It's my 74th Birthday Tomorrow

 

Every year since 2011 I've asked people to "light a candle" on my birthday cake to help me celebrate my December 19th birthday.

Lighting a candle, at $7.40 each, is a comfortable way for people to support the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC, which is not a 5-0-1-c3, meaning donations are not tax exempt.

Here's a page where you can make that contribution. 

If you read blog articles back to mid 2011 you'll see that I led a Chicago non-profit, that I created, from 1992 until mid 2011.  When I separated and took ownership of the Tutor/Mentor Connection, which I launched in 1993 at the same time as launching the Cabrini Connections youth tutor/mentor program, I did not  have a team of volunteers/supporters to form a new non profit, so created the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC to give me legal structure and time to find new ways to support the Tutor/Mentor Connection in Chicago and help it grow in other cities.

I'm still trying to do that but as I'm getting older my purpose is moving more toward trying to motivate others to create new versions, based on my history. I've written about this often, including last week.

While my birthday only comes once a year I maintain an on-going "Fund T/MI" page which a few supporters continue to use to send contribution. 

You can find the link to the "Fund T/MI" page, by clicking here.   

I have not drawn a salary since 2011 and have used my own savings to help fund the annual expenses which I've cut to the bare bones, just to keep the tutor/mentor library and my list of Chicago programs updated and to maintain this blog and my outreach and networking on social media.

The T/MC was never fully funded.  This document shows the organizational structure that I've been trying to build since the late 1990s. It would take $300-$500k per year to fully fund this in a big city like Chicago.  Even in our best years we never had more than $200k for the T/MC.  And, we started the organization with no money, and no commitments of money,  in November 1992. There were just six volunteers and myself. You can view this concept map to see highlights of the T/MC from 1992-now. 

While I might not be able to raise that much money, others with a broader network and reach into high wealth donor communities could do this easily.  

I've used maps and an extensive library of research to show the many areas in Chicago where tutor/mentor programs are needed and where nearly 200,000 k-12 youth live in high poverty.  The city has never sustained an on-going marketing and resource development plan like I've piloted, nor have any city leaders made an effort to support the T/MC.  

Other major cities could (and do) create maps showing where poverty is most concentrated and could duplicate the T/MC strategies to help a wide range of birth-to-work programs grow in every high poverty zip code.  Thus, others could borrow from what I'm doing (with, or without my help) and build such a strategy.

Your contributions to my 74th Birthday Campaign or my "Fund T/MI" campaign will  help me continue to share this vision for another year. 

Please keep reading my articles and share them with others. Ultimately this will reach someone who wants to champion this vision with their wealth and their leadership.   

Can you Help Me Help Youth In Chicago and Other Cities?

Below is text and images from a letter I've just mailed to people who  have made financial contributions to support this blog and the work I have been doing for the past 25 years. I hope you'll read and respond.

Happy Holidays, from Dan Bassill and Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC .. Dec. 2018

Dear Friend of Youth,

It's the Holiday Season and I hope you and your family will enjoy all of the blessings that this season brings to many, but not all people in America.

This is the 25th Year Anniversary of forming the Tutor/Mentor Connection in 1993. In 2011 I created the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC to keep this available in Chicago and to try to help similar models grow in other cities. I've been sending you updates, asking for your support, in the seven years since then.

Once again I am reaching out to people who have supported my efforts to help K-12 youth in high poverty areas of Chicago and every other city in the country have access to well organized, mentor-rich programs. In the photos above, I keep saying “Read my Blog”. The address is http://tutormentor.blogspot.com

My aim is to provide ideas that others use to build systems of support for kids in poverty, and to serve as a model that you and others duplicate, telling the same stories, to people in your own network, expanding the number of people looking at these ideas and using them to build strategic support for k-12 youth.

For 35 years I led a volunteer-based tutor/mentor program, so developed a deep commitment to the potential of well-organized, mentor-rich programs. When we created the Tutor/Mentor Connection in 1993 the goal was to build a database of existing Chicago programs and a library of information and ideas, then find innovative ways to draw more frequent attention to tutor/mentor programs as a way to help kids and a way to get more people involved. Borrowing from my work in advertising with Montgomery Ward, the goal was to draw more customers (volunteers, donors, media, etc.) directly to each program in the Chicago region.

I had no idea of how difficult this would be, yet I persist with the commitment of “If it is to be, it is up to me..and YOU!”

The graphic at the right is similar to many that you'll find in my blog. It shows my role as an intermediary connecting people who can help to an information base, including a list of Chicago youth programs in places where help is needed. This is part of a four-part strategy that I launched in 1993 and still follow today.

Ever since starting the T/MC in 1993 it's been difficult helping others understand what it has been trying to do. Part of the challenge is that philanthropy encourages competition among non-profits. Few work together to generate the resources that would help great programs grow in more places. In addition, few in leadership roles have ever taken the time to build a database of programs and then use it in on-going efforts intended to help every program get the resources each needs to be successful...the way that corporations support multiple stores reaching customers in many locations.

That's why I keep repeating "Read my Blogs!" If you read the articles consistently, you'll understand what I'm trying to do, and you might help find others who want to bring these strategies into their own leadership efforts.

I'm celebrating a 25th Anniversary this year. With your help in the next few weeks, I'll still be doing this in 2019

We all want a world where all kids grow up safely and reach their full potential. In a huge city like Chicago that means people with different skills and resources need to be working together at three levels:

1. at the organization level, supporting different youth serving organizations;
2. neighborhood level, making sure programs are reaching all the kids who need help; and
3. at the city/regional level, making sure ALL high poverty neighborhoods have great programs.

Getting people involved in shaping and sharing this message is just one of many challenges. The concept map at the left is part of a library of visualizations that I've created since 2005. You can view it at https://tinyurl.com/ChallengesFacingYouth-TM

This map shows that poverty has many entry points, many challenges. That means that people who are donating time, talent or dollars are working in many different, but often disconnected, efforts. The competition for resources at every level is fierce, meaning consistent long-term solutions are difficult to find in many places.

During the past year I've continued to add new links to the web library at https://tutormentorexchange.net/resource-links and continue to maintain a list of Chicago area non-school tutor/mentor programs at https://tutormentorexchange.net/chicago-area-program-links. I've also continued posting strategy ideas on Scribd.com and Slideshare.com, which I then point to in my blog articles.

I spend time each day sharing these ideas in social media channels and trying to connect with people from Chicago and around the world who might use these ideas to help needed programs and services grow in all places where kids need help moving through school and into adult lives.

I continue to offer free advice to any who request it, while also looking for ways to earn income from sharing what I know. I still have not figured how to make that work. Nor have I found 3 or 4 people who would share the vision, and responsibility, and form a new non-profit Tutor/Mentor Connection. Thus, I continue to look for contributors who will help fund my efforts. I'm still not able to offer you a tax deduction, since I don't have a non-profit status.

There are two ways for you to offer financial support.

1) Make a birthday gift. I'll be 72 on December 19th and invite you to make a “Birthday Gift” contribution using the PayPal button at http://www.tutormentorconference.org/birthdaywish2018.htm

2) Make a 25th Year Anniversary Contribution to my FUND-ME campaign. click here

If you cannot make a contribution, please read my blog articles and share them with others.

If you use Twitter, Facebook or Linked in, please connect with me, which helps people in your network find the information I'm sharing.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to support this work in the past.

If you'd like to talk to me, email me at tutormentor2 at earthlink dot net to arrange a time to talk by phone, ZOOM or in person.

Happy Holidays to you and your family,

Daniel F. Bassill, D.H.L.
Tutor/Mentor Connection, 1993-present
Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC, 2011-present

Mail contributions to Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC, c/o Dan Bassill, 932 N. Salem Ave, Arlington Heights, IL 60004

Find me at:
http://www.tutormentorexchange.net
http://tutormentor.blogspot.com
http://mappingforjustice.blogspot.com
http://tutormentorexchange.wordpress.com


Connect with me on Twitter @tutormentorteam and on Facebook  (click this link to see nice video of my past year, created by FB)