Brain Camp International Dba Think Unlimited

What it reported doing in 2015

Brain Camp takes university students in the Arab world on a year-long journey of transformational learning, equipping and empowering them to create solutions for their world. We train students to become Solutionaries.Problem solving is always driven by passion. We help students identify the issue that concerns them most, and take them through a project-based process of exploring its root causes, generating unique and innovative solutions, and designing an initiative to address it. Along the way, students learn core research skills, techniques for idea generation and divergent thinking, community-based development strategies, and the basics of human-centered design. Our students leave the Solutionaries course ready for action, with a plan for a community initiative that is different, desirable, and doable.We teach young people to Think Unlimited. Emerging research shows that one of the most powerful determinants of a young persons future is their mindset about their own potential. We teach students that their success is determined by their effort, not their family connections or a set of fixed traits. We challenge their often-deterministic beliefs about what is possible, and inspire them to dream big. We also teach students that self-determinationthe highest aspiration of the Arab Awakeningbegins not only at the ballot box, but in the daily decisions that direct the course of their lives. We strive to spark students curiosity, encouraging them to explore, try new things, and actively engage with the world around them. And we challenge them to develop empathy through experiential learning that pushes them out of their comfort zones. Finally, we cultivate resilience and grit in our students as we challenge them to work for change against all odds.We build innovation ecosystems on university campuses. Universities worldwide have always been places where next-generation thinking is nurtured. However, with a higher education system that is just a few decades old, and with ever-growing numbers of young people to educate, Middle Eastern nations are struggling to move universities out of the rut of rote learning. Our Solutionaries course is modeling a new, experiential and project-based way of teaching and learning. Its opening college campuses up to the idea that students can produce, not just reproduce. We mobilize our students to take action on their campuses, and to create (not just demand) a more energized, active, and engaged learning environment. We also organize ongoing club meetings, speaker series, and other events to nurture ideas, action, and innovation on campus.Were creating a global network of Solutionaries. When a student joins our course, they are joining a movement not only demanding change, but actually creating it. When a student leaves our course, we connect them to ongoing educational programs, training courses, funding opportunities, and support communities that will continue to nurture them on their path to Solution-making. We are building partnerships the world over to bring Arab social innovators out of obscurity and connect them to the growing global movement promoting social entrepreneurship as a new way of doing development.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
• Program expense ratio: 68%; rating input score 68

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -57.2%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.01; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 20.3%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: Limited
• Revenue growth: -34.7% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: -63.8% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings