Virtual Corporate Office: Strategy for Helping Youth Tutor/Mentor Programs Reach Youth in More Places.

The Tutor/Mentor Connection:
Creating a Virtual Corporate Office

If volunteer-based
tutor/mentor programs were
supported by a corporate
office the way big companies
support multiple stores,
would we have more and
better programs reaching
young people?
Property of Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC, Tutor/Mentor Connection, Merchandise Mart PO Box 3303, Chicago, Il. 60654 tutormentor2@earthlink.net
Maps show distribution of stores such as Wal Mart,

Walgreens, Bank of America. Find these on Google.com
These stores are supported by corporate and regional office teams.

Pg 2
Every store offers a selection of merchandise and

services based on local customer needs.
Corporate office
teams, consisting
of buyers,
merchants, store
planners, human
resource
professionals,
researchers,
advertisers,
mangers, etc.
make sure each
store has products
customers seek,
and well trained
people to support
store operations.
Pg 3
A site-based tutor/mentor program is a store that

offers various services to youth and volunteers.
Maps can show

where tutor/mentor
programs in a city
like Chicago are
needed and where
existing programs
are located.
Pg 4
A site-based volunteer-based tutor/mentor program is a store with stuff for many

customers. Each list below represents products and services needed at every tutor/mentor
program in every high poverty neighborhood of cities like Chicago.
Tutor/Mentor
Stuff for
Donors
Why we are needed
Needs of youth in
neighborhood we
serve
What we do
How this influences
learning, school
performance, work
readiness
Our Leaders
Other donors
What we accomplish
Who we network
with
Who we collaborate
with
How well we use
their donations
What is our impact
Parents, Teachers,
Community
Leaders
STORE
Stuff for
Stuff for
Youth
Volunteers
Mentors, Tutors
Fun activities
New experiences
Technology
Books
Safe Place
Arts
Social & Emotional
Support
College & Career
Job Skills
Network
Staff support
Friends
Long-term
involvement
Very few programs

offer all of these!
Stuff for
STAFF
Vision, Mission
Training
On-Going
support
Fun Activities
Social network
Career Network
Financial reward
Health care
Retirement
Safe, nurturing
place to work
Youth
Training
On-Going
support
Fun Activities
Social network
Career Network
Sense of purpose
Technology
Books
Safe Place
Job Skills
Staff support
Friends
What we do
What we accomplish
How do enroll a
youth
How to make
programs like this
available to more
kids in more places
How this helps kids
Stuff for
Industry,
Universities
What we do
What we accomplish
How do volunteers get
involved
Impact on volunteers,
business goals
Impact on diversity,
workforce
development etc.
Pg 5
A well-organized tutor/mentor program needs a

team of skilled leaders & workers
Board of
Directors
Recruitment and
Development
Director/CEO
Admin
analyst
Tutor/Mentor
Program
Operations
Marketing and
Development
Secretary
Information
Technologies
Human
Resources
Database
Development &
Maintenance
Policy
Development
and Training
Web site
development &
Maintenance
Staffing/
Training
Facilities Mgr.
Legal &
Accounting
Student
Recruitment
& Support
Manager
Volunteer
Recruitment
and Training
School and
Community
Liaison
Coordinator
for
tutor/mentor
sessions
Supply/Food
Service
Events &
Activities
Security
College &
Career
Readiness
Board
Development
Communications
Manager
Grants
Manger
Newsletter (print
and email versions
Special
Events
Public
Relations
Direct Mail
Annual
Report
Web Site
Internal
Communications
Transportation
On-line
Documentation
Systems
On-line elearning (for
staff, students,
volunteers)
Employee
Records
Payroll and
Benefits
Management
Database mgt
Business
Liaison/
Vocational
Training
Computer
Learning
Center
Data
Collection
and Analysis
Internal
Network and
Server set up
and
maintenance
Hardware &
software
upgrades
(technology
plan
Technology
Support
Technology
Training
Computer
Technology
Center.
If available
Very few programs

have all of these!
Every box on this chart represents a role that a corporate volunteer with specific talents and
experience could fill in a volunteer-based tutor/mentor organization. Every box needs to be filled if the
organization is to provide effective service to its community. Similar charts should be developed to show the
organizational structure of different types of charities and service organizations.
Pg 6
The Case for a more comprehensive form of

tutoring/mentoring:
Many leaders, including the President of the United States, already
support the concept of mentoring.
However, very few have business plans that answer these questions:
What are all the things we need to do to assure that youth born in
poverty, and participating in tutor/mentor programs, are starting
jobs/careers by age 25?
How do we increase the number, and quality of places where

youth access these services?
Read more. This is what the
Tutor/Mentor Connection* focuses on every day.
Contact us at tutormentor2@earthlink.net
*since 2011 the T/MC has been a program offered by Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC
Pg. 7
No corporate office yet exists to support tutor/mentor

programs in multiple locations. Leaders Needed.
The purpose of this T/MC essay is not to convince you
that tutoring/mentoring is an important education-tocareers and civic engagement strategy.
The purpose is to recruit leaders from industry
to share their skills and experiences
to make more and better tutor/mentor programs available in all places where they are
needed.
to provide the operating and innovation dollars needed to fuel efforts like the T/MC in Chicago,
and similar structures in other cities.
and provide resources to support collaborations which bring Science, Technology, Arts,
Engineering and Math mentoring into existing tutor/mentor programs
Pg. 8
In a big city like Chicago, hundreds of non-profits have similar

organizational needs. Few are adequately staffed.
Corporate
Leadership needs
to draw volunteers,
talent and donors to
t/m programs in all
poverty
neighborhoods, not
just a few visible
places.
Chicago
Shaded Areas have
poverty levels of 20%
or greater. Dots on this
map are poorly
performing public
schools.
Since every shaded area on this map

needs a variety of comprehensive
tutor/mentor programs, the
Tutor/Mentor Connection leads a
public awareness campaign aimed to
draw dollars, volunteers, and training
directly to tutor/mentor programs in
every part of the city and suburbs of
Chicago.
Wed like to see this strategy
duplicated at the national and local
level by leaders in every industry,
and by leaders of the Points of Light
Foundation.
See maps and search for Chicago area
programs:
www.tutormentorprogramlocator.net
Pg. 9
Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC, Tutor/Mentor Connection, Merchandise Mart PO Box 3303, Chicago, Il. 60654 tutormentor2@earthlink.net
Tutor/Mentor Programs are not available

in all places where they are needed
There is a perception that many organizations offer
tutoring/mentoring or youth development services.
In reality, in many neighborhoods there are few
programs that offer tutoring and/or mentoring.
When the availability of programs is looked at by
age and time of day segments, it is obvious that a
contributing factor to the high drop out rate of teens
is the lack of programs to mentor them to careers.
View Chicago Community Area maps 2013 showing number of high poverty
youth in each area: http://tinyurl.com/TMI-communityareamaps
Pg. 10
Not all programs are equally effective

There are wide differences between the type of tutoring
and/or mentoring programs that are available.
number and age group of children served
number of volunteers involved
quality of staff available to support youth or volunteers
uneven availability of arts, technology, career mentoring
The Tutor/Mentor Connection has been building a master database of programs in
Chicago since 1993. As the T/MC builds its database of programs, it seeks to build
an understanding of the various types of programs, dividing them by age served,
time of day services is provided, and type of tutoring/mentoring offered.
Pg. 11
To support growth and operation of

multiple programs, borrow strategies
from proven business practices
Successful companies try to put
stores where there are large
numbers of potential customers;
Some companies have thousands of
stores distributed throughout every
state in the country
Economies of scale are used to
increase quality and lower the
operating costs per location
See more graphics like these at

http://pinterest.com/tutormentor/boards/
Volunteers from business can

help collect and maintain
information used to support
tutor/mentor program growth by
every industry.
Pg.12
It is not realistic to expect one

organization to have enough money
to do everything that a corporate
office of a company like Wal Mart,
Sears, Apple, etc. do to support
thousands of retail stores.
However, it is possible that thousands of volunteers
from different industries might take on roles similar to
corporate office teams, supporting a group of
programs in a geographic area, or all of the
tutor/mentor programs in an entire city like Chicago.
Pg. 13
A Virtual Corporate Office

Human
Resources
Research &
Development
Marketing,
Sales
Advertising,
PR
Finance &
Legal
Supply &
Logistics
Philanthropy
& Employee
Giving
Talent and resources from many

industries supporting program
growth in many places.
Pg 14
A Learning Distribution System

STEM
Learning
Communications
Skills, Arts
Technology,
Digital skills
Leadership,
Team Building
Finance &
Legal
Social,
Emotional
Philanthropy
&
Volunteering
Important learning activities

should be made available in every
high poverty neighborhood.
Pg 15
Example Museums as Vendors

Science &
Industry
John. J. Shedd
Acquiarium
Field Museum
of Natural
History
Chicago
History
Museum
Chicago
Botanic
Gardens
Adler
Planetarium
Others....
Each museum should be putting

icons on map showing where it's
learning programs are a part of a
school, or non-school,
program's on-going strategy.
Each museum should think like
a company like Proctor &
Gamble, who wants its products
on the shelves of thousands of
retail stores.
They not only have a great
product, but they also offer
incentives, like training,
advertising dollars, point-ofpurchase displays, etc.
Pg 16
Corporations and Military Leaders build strategies to distribute resources and support
stores in many locations. Teams of talent volunteers could take this role to help
make tutor/mentor programs available in all high poverty neighborhoods of Chicago
and other cities.
Feed &
Analysis
Equip
Our army better
than enemy
Public
Commitment
To sustain effort and
recruit troops
How do we educate
and inform public so
we can maintain
support for revenue
needed to support
war effort?
This is
a supply
chain issue.
We need to feed, cloth,

arm and re-supply our
troops and logistics
providers for as long as
war is in progress.
Of enemy
Strength &
weaknesses
Understand needs &
plan resource
allocation, e.g.
strategic planning
Recruit
& Retain
Organize
& Train
US forces
US forces
How to replace forces

that are lost with new
solders trained and
ready to pick up from
where previous left off
Direct
engagement
Enemy
sites
What resources do
we need to
implement the plan?
How to prepare
them?
Revenue
Logistics
To support
these efforts
To get forces
in place
How do we raise
money needed to pay
for this entire effort?
Forces
How do we distribute
needed resources
and troops to multiple
locations where they
are needed?
Forces
Include
tutors &
mentors
Poverty
in city
is
enemy
The goal is to support multiple programs in a geographic area, not just one!
Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC, Tutor/Mentor Connection, Merchandise Mart PO Box 3303, Chicago, Il. 60654 tutormentor2@earthlink.net
Pg 17
How do we increase number of people

who focus on same issue who connect,
learn, share in on-line learning so we
achieve long-term results?
Health
Education
Result focus
Government
World of
Knowledge
Justice
Recreation
Work &
Economy
MAP OF ISSUES
Boston Innovation Hub is example
of pie-chart showing potential
users & collaborators.
Growth of involvement
Pg 18
Most programs cant get enough resources on their

own. We need the help of many leaders.
Everyone (students, and adults) could take this role on a daily basis.
faith
business
media
volunteers
dollars
college
you
Talent &
technology
Elected
leader
others
The main idea of this presentation is to show

actions that many people can take to support
program growth. YOU can do this!
Thousands of volunteers, business and faith leaders, students, etc. can use personal and organizational leadership, web
sites and communications to connect members of their network to information showing why certain types of volunteer
programs are needed, and where they are located. They can point to databases that enable volunteers, community
members, media and donors to search and find programs where they can get involved. Learning to stimulate such actions
on a regular basis, the way advertisers draw customers to retail stores each week, it a lesson we need to teach. We can
do that by giving recognition to those already doing this well.
Property of Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC, Tutor/Mentor Connection, Merchandise Mart PO Box 3303, Chicago, Il. 60654 Email for permission to use: tutormentor2@earthlink.net
Pg 19
Many ways to volunteer

volunteers are needed to create innovative strategies that
increase visibility for tutor/mentor programs and increase the
flow of operating dollars to every tutor/mentor program in
Chicago and other major cities
business partners are needed to develop strategies
using employee volunteers, company assets & dollars to
PULL youth from poverty into jobs & careers.
people and organizations are needed to organize and
provide curriculum, training,and ideas, to help educate all
stakeholders in the movement.
Pg.20
Build Involvement based on where

need for programs is greatest.
Create advertising and public awareness
that seeks to educate resource providers to
make choices of involvement, drawing from
a menu of ways individuals and
organizations could be involved, and using
GIS maps that show where the need for
tutor/mentor programs is greatest, and
where existing programs are located in
these areas.
Such a strategy will lead to a more even
distribution of resources to all
neighborhoods where tutor/mentor programs
are needed, not just to those with a visible
brand name or in a high profile
neighborhood.
Pg. 21
Role for Many Leaders:

Advertising and Public Awareness
We dont have multi-millions dollar ad
budgets, yet we need similar reach
and frequency of daily and weekly
message delivery.
The T/MC seeks to recruit leaders
from business and faith communities
who will use their own media to create
and lead a call-to-involvement.
This evangelism will reach thousands
of people in every business, social and
faith sector many times each day with
messages that encourage people to
be volunteers, leaders, donors, etc.
Pg. 22
Become a Network Builder

Write a weekly blog
Create videos
Host discussions on Facebook, Linked in,
or tutormentorconnection.ning.com
Host gatherings on Google Hangouts,
Elluminate, etc.
Build your visibility and reputation by what
you do throughout the year.
Pg 23
Models of such leadership exist

The Abraham Lincoln Marovitz Lend A Hand Program at the
Chicago Bar Association is an example of the type leadership the
T/MC seeks to create in every industry and service sector. Since
1994 more than $2.5 million has been raised to support
volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs in the Chicago area. See
http://www.lawyerslendahand.org
If programs like this are in each industry,
each tutor/mentor program would have
volunteers modeling different career
opportunities, along with multiple
sources of funding.
Strategies like this can support volunteer-based tutor/mentor
program growth in every neighborhood of Chicago and other
cities with high concentrations of poverty.
Pg 24
Volunteers from business, universities, and high

schools needed to help build knowledge base.
The T/MC seeks university partners,
interns, and graduate students, who will
help build a library of examples showing
how various businesses and industries
use their leadership, human capital and
communications resources to PULL
youth from poverty to careers.
Volunteers and partners can also
organize on-line learning communities,
such as the Education, Technology and
Media MOOC held in Jan-Mar 2013 at
http://www.etmooc.org
Such Examples will fuel the actions of
similar businesses throughout the
country.
Pg.25
As volunteers do service lets seek

to enhance learning .
Every time a volunteer connects with a youth in a
tutor/mentor program we seek to enhance learning, so
the volunteer becomes a bridge to her industry, faith
group, and/or alumni network.
Such volunteers have the potential to bring
additional resources to tutor/mentor programs
every time they return to do service.
As some of these volunteers become CEOs, this become a

self-sustaining system with different leaders in different places
taking the lead at different times each year. See this idea
illustrated at
http://www.tutormentorexchange.net/images/flash/vol_leadership.swf
Pg. 26
Tutor/Mentor Program goals

are Business goals.
Organizations that offer volunteer-based tutoring/ mentoring services
seek to improve the quality of life for people living in poverty by
helping them move up the ladder to jobs and careers.
This creates new customers and new employees for industry and
lowers the costs associated with poverty, crime and workforce
development.
These programs also create networking, learning and skill building
opportunities for business volunteers who choose to get involved.
This strategy creates an army of people who are more personally
committed to helping inner city kids, because they have come to
know them, and understand their challenges, through volunteer
involvement.
Pg 27
Benefits to companies and their

employees
Involvement in well-managed volunteer-based programs provides
many benefits to employees in corporations, such as expanding
leadership skills, and expanding informal networks for those who
are involved.
Using Internet e-collaboration tools, volunteers in a T/MC strategy
learn skills and habits that can be applied profitably in 21st
century business applications.
Most of all, its the right thing to do. Businesses who are effective
at helping youth move to careers will earn public good will and
loyal employees and customers.
Read more about Benefits to business - http://tinyurl.com/T-MC-Civic-
Engagement
Pg. 28
Read about Collective Impact and role of backbone organizations on Stanford Social
Innovation Review: http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/collective_impact
Collective impact requires
that funders support a longterm process of social
change without identifying
any particular solution in
advance.
A Tutor/Mentor Connection is a backbone organization

and is needed in every city in the world.
A backbone organization with

a modest annual budget can
support a collective impact
initiative of several hundred
organizations, magnifying the
impact of millions or even
billions of dollars in existing
funding. Strive, for
example, has a $1.5 million
annual budget but is
coordinating the efforts and
increasing the effectiveness
of organizations with
combined budgets of $7
billion.
Pg 29
Copyright 2011 Property of Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC and Tutor/Mentor Connection, Merchandise Mart PO Box 3303, Chicago, Il 60654 Email for permission to use: tutormentor2@earthlink.net
Invest in intermediary organizations

like T/MC and its partners
Become a sponsor, drawing attention to
your business, while you help us draw
attention to mentor-rich, tutor/mentor
programs
Point workplace donations to
tutor/mentor programs so volunteers
are well-supported and benefit more
from their involvement
If you are a venture capital manager, or
venture philanthropist, consider
becoming an investor in the Chicago
Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC. Your
investment helps T/MC do more of the
things described in this essay.
Pg. 30
Get informed. Get involved.

Visit the following web sites to learn more about volunteer-based tutoring,
mentoring and strategies to build networks and support for programs in
multiple locations.
Www.tutormentorexchange.net
www.tutormentorconnection.org
www.tutormentorconference.org
http://tutormentor.blogspot.com
http://www.tutormentorprogramlocator.net
Http://mappingforjustice.blogspot.com
Http://tutormentorexchange.net.wordpress.com
or email: tutormentor2@earthlink.net
Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC, Tutor/Mentor Connection
Merchandise Mart PO Box 3303, Chicago, Il. 60654
Why Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC and Tutor/Mentor Connection (T/MC)?
From 1993 to June 2011 the T/ MC operated as partner to the Cabrini Connections tutor/mentor program in Chicago, under one 501c-3 non profit board of directors. Due to financial pressure the T/MC was separated from the Cabrini Connections program in June
2011 and the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC was created to provide alternative strategies for generating revenue to continue to operate
the Tutor/Mentor Connection in Chicago while helping similar intermediary structures grow in other cities. The names will be used
interchangeably in many of our materials since both focus on the same mission.

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The Tutor/Mentor Connection:

Creating a Virtual Corporate Office

Maps show distribution of stores such as Wal Mart,

These stores are supported by corporate and regional office teams.

Every store offers a selection of merchandise and

A site-based tutor/mentor program is a store that

Maps can show

A site-based volunteer-based tutor/mentor program is a store with stuff for many

Very few programs

A well-organized tutor/mentor program needs a

Very few programs

The Case for a more comprehensive form of

How do we increase the number, and quality of places where

No corporate office yet exists to support tutor/mentor

In a big city like Chicago, hundreds of non-profits have similar

Since every shaded area on this map

Tutor/Mentor Programs are not available

Not all programs are equally effective

To support growth and operation of

See more graphics like these at

Volunteers from business can

It is not realistic to expect one

A Virtual Corporate Office

Talent and resources from many

A Learning Distribution System

Important learning activities

Example Museums as Vendors

Each museum should be putting

We need to feed, cloth,

How to replace forces

How do we increase number of people

Most programs cant get enough resources on their

The main idea of this presentation is to show

Many ways to volunteer

Build Involvement based on where

Role for Many Leaders:

Become a Network Builder

Models of such leadership exist

Volunteers from business, universities, and high

As volunteers do service lets seek

As some of these volunteers become CEOs, this become a

Tutor/Mentor Program goals

Benefits to companies and their

A Tutor/Mentor Connection is a backbone organization

A backbone organization with

Invest in intermediary organizations

Get informed. Get involved.

Related Interests

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