Spark Program Reviews

2.8

37% would recommend to a friend

(36 total reviews)

Yoon S. Choi, PhD

21% approve of CEO

39% positive business outlook

Spark Program has an employee rating of 2.8 out of 5 stars, based on 36 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an average working experience there. The Spark Program employee rating is 25% below average for employers within the Non-profit and NGO industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

36 reviews
1.0
Nov 12, 2017

Spark: Overpromise and underdeliver

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Good networking opportunity for employees with Bay Area companies and schools - Most regional team members are humble and supportive - If you don't ask questions, want to be available 24/7 and say "yes" to everything Spark is the non-profit for you!

Cons

- Low pay - Severe lack of people management training for regional management - HQ is MIA even though they attempt to put out the image of collaboration with inept and pointless working groups - Be prepared to get shouted down if suggesting improvements - Extreme micro-management by both regional and national management: CC/BCC on every single email, an expectation to update colleagues if arriving any time after 9am (yes, that includes 9:05am) and basically being made to convince management to "ok" time off even though they promise unlimited PTO - HR is a joke. Issues range from unsupportive, lying, empty promises and shielding inadequate management and ridiculously overmatched colleagues from criticism or dismissal - Several members of senior leadership can be flat out immature and petty - Don't trust ANYONE at HQ - The more qualified you are, the shorter your stay will be at Spark as they want fresh, out of college (cheap and inexperienced) staff who don't know any better - Oh yeah, the organization as a whole is almost broke

2.0
Jul 12, 2017

Attracts naive do-gooders

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

-Lower level employees (folks running program) at this organization are the best. True to the title of this post, Spark attracts bright-eyed and hard-working people with passion to match. Not to say that there aren't individuals in management who aren't also like this, I'm just saying most of the organization's significant impact is generated by those who are actually with the kids/mentors. -Organization has great mission of wanting to work with youth and help them explore career paths. -Supportive and down-to-earth colleagues

Cons

-I had a poor experience under my region's management. I didn't like to interact with my supervisor and I didn't feel like I could relax in the office. I didn't feel safe voicing feedback/opinions (unless it was to HR), even though the organization prides itself on having an open-door policy. There have been several occasions where my team members and I have even broken down, but I couldn't let on that I was unhappy because my supervisor made me feel like I was overly sensitive. Support from colleagues got me through everything. -Disorganized. Employees were held accountable for tasks not clearly communicated.

1.0
Sep 18, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

great partnerships: schools, STUDENTS & FAMILIES, competitive $$ for a nonprofit that doesn't know what it's doing.

Cons

it's a nonprofit that doesn't know what it's doing: changing branding and having nothing substantial to show for it in terms of programmatic content. was horrifically toxic when I was there...the only reason I'm writing now is that I realized I still act based on the fear and anguish I had experienced here. How did the org deal with a manager that abused her power by mistreating me personally and professionally (an experienced shared by my entire team)? Nothing. I cried to HR. I became depressed. I was in perpetual anxiety. I worked endlessly for the students and schools. My promotion was halted because my manager 'felt' like it wasn't time. I would have understood except that it was a sweeping restructuring that promoted everyone and she never supplied a concrete reason as to why I was undeserving. HR's response was akin to "I can see that it's unfair, but I can't do anything"

Viewing 1 - 3 of 36 Reviews

Glassdoor has 42 Spark Program reviews submitted anonymously by Spark Program employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Spark Program is right for you.