What Do Volunteers & Donors Need To See on Youth Program Web Site?

SHOPPING GUIDE!
For choosing what tutor/mentor
program to support with time,
talent and/or dollars.
Tutor/Mentor Connection, Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC
http://www.tutormentorexchange.net tutormentor2@earthlink.net
For volunteers, donors, business partners, media, parents, educators!

Great Non-School, Volunteer-Based, Tutor/Mentor
Programs in Needed in All High Poverty Areas on the Map
Our goal is that great volunteer-based
tutor/mentor programs be available to k-12
youth in every high poverty neighborhood of
Chicago and other cities. By providing links to
existing programs and maps that show where
they are located we hope to help volunteers,
donors and parents become “educated”
consumers, so they can shop and compare and
determine which programs seem more effective
than others.
Since every neighborhood needs great
programs, we also hope to provide tips so every
program in every neighborhood -- with the help
of volunteers, donors, youth and parents --can
constantly improve by applying consistent
resources and borrowing good ideas from peers
to support this process.
Tutor/Mentor Connection (1993-present), Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC (2011-present) www.tutormentorexchange.net tutormentor2@earthlink.net Pg 2

What do we mean by “Great”?
A “great” program is a place where a core group of adults make a long-
term commitment to do all they can to help youth who join that program
move safely through K-12 school and into future adult jobs and
careers..with the help of volunteers recruited from a wide range of
industries and professions.
In such programs leaders constantly learn from their own efforts, from
other programs, and from a wide range of ideas available from youth,
volunteers, community and the Internet.
Programs don’t start out as “great”. They start with a few people who
make a commitment to youth. The become great over a period of years.
Then they stay great by the way they learn from their own actions and
those of others and by how they are consistently supported by volunteers
and donors.
Read the book “Good to Great and the Social Sectors, by Jim Collins.
http://www.jimcollins.com/books/g2g-ss.html

Can you look at a Volunteer-Based Tutoring and/or
Mentoring Program web site and determine if it is
worthy of your Support? Use this checklist.
Is it serving youth living in a high poverty
neighborhood?
What sort of adult screening is done?
How many years has it operated?
Does it show length of participation history for
youth and volunteers?
Is it part of a larger organization or a stand-
alone tutor/mentor program?
Does it have core of volunteers who have been
involved 3 years or longer?
Does it show a “theory of change” or “logic
model” on the web site?
How long have key staff (highest program
leaders) been involved?
Does it point to web sites and/or research that
it seeks to duplicate in its own efforts?
Does it show attendance rates, number of
youth & volunteers regularly involved?
Does the program show collaboration with
others in its area?
How does it engage youth, volunteers, staff,
donors in learning?
Does web site show mix of volunteers from
different education, work, race backgrounds.
Shows its financial reports on web site,
including 990s.
If over 5 years old, does it show stories of
youth and volunteer involvement?
Awards & Recognition? Formal evaluation?
Measures of long-term or short term Impact?

Is the program serving youth living in a high poverty neighborhood?
Does the web site include maps showing program sites?
Maps can show where programs are needed
based on poverty, violence, poor schools, etc.
They can also show where existing programs
are located, and where more are needed.
The Chicago Tutor/Mentor Program Locator,
created between 2004 and 2008, is now and
archive. View it at
https://tinyurl.com/ProgramLocatorMap-archive
The current map showing locations of Chicago
non-school tutor and/or mentor programs can be
seen in a blog article at
https://tutormentor.blogspot.com/2020/02/
help-youth-tutor-mentor-learning.html
It shows locations of more than 140 different
non-school tutoring and/or mentoring programs.
A number of free and low-cost mapping tools are
now available that tutor/mentor programs can use
to map participant addresses. You can use these
maps to see if the program operates in a high
poverty area, near poorly performing schools, etc.

How many years has the program operated?
It takes a few years for new programs to build trust of
youth and volunteers and experience that makes it a
“great” program.
Programs that reach youth in elementary or middle
school need to stay connected to youth for 6 to 8
years if the goal is high school graduation.
Thus, understanding how long a program has
continuously operated is one indicator to look for on
a tutor/mentor program web site.
Note: if the mentoring program is part of a larger
organization, look for information showing how long
the mentoring program has operated, not how long
the larger organization has operated.

Is the tutor/mentor program part of a larger organization?
Some tutor/mentor programs are the only business of the
organization that operates them, such as Big Brothers Big
Sisters. Others are part of larger organizations who have a
range of youth and family services or other missions that
are larger than the commitment to long-term mentoring.
Faith groups might fit into this category.
Thus, when looking at a web site, look to see if there is a
clear, long-term commitment to the mentoring, tutoring
strategy. Without this the tutor/mentor program competes
for resources and often starts and stops depending on the
commitment of leaders and resources available.
Use this concept map to find links to Chicago
programs, organized by section of the city.
http://tinyurl.com/TMI-Volunteer-Opportunities

Does web site show a “theory of change” or “logic
model” on the web site?
What impact do they seek?
Look for information on the
organization’s web site showing it’s
commitment to helping youth move
through school with the help of the
program and the volunteers who
connect to the youth through the
program.
A program may only serve youth in
elementary school and focus on reading
or learning. Do you see anything on the
program’s web site showing what they
do to help the youth have mentoring
supports in the years before, or after,
they participate in this program?
Learn how to create a “Theory
of Change
http://www.theoryofchange.org/

Does the program's web site point to web sites and/or
research that it seeks to duplicate in its own efforts?
Who are their role models?
Does the organization have a section on its web
site, or with its “Theory of Change” section
where they point to other youth tutoring,
mentoring programs that they feel do good work
and illustrate what the program seeks to do in
its own service area?
What research do they point to?
Does the web site include a set of links pointing
to research showing why the program is needed
and why it is needed in a high poverty area?
Does it point to links showing the value of
mentoring or tutoring?
Research Links to draw
from:
https://tinyurl.com/TML-ResearchLinks

Does web site show mix of volunteers from different
education, work, race backgrounds
Does the program show a commitment
to expanding the range of adults
involved in lives of youth in the
program?
Pictures on the program web site or blog
can show age and race diversity. Stories
can show that volunteers have college and
different workplace backgrounds.
Read articles on social capital.
A growing number of research shows the
isolation of youth in high poverty areas and
the value of building connections to
mentors and experiences beyond the
neighborhood. See links to such articles at
https://tinyurl.com/TMIL-SocialCapital

Does it show attendance rates, number of youth & volunteers
regularly involved?
How many youth and volunteers are involved?
Programs serve different numbers of youth and have
different levels of volunteer involvement. Budget size
should relate to program size.
How long are youth and volunteers involved? What
are weekly attendance rates? In non-school
programs youth and volunteers “vote with their feet”.
Look for programs that show high attendance
patterns, and/or retain youth for multiple years. Does
the web site include charts showing that some youth
are involved for multiple years? What percent of the
program’s total enrollment each year represents
students who have been involved 3 or more years?
What other ways do programs show long-term
impact? Visit Chicago Youth Programs, Inc. to see
how they do this.
https://chicagoyouthprograms.org/cyp-journey-
markita/

If the organization talks about seniors who graduate from high
school does it show how many years those seniors were part of
the program? How many youth started as freshmen?
If the organization makes
claims of "graduation and
college attendance rates" do
they base this on the number
of youth who started with the
program, and who are still
participating when they
graduated?
See: Cabrini Connections 2001-10 Impact PDF
https://www.scribd.com/document/76426503/
Review-of-Decade2000-2010-Cabrini-Connections-Tutor-Mentor-Connection

If over 5 years old, does it show stories of youth and
volunteer involvement?
It is difficult to stay connected to youth in
years beyond when they were active, thus
providing numbers showing graduation,
college success, jobs and careers is difficult.
Yet programs who do stay connected to youth
and volunteers can provide stories and
testimonials on web sites and blogs that show
the long-term impact of the program.
How long are volunteers involved?
Programs who keep volunteers involved for 3 to
10 years or longer build a tradition and
leadership corps that strengthens a program and
provides transition when paid staff move on to
new jobs. Look for stories showing volunteer
engagement, not just youth engagement.
These stories can be told regularly in blog
articles more easily than on web sites.
“If it weren't for my mentor Joey Molenda, I would
have never considered IB, I would not have known
how to apply for college, and I would have probably
fallen into the trap many of my counterparts fell into.
Thanks to Cabrini Connections, I was shown
alternatives to the life I saw everyday in Cabrini.
Thanks so much for starting the program.” Message
posted on Facebook from college graduate alum of
Cabrini Connections.
a b c
Alums of tutoring program who spoke at past
Tutor/Mentor Conferences in Chicago (a & b). Alum
(c) from 1980s whose son attended Cabrini
Connections and graduated from HS in 2013.

How long have key staff (highest level program
leaders) been involved?
If key staff (Executive Director, Program
Coordinator) change frequently, the
organization does not build organizational
knowledge.
In stand-alone tutor/mentor programs key staff
are responsible for many activities that build and
sustain a strong mentoring or tutoring program.
Look for information on web sites showing how
long key leaders have been involved in the
mentoring or youth development field, and in
this particular organization.
Help build organizational strength.
Your on-going, flexible operating dollars, along
with donations of time and talent, help
organizations attract and retain key staff. Adopt
a program and stay connected to it for many
years. Share it’s success.
See this graphic explained in article at
http://tutormentor.blogspot.com/2008/10/looking-beneath-surface-of-tutormentor.html

Does the program show collaboration with others in its
geographic area?
Can you find information on the web site
that shows how this program interacts with
other tutor/mentor programs in its
neighborhood, or community?
Frequent contact with peers in other programs leads
to idea-sharing and collaboration. Programs serving
elementary age youth could be referring them to
programs that support those youth in high school and
programs that provide college scholarship and
support. Youth in higher level programs could be
mentors to youth in elementary school programs.
Instead of competing for resources, work
together to expand the resource pool.
Do you see evidence on the program’s web site that
its leaders work with others to make resources
available to all programs in the area? Does it take
part in volunteer fairs, joint training activities?
Between 2004 and 2008 the Interactive Chicago
Tutor/Mentor Program Locator was created with maps
showing more than 150 tutor and/or mentor programs
in specific geographic areas of Chicago, as well as
assets who could be supporting all programs in an
area.
While this is now an archive, it's a model of what could
be built and used in many cities. This “How to use
program locator” show it's features -
http://tinyurl.com/TMILocator-how-to

How does it engage youth, volunteers, staff, donors in
learning?
Does the organization’s web site also
serve as a platform for engaging
youth, volunteers, donors in learning?
How does the organization do this? Do they?
Do they point to homework help links like
https://tutormentorexchange.net/resource-
links/homework-help or college & career
access resources like
https://tinyurl.com/TMIL-college-career-
links
Does the organization connect its
members to each other, and online
information resources, using social
media or other forms of on-line group
support and facilitation?
What types of training events are hosted by the
organization at its facility? Does it participate in
conferences? What can you learn from the
organization’s web site about this?

Volunteer Screening. Protection of Youth, and
Volunteers.
Does the organization follow MENTOR’s
‘Elements of Effective Practice’ for
volunteer screening and protection of
youth?
How does the organization do this? Are
instructions to prospective volunteers
provided on the web site? What types of
background checks are required?
View Elements of Effective Practice at https://tinyurl.com/MentorResourceTools

Awards and Recognition. Formal Evaluation
Has the organization received awards or
media recognition for its work?
This is a page showing media stories generated by the
Tutor/Mentor Connection.
www.tutormentorexchange.net/news-pr
This is a page showing awards and honors.
http://www.tutormentorexchange.net/awards-and-recognition
If the organization has conducted formal or
informal evaluation is information posted on
the web site? Most smaller tutor/mentor programs
don’t have the funds for controlled evaluations and few
long-term evaluations are yet done showing 10 to 20
year impact of tutoring/mentoring programs. Yet, you
may find charts and graphs showing ways the program
evaluates its effect.

Shows its financial reports on web site, including 990s.
Does the organization show costs for its
tutor/mentor program on its web site? Are
financial reports available?
Costs will vary from program to program depending on
location, size, facility required (rented, owned, donated,
etc) and number of youth and volunteers involved. You
need to be able to compare costs from program to program
and cannot do this if programs don’t make the information
available.
Become an investor. Adopt a program and help
it grow. The information on preceding pages has invited
you to choose neighborhoods to support, then choose
programs within those neighborhoods based on the
information they provide on their web sites. Depending on
how long a program has been in operation, and its
leadership, your investment choices may be limited to
adopting a program that needs a lot of help. Yet, if that’s
the only program in a neighborhood where kids need
tutoring/mentoring, this is what needs to happen…unless
you choose to start a new program.
Great programs in every neighborhood is the goal; not a few good programs
in a few locations. Constant investment is required to achieve this.

Understand the Potential of Mentoring … and the
Challenges of Building Long-term Programs
A 2023 report from MENTOR, titled "Opportunities to Invest in Long-Term
Social Capital for Our Youth: A Philanthropic Agenda." included the
paragraph below in its introduction. This disconnect between
philanthropy's habits and program on-going needs is one of the biggest
barriers to making mentor-rich programs available to more youth living in
high poverty areas.
Find a link to the report at
https://tutormentor.blogspot.com/2023/07/new-research-on-mentoring-shows-funding.html

What Would You Add to this?
I’d like to hear from leaders of volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs. What would
you add to this list? What would you remove?
I suspect it might challenge many of you to put all of this information on your web
sites. How would you overcome that challenge?
Write your suggestions and send them to Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC at
tutormentor2@earthlink.net
Your name: Organization
Your web site: Your email address

• http://www.tutormentorexchange.net
* http://tutormentor.blogspot.com
* http://tutormentorexchange.net/conceptmaps
* http://mappingforjustice.blogspot.com
Email: tutormentor2@earthlink.net
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TutorMentorInstitute
Social Media Links: https://tutormentorexchange.net/social-media
Learn more about how you can
help make best practice tutoring
and mentoring programs be
available to more inner city youth.
Visit these web sites:
Pg 22
Tutor/Mentor Connection (1993-present), Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC (2011-present)
www.tutormentorexchange.net tutormentor2@earthlink.net

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What Do Volunteers & Donors Need To See on Youth Program Web Site?