Travis didn’t anticipate starting a ministry to children in Chicago. She was passionate about her successful career in advertising. She had just completed her master’s degree from Northwestern University and took a few days away in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, to pray and plan.
During her retreat, Travis said she was reminded of John 10:10: “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
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She felt called to get involved in helping children in the public housing neighborhood of Cabrini-Green near her advertising firm to have abundant and eternal life.
Upon returning, Travis met with the elders and children’s ministry leaders at her home church— The Moody Church—and decided to start an after school club for children in the evenings and on Saturdays.
Thus began By the Hand Club for Kids. “We take kids by the hand in kindergarten and don’t let go for years,” she said.
“I kept my job for three years, but God stripped away any passion I had for advertising,” Travis told MinistryWatch. She admitted she’s made mistakes serving as the president and CEO of By the Hand, but added, “God’s grace is sufficient.”
The Moody Church is still involved in oversight of the ministry, even though By the Hand became a separate nonprofit organization in 2005.
Travis has never taken a salary for her work leading By the Hand. “When God called me to do this, I also felt called not to take a salary,” she said. Her husband agreed they would live on his income. She doesn’t believe, however, that her successor must follow her pattern and work for no salary.
“It has been humbling to be dependent on God’s hand. It forms and shapes me,” Travis said, admitting she has a tendency to be a very independent and self-sufficient person.
According to its most recent Form 990, By the Hand Club for Kids had $20 million in revenue last year. Of the $20 million, Travis explained that $5 million was restricted revenue, primarily for capital projects.
While By the Hand recently received some government COVID-related grants, typically only between 1% and 6% of its income has been from government sources, such as the At-Risk After School Meal program reimbursement from the Illinois State Board of Education.
By the Hand received contributions of $10 million in fiscal year 2022 from 1,608 different entities. Nearly 1,000 of them gave less than $1,000 to the ministry, 312 gave between $1,000 and $4,999, and 314 gave over $5,000.
With an operating budget of $15 million, Travis said, By the Hand spends about $8,600 per child. She believes the cost is worth it for the holistic, wrap-around care each student receives at By the Hand when compared with other programs.
Two-thirds of the budget goes to pay staff, she noted. Each club has two staff members per grade, and the club also provides transportation to and from clubs. None of the families pay for the care they receive at By the Hand.
Most of its $38 million in assets are tied up in land and buildings, Travis said. And it plans to build a campus in the Austin neighborhood and expand its space in the Altgeld-Murray area. It also plans to grow its entrepreneurship training programs with a fresh food market opening in November.
For those who might want to pursue creating a similar program, Travis suggested starting small, paying attention to setting up a good structure, and being on the “same page with the Lord.”
In the MinistryWatch database, By the Hand Club for Kids receives a donor confidence score of 82, an A transparency grade, and a one-star financial efficiency rating.
Travis said their website and annual report try to give a sense of all the good that is happening at By the Hand Club for Kids, but she encourages people to imagine more.
For those who hear bad news about Chicago, Travis says there is a lot of good happening that doesn’t make the news. “We have amazing children and families that God has set apart. They love Jesus, they are graduating, and going to college.”
Main photo: Photo via social media @ByTheHandClubForKids
