When Cameron Snaith '00 felt unfulfilled in his nonprofit job after graduation, he decided to take matters into his own hands. With the help of other young professionals, including many recent Princeton graduates, Snaith founded GOTO, a New York City-based organization that raises money to send underprivileged children to a summer arts camp.
Since its inception in 2001, GOTO has provided kids from low-income areas with the chance to attend Apple Farm Arts and Music Summer Camp in Elmer, NJ. Snaith said the kids come mostly from the Bronx and Washington Heights, an area north of Manhattan.
GOTO differs from other nonprofits in that, unlike many onetime-only scholarship programs, GOTO commits to a child for three summers in a row — sixth through eighth grade.
At any given time, 30 out of the 200 campers at Apple Farm arts camp will be from GOTO — ten in each age group.
Snaith said the four-week overnight camp has been enormously helpful in facilitating the growth and success of the GOTO program.
Along with sending children to summer camp, GOTO organizes activities for them throughout the year, like trips to Broadway shows.
Much of GOTO's efforts are focused on raising money for these events and summer camp tuition through its tri-annual fundraisers. One is held around Halloween, another during the summer at the South Street Seaport and a third in a loft at the Tribeca Rooftop. The third event, called "Monte Carlo in Manhattan," requires a $100 entry fee, but the other two are more reasonably priced and targeted for a younger demographic. Each event draws a considerable number of attendees — 600 to 700 for the first two, and 400 to 500 for "Monte Carlo in Manhattan."
According to Snaith, these fundraisers provide a great opportunity for Princeton graduates to stay in touch with each other over the years. He cites this as one of GOTO's most appealing features, one which attracts many Princeton graduates.
Besides planning fundraisers, GOTO spends a significant amount of time each year choosing which children to help. Snaith said the organization has established relationships with a number of schools whose principals nominate sixth graders for the program. After receiving the nominations, GOTO interviews each child and bases its choices on numerous criteria, such as the child's essay explaining why he wants to attend arts camp.
Another unique aspect of GOTO is that its employees are all young volunteers, between 22 and 30 years of age. Creating an organization composed entirely of young professionals was Snaith's main reason for founding GOTO.
After graduation, Snaith joined the nonprofit Midori and Friends through Princeton's Project '55, a project created by the class of '55 that places Princeton seniors in nonprofits across the country. However, though Snaith enjoyed his experience with Midori, he longed for more interaction with younger volunteers.
"I realized that while there were a lot of people my age who wanted to be a part of a nonprofit, there wasn't any organization that spoke to us and could use our energy as young professionals," Snaith said. "I wanted to create a vehicle for myself, my friends and other young professionals to give back to their community."
With this goal in mind, Snaith decided to start his own nonprofit. Though daunting at first, founding an organization proved to be easier than Snaith initially expected.
"The most difficult part was convincing myself that this should be done and I should spend my time on it," Snaith said.
He said after that decision, the rest of the process was surprisingly smooth and he was able to recruit volunteers easily. "This assured me [GOTO] was a good idea, because I wasn't the only person who was motivated to volunteer for something like this," he said.
Snaith also had a headstart because of his recent experience working for a nonprofit organization. He said this taught him where to focus the bulk of his efforts — on developing a mission. He learned that the biggest indicator of a nonprofit's likely success is a strong and compelling cause.
Many of Snaith's first volunteers were Princeton alums — out of about 40 initial volunteers, more than ten were University graduates. Snaith is grateful that GOTO continues to gain volunteers from the Princeton community each year, even though it has not actively recruited these students.
However, since Snaith wants to continue to foster the strong relationship between Princeton and GOTO, he has decided to begin a local recruiting campaign. The organization will be on campus next Thursday at 8 p.m. for an open house at the Project '55 Building (12 Stockton Street).
Snaith also hopes to recruit volunteers for his new project: establishing a GOTO in Boston. He said that if recruiting is successful, GOTO in Boston plans to hold its first fundraising event next fall.
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