Where do you find ideas for helping Tutor Mentor Orgs Grow?

I send a monthly email newsletter, with graphics like this, and with links to articles I've written in the past. These all aim at mobilizing more people to take roles in helping inner-city youth have access to volunteer-based, non-school, tutoring, mentoring and learning programs that build multi-year connections between youth, volunteers and the host organization.  I have been maintaining a list of Chicago area programs since 1994. You can find it here and here.

This is another graphic that I've used often.

This graphic shows the role of intermediaries, such as myself, who seek to motivate people who don't live in high poverty to provide consistent flows of time, talent, dollars, technology and ideas to different programs in high poverty neighborhoods of the city and suburbs. The information I share is intended to be used by resource providers and policy makers, not just program leaders. This article about building intentional influence illustrates this work.

I use maps in many of these articles to illustrate the need to reach every place where kids need long-term help.  I include these graphics in blog articles and illustrated presentations I post on Scribd, Slideshare and the library on the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC site.  I focus on uses of GIS maps and concept maps in articles on the Mappingforjustice blog.

This is another graphic that I've included.

In this graphic I illustrate the goal of creating a shared vision, and collaboration among programs and supporters, that leads to better information and more frequent stories about where and why non-school programs are needed, what they look like, and where to find contact information that people can use to shop and choose what programs they will support.  At the same time, I am illustrating how difficult it is to get programs and supporters to work together. The way programs are funded through competitive grants and inconsistent donors leads to a "I can't drain the swamp" mentality.  

As I watch the MLB baseball playoffs and cheer for the Chicago Cubs today, and the NFL football games and cheer for the Chicago Bears, I'm reminded of what it takes to put great winning teams on the field.  My articles are intended to reach people who will help put great, winning youth support teams in all high poverty neighborhoods of Chicago and other cities around the world.