BGCSM was founded by a small group of Southern Maryland neighbors who decided no kid in their community should spend an afternoon with nowhere to go. The Clubs we run today are the answer they built — and the answer the next generation will inherit.
When I took this job in 2017, the Clubs were running on volunteer love and very little else. Today we have five sites, thirty-eight staff, and a budget that lets us serve every family who walks through the door — but the love is still the engine.
What I want you to know about BGCSM, whether you're a parent, a donor, a volunteer, or a board member: this is a place where the kids come first, the money is spent carefully, and the work is measured. We post our Form 990 every year, we hit Charity Navigator's four-star benchmark, and we will always be honest about what's working and what isn't. The Club my own daughter attended in the 1990s is the Club I want every kid in Southern Maryland to know — a place where someone is glad to see you, every single afternoon.
The short version of a long story — milestones from a community-built institution that has grown one Club at a time.
A coalition of parents, churches, and the College of Southern Maryland charter the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Maryland and open the first site at Lexington Park, serving 84 kids in year one.
Partnership with the Town of North Beach brings the second Club online. Membership across both sites tops 500 for the first time.
Calvert Elementary becomes the first in-school Club site, eliminating the transportation barrier for the kids who need the Club most.
Through partnership with the Town of Indian Head and the Charles County Department of Recreation, the Clubs expand into a third county.
BGCSM remains open as a designated essential-services provider, running virtual programming and reopening for in-person care as soon as state guidance allowed. Member retention: 91%.
The fifth Club opens in Waldorf, serving an additional 280 K–5 members and tripling our footprint in Charles County.
With the Annual Fund on pace to hit $1.2M and a new strategic plan adopted by the Board this spring, BGCSM is building toward a sixth Club site and a deeper teen-services investment.
Our senior team brings forty-plus combined years of youth-development experience and lives in the communities we serve.
Twenty-two years in youth development. Former Site Director at the Lexington Park Club. Lives in Hollywood, MD with her two grown daughters.
Former teacher, BGCA Youth of the Year alumnus, and the architect of the BGCSM youth-development model adopted across all five Clubs in 2020.
Thirty years in nonprofit fundraising across three states. Leads the Annual Fund, major gifts, and the corporate partnerships portfolio.
Twenty years in nonprofit finance. Oversees the BGCSM budget, audit, and the financial discipline that keeps us at four stars with Charity Navigator.
Fifteen Southern Maryland leaders giving time, treasure, and judgment to keep the Clubs accountable and well-run.
BGCSM is audited annually and our complete Form 990 is posted publicly. The breakdown below is from our FY2025 statement.
Eighty-three cents of every dollar BGCSM raises goes directly to programs and youth services. The remaining seventeen pay for the development, finance, and administrative staff who keep the doors open and the lights on.
BGCSM has held a four-star rating from Charity Navigator since 2019, the Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency, and an unmodified opinion from our independent auditor every year since founding.
A short list of recognitions that matter to us — for what they say about staff and members, not for what they say about the org chart.
Named one of three statewide honorees by the Maryland Nonprofits Association for community impact and operational excellence.
Maryland Nonprofits AssociationSixth consecutive year holding the top rating in both financial health and accountability/transparency categories.
Charity NavigatorRecognized by Boys & Girls Clubs of America for member growth, outcomes performance, and Annual Fund success.
Boys & Girls Clubs of AmericaYou don't get to twenty-three years by chasing trends. You get there by showing up at 2:30 every afternoon, for kids you would walk into traffic for.
Whether you can give an hour, a dollar, a contract, or a Board seat — the Clubs were built by people who decided to show up. Pick your way in.