Thank you.
First of all, I'm absolutely delighted to be here representing Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada.
Before discussing the two specific measures we're supporting, I wanted to provide a highlight reel of information so that it kind of contextualizes our thoughts.
Big Brothers Big Sisters is a federated organization of 123 local agencies providing on-the-ground mentoring services to children and families. We're providing these services in all the provinces and one territory. The organization has gone from serving about 9,500 kids in 1995 to a record high of more than 33,400 in 2010. Of particular note is the fact that this year we're in our 99th year of service, so next year we'll be celebrating 100 years of service to Canadians.
From the highlight reel, in Big Brothers Big Sisters' national budget, almost half of our dollars come from the corporate community and individuals. Our 2012 national budget calls for zero dollars to come from the federal government. So we're really quite an independent bunch. Our centennial plans will be funded primarily from the private sector. In fact we've already signed a couple of corporate deals and multi-year agreements to support our 100th anniversary. Locally our two main sources of revenue are special events—our signature Bowl for Kids Sake event, which I know many of you have participated in—and support from local United Ways.
We're an organization that believes strongly in safety and accountability. We have a set of national service delivery standards and organizational management standards that we accredit to ensure that our member agencies are operating at the highest quality.
As we continue to work to be a dynamic, relevant organization, we're always looking to ask how we can be better. Having this opening and questioning mindset allows us to make changes. I just want to highlight a couple of those. We continually ask whether we can provide our services in a long-term sustainable manner. Sometimes the answer is that changes in our model are necessary. In fact, several committee members here come from communities where significant change has resulted in stronger, newer services. Mr. Rajotte will have seen the recent merger of Big Brothers Big Sisters and Boys and Girls Clubs in Edmonton. Mr. Brison would have noted the renewal of our Annapolis Valley agency. Mr. Hoback will have seen the changes in Prince Albert, where we've gone from an independent, stand-alone organization to a satellite operation receiving admin support from Saskatoon.
Our centennial provides a wonderful forum for us to talk about where we aspire to go. In order to continue to grow our services, we know we need to do more to effectively engage individual Canadians as mission-based donors. So today we're supporting two ideas: the creation of a stretch tax credit and an elimination of the capital gains tax on donations of real estate and private company shares to non-profits and charities.
As part of our efforts to develop ongoing sources of revenue, Big Brothers Big Sisters has launched an alumni program. Currently there are more than 17,000 individuals who have registered, and it's our goal to convert many of those into individual financial contributors.
Strategically, the stretch tax credit is in direct alignment with our efforts, as many of these individuals are already giving to other organizations, and we intend to have them add Big Brothers Big Sisters to their roster of supported organizations. Having a real tax incentive to make new financial contributions will encourage these individuals of any income level to expand their charitable giving efforts.
Part of our long-term strategy is to work more effectively with individuals of higher net worth. Being able to offer a wider portfolio of benefits to attract the contributions of real estate and private company shares, complete with the suggestions for prevention of valuation abuse, as suggested by Donald Johnson in his submission to this committee in September 2011, would be of great value.
I just want to conclude with some thoughts around the transformative nature of our mentoring programs. As part of our efforts to clearly demonstrate impact, we've been partners in a five-year longitudinal study following 980 children and almost 500 mentor volunteers in our Big Brothers and Big Sisters programs. I'm pleased to be able to share some findings on the baseline, 6-month, 12-month, 18-month, and 24-month surveys.
When compared with young people who have never been matched, youth who have spent at least one year with a mentor are 43% less likely to have conduct problems, 48% less likely to have behavioural problems in school, 34% less likely to be victimized by their peers. It speaks to the bullying issue. They are two times more likely to have high levels of school bonding and commitment, two and a half times more likely to participate in extracurricular activities in school, and two times more likely to have higher academic achievement.
It's great that this committee is talking about ways in which Canadians can support organizations like ours, who are in communities across this country, spending thousands of hours working with Canadian children. Our mentor volunteers are making a transformative difference in their lives. So I thank you for this opportunity to speak to the committee.