Mapping Philanthropy - BMA Funders Map

If you've followed my articles you'll see that I'm passionate about mapping data that supports the growth of mentor-rich, volunteer based tutoring, mentoring and learning programs in high poverty areas. This graphic shows a the home page of the BMA Funders mapping platform. It's an innovative, interactive map, showing funding of programs that "offer Black men and boys in the U.S. greater access to the structural supports and opportunities needed to thrive. "

I encourage you to get to know this platform and learn to use it. At the same time, read the article I wrote at the Mapping for Justice blog, showing how this compares to the Tutor/Mentor Program locator map platform that I've been developing since the early 2000s.

I have been aggregating links to program locators and mapping platforms for more than a decade, with the goal that anyone building one of these would borrow ideas from others who are doing similar work. Better yet they might collaborate on efforts to secure funding, and technology talent, to help each other build the best platforms possible.

Finally, they might also collaborate on enlisting students from high schools, colleges, faith groups and existing youth tutor/mentor programs, to be story tellers, using the maps and the data to educate policy makers, donors and other volunteers so funding reaches every poverty neighborhood, and supports a wide range of needed youth and family supports.

If you're interested in helping me, or learning from my 20 years of experience, let's connect.

Using the Ning Network

This graphic is part of a flash animation created to illustrate the year-round event cycle, and strategy of the Tutor/Mentor Connection. It was created by two interns from Korea who were with Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection for six weeks in Jan/Feb. 2010. You can read more about this in this blog article.

These interns and other volunteers are connected to each other in the Tutor/Mentor Connection Ning group. This is more than Facebook. It's a planning and collaboration space. If you browse the groups you can see how I'm able to coach the work each volunteer is doing, and how they are beginning to network and share ideas with each other.

You can review work done over the past few years, and you can follow work being done right now. You can add your own ideas, or you can borrow these ideas to help you in your own program, or your own community or country.

If you appreciate what the Tutor/Mentor Connection is offering, I hope you'll take a moment to vote for us in the Pepsi Refresh Project. You can help us get funding for an entire year! This means we'll be able to do more of this type of work and bring more attention and support to tutor/mentor programs in many places.

Vote in Pepsi Refresh for Tutor/Mentor

Yesterday I wrote about President Obama asking for $900 million to reduce the high school drop out rate.

I don't have much influence with my single vote on how the Federal government uses my tax dollars, but I can influence the futures of inner city kids by what I do as leader of Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection.

Now you can have an influence on what the Tutor/Mentor Connection does to help volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs grow, and thrive, in all parts of the Chicago region.

Here's a pdf showing resources provided by T/MC

Here's some articles showing the Network of Purpose.

View the Program Locator and see how it helps you find where tutor/mentor programs in Chicago are located.

Vote for us in the Pepsi Refresh Project.

With your help we can win a grant of $250,000, which is a full year of funding for the Tutor/Mentor Connection. With this we upgrade the maps, the web library, the outreach and we help every tutor/mentor program in the city get the ideas, the volunteers and the dollars they also need.

If you help the Tutor/Mentor Connection grow in Chicago you also help similar strategies grow in your own city because your leaders can borrow ideas from the T/MC and the resources we share in our library and through the May and November Conferences, as well as on-line forums.

This contest runs through March 2010. Right now we're in 284th place. We need to be in the top two to win the grant. Can you help?

Lawyers award $217,000 in grants to Chicago area tutoring and mentoring programs

In January2010 the Lawyers Lend a Hand to Youth Program sent out contributions to 33 different tutoring and/or mentoring organizations serving youth in the Chicago region. You can see the list, with links to each organization, at this article.

Cabrini Connections received one of these grants, and we are thankful. However, no foundation funds all of a non profit's total annual budget, or even more than a small percent.

Thus, as we applaud the leadership of members of the legal community who are helping raise these funds, we encourage leaders in every other industry to form similar programs, using the Tutor/Mentor Connection maps, and library of programs, to choose where you distributed operating dollars, and encourage employee volunteer involvement.

We also encourage non profits who operate tutor/mentor programs to network with T/MC in conferences and on-line forums, so we can work together to help expand the revenue available to operate, and share ideas that help us use these dollars to build constantly improving programs in all parts of the Chicago region.

Mentor Kenosha Racine wins Stimulus Grant

Just received an email from Mark Gesner at University of Wisconsin Parkside saying "It is with great excitement that I write to inform you that Mentor Kenosha & Racine (MKR) has been awarded a three-year $497,651 grant from the United States Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). The grant supports MKR efforts to provide mentoring services for middle school students in the Racine and Kenosha Unified School Districts. " Read more.

The list of winners for other states can be seen at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/recovery/Mentor_Awards.htm

Mark and his team have taken part in the Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conferences for the past couple of years. You can find the workshop they presented in the agenda from the May 2009 conference.

The next conference is November 19 and 20, 2009 and we hope that others who want to learn how to win grants, and build great tutor/mentor programs will attend and share your own ideas and strategies.