We aspire to be a world-class educational environment. And education, like oxygen, is in the air we breathe. The air we breathe is formed by the culture around us, and that culture is a product of what we put into it—what we do consistently, and what we observe others doing consistently.
Our Core Values
Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
Our Mission
Minds Matter Bay Area (MMBay) is an education nonprofit that connects driven and determined students from low-income families with the people, preparation, and possibilities to succeed in college, create their future, and change the world.
Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
MMBay takes responsibility for creating a diverse and inclusive community. We believe that starts with engaging people at every level of the organization who reflect, celebrate, and affirm the multi-dimensional identities of our students. This allows all of us to broaden our thinking, deepen our understanding, and expand our views on what is possible.
Preface to Our Core Values
Our volunteers, alumni, boards, and staff collaborate to bring consistent care, deep learning opportunities, and sustainable resources that expand our mentees’ options, help them believe in their own potential, and model for them the quality of service that they should pay forward to others.
If we succeed, the air we breathe will be filled with more kindness, more commitment, more courage, and more connection. To get there, the MMBay community—volunteers, mentees, alumni, boards, and staff alike—is bound by a set of Core Values and a shared vision for our culture.
We Show Up
We commit to this community by being present, on time, and prepared.
We know that showing up is a basic expression of care and commitment to others, and a basic expression of dedication to our own learning.
We don’t let ourselves, or others, make excuses for not showing up.
We Do the Hard Work
We start each week by humbly asking, “Where does this organization, my team, my peers, or my mentees need me most?”
As volunteers, boards, and staff: we roll up our sleeves to help the organization live its mission and meet its goals. Toward that endeavor, no task is beneath us, and we look for opportunities to pitch in where help is needed. When we offer advice, we are prepared to personally help execute that advice.
As mentees: we put in the effort needed to reach our goals for college, career, and life. We proactively plan and take intentional steps for our own learning and growth. Toward that endeavor, we invite others (mentors, instructors, pod leaders, peers) to support us on our journey.
We Believe and Persist
We believe in the value of our own organization and community. We take the time to notice and acknowledge wins. Even in striving for improvement, we still remember to see the good that’s already there.
We choose to see possibilities for others in our community that they may not yet see for themselves, and we take the time to regularly communicate our belief in one another.
We identify challenges worth solving, and approach each challenge by believing that it is possible to overcome.
We persist in the face of obstacles, by working alongside others to execute on solutions.
We Prioritize Communication
Without information, we assume nothing and we judge no one.
We ask when we don’t understand, and we share when we believe there is information that would help someone better understand.
Before reacting, we take the time to consider another person’s perspectives, experiences, and intentions.
We do not jump in with advice without taking the time to sufficiently understand someone’s context.
We give feedback directly and kindly, with the intent of being helpful. We don’t say things about a person that we wouldn’t be willing to share with them.
We Practice Emotional Courage
We strive to form friendships that can be lifelong, and that means moving beyond small talk to share ourselves truly, and to truly know the essence of another person.
We recognize that not all awkward moments are bad. Often, they are just human. By sitting within these moments with humor and understanding, we make room to form feelings of genuine closeness to another person.
We name and articulate the emotions that underlie our moods or actions. We hold space for others to do the same.
We choose to let our guard down, and treat each other in a way that makes them feel safe to let their guard down, too.
We are honest about our fears, but also invite others to help us overcome them.
We are generous with our joy, and unembarrassed to be “cheesy” as long as the emotion is authentic.
We Are the Culture
We each have a role to play in creating, sustaining, and continuously improving the culture of Minds Matter Bay Area.
We each strive to embody our Core Values, modeling through our own actions what we hope to see in others. We consistently model the qualities and behaviors that we want others (volunteers, mentees, alumni, boards, and staff) to practice.
Where we see room for improvement, we start by being the improvement.
We give timely feedback directly to someone when we see opportunities for them to grow in their alignment with our Core Values. We welcome others to do the same for us.