1.
STEPS FOR STARTING AND BUILDING
A NEW TUTOR/MENTOR PROGRAM
Starting a tutor/mentor program is simple. Making it work is a
bit more difficult. It takes 12 years to help a first grader finish
high school. It could take another 5-10 years until he/she is
launched in a career.
--Daniel F. Bassill, President of Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC and the Tutor/Mentor Connection
Copywrite 2011, Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC, Tutor/Mentor Connection, Merchandise Mart PO Box 3303, Chicago, Il. 60654 tutormentor2@earthlink.net

2.
This presentation is a Resource From the
Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC
This is one of hundreds of essays and articles created by Daniel F. Bassill, D.H.L., since 1993 when the
Tutor/Mentor Connection (T/MC) was launched in Chicago. These articles seek to inspire others to provide
leadership that supports the growth and constant improvement of youth serving organizations reaching
youth in high poverty areas of Chicago and other cities. Since 2011 the Chicago T/MC has been part of
Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC. Read other illustrated essays in the Tutor/Mentor Institute library at
http://www.tutormentorexchange.net. While most of this information is FREE your purchase of this article
helps provide revenue that enables this library to remain available.
Throughout this publication “T/MC” will be used to mean both Tutor/Mentor Connection and
Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC since both share the same goals and purpose.
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This visual essay is part of an extensive on-line library of
information, most of which is FREE to users from
throughout the world. Like good wine, it is best “sipped”
and enjoyed over time.

3.
STEPS TO START A PROGRAM: A mentoring-to-career strategy of the Tutor/Mentor Connection
"Mentoring draws our attention to important issues for
social policy: how to provide young people with the
relationships they so badly need, and how to engage
the people who don’t live in poverty in addressing
problems of neighborhoods dominated by poverty.
A great many disadvantaged youth are in need of
support that is developmental, nurturing, protective
and extensive in nature--in other words, something
resembling supplemental parenting. They need this
caring not only to make the basic transition to
adulthood, but to survive under conditions of great
stress.”from The Kindness of Strangers", by Mark Friedman
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4.
In The Kindness of Strangers, originally published in 1993,
Mark Freedman writes about the potential and the difficulties
of mentoring and suggests that without infrastructure and
support for mentors and mentoring programs, the movement
will never reach its potential. Freedman listed a number of
ways mentoring was falling short of its potential:
- missing infrastructure
- poor program models
- missing follow-up
- emphasis on marketing and recruitment instead of program
support
- poor or no coordination
- matches made and then abandoned by program
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STEPS TO START A PROGRAM: A mentoring-to-career strategy of the Tutor/Mentor Connection

5.
Ways mentoring programs fall short of its potential:
- conducted in isolation
- few programs with resources to serve mentors as well as
mentees
- missing operational expenses
- missing knowledge regarding effective practices
- little appreciation of how hard it is to put mentoring into
action
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In a 1994 survey of Chicago area tutor/mentor programs 120 responded, with 54% saying
they have “little or no contact with peers.” The Tutor/Mentor Connection was established
to help bring programs together to learn from each other, and to create events that attracted
public attention, and drew dollars and volunteers to all programs operating in the city.

6.
In addition to the list of challenges Freedman highlighted, the
challenges of finding consistent, on-going operating dollars to
fund constantly improving programs would also be among the
biggest barriers to having more programs operating in places
where they are most needed.
As you use this publication, spend time reading articles in the
Tutor/Mentor Web Library. Dozens of articles are in this
section focusing on “Challenges facing Non Profit
Organizations” ,
http://tinyurl.com/
TMILibrary-ChallengesFacingNPO
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STEPS TO START A PROGRAM: A mentoring-to-career strategy of the Tutor/Mentor Connection

7.
As leaders organize a new volunteer-based
tutor/mentor program, this message should
serve as a reminder of what it takes to succeed.
If you do not address each of these issues in the
structure of your program, in the on-going
activities, policies and commitments, your
program will fall short of meeting its potential.
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STEPS TO START A PROGRAM: A mentoring-to-career strategy of the Tutor/Mentor Connection

8.
In the initial stages of organizing a program, or network of
programs, these steps are in sequential order. The more you
know about tutor/mentor programs and how other programs
operate, for instance, should help you with every other stage of
developing your own program. The more people you have to
help you, the more you can accomplish.
However, once you have launched your program, these steps
begin to run concurrently. You don’t stop doing research,
learning, or team-building once you have started your program.
Continuous process improvement means that you are always
looking for ways to get better*, etc. Programs which are able
to incorporate these steps into their operating philosophy stand
a greater chance of long-term success.
*Read the Jim Collins book titled, “Good to Great and the Social Sector” for ideas on process
improvement.
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STEPS TO START A PROGRAM: A mentoring-to-career strategy of the Tutor/Mentor Connection

9.
At this time, the biggest obstacle
to involving more children and
caring adults in tutor/mentor
programs is the need for more of
the programs themselves, as
well as the need for a more
consistent flow of resources
(dollars, volunteers, training,
technology, etc.) to existing
programs.
Visit the Links Library at
http://www.tutormentorconnection.org to learn
more about poverty mapping.
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10.
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A second challenge
is that while there are
many activities within
programs, few have
long term strategies
intended to help
youth through school
and into jobs.

11.
Every successful business follows
some of the same steps to make it a
success
Think of your tutor/mentor program as a
business. The fundamentals are the same.
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STEPS TO START A PROGRAM: A mentoring-to-career strategy of the Tutor/Mentor Connection

12.
Research
Don’t try to reinvent the wheel. Get to know
other tutor/mentor programs and borrow
strategies and materials that you feel would fit
the type of program you want to build. Use the
T/MC web site links to research mentoring
programs in Chicago and around the country.
As you begin to consider building a formal non-
profit structure (which you must have to raise
money), use the links in the fund raising section
of the T/MC resource library to do much of your
research.
Fundamentals
for Success
Research
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13.
The T/MC seeks to connect everyone in the Chicago
region who wants to help kids in poverty move to
careers.
T/MC incorporates concepts of adult-to-youth mentoring into our core
strategy because providing greater adult support to youth is a proven way
to help kids be more successful in school and life
After many years of leading a tutor/mentor program (since 1975), we
understand mentoring as a form of service learning, in which the volunteer
has to be transformed, not just the youth. Because some of the volunteers
need to become leaders and capacity builders to constantly expand the
resources available to the tutor/mentor program, and the youth, as the
youth grows older.
This strategy can work in other cities, not just Chicago. Email
tutormentor2@earthlink.net to explore ways Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC
can help you create your own Tutor/Mentor Connection type strategy.
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14.
Since 1994 the Tutor/Mentor
Connection has been collecting
information about non-school
tutor/mentor programs in the Chicago
region. The information is intended to
help existing programs grow, while
helping new programs start where
more are needed.
An interactive map-directory
has been in development
since 2004.
Visit the Chicago Tutor/Mentor Program
Locator
www.tutormentorprogramlocator.net and
http://mappingforjustice.blogspot.com to
learn more.
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15.
Use resources on
Tutor/Mentor
Connection web
site to support your
learning.
This web site is http://www.tutormentorconnection.org
Tutor/Mentor Connection, Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC Merchandise Mart PO Box 3303 Chicago, Il. 606542 http://www.tutormentorexchange.net tutormentor2@earthlink.net Pg. 15
Borrow from existing resources. Don’t reinvent the wheel.

16.
STEPS TO START A PROGRAM: A mentoring-to-career strategy of the Tutor/Mentor Connection
Visit http://tinyurl.com/TMI-library and find a map that outlines the four
sections of this library, and points to sub sections within the library
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17.
An additional entry to T/MC resources is the Tutor/Mentor
Institute at www.tutormentorexchange.net .
Pg 17
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Open each
section to find
ideas to support
your program
planning and
development.

18.
Chicago Area Program Locator http://www.tutormentorprogramlocator.net
You can now
search for
programs in
Chicago area,
based on zip
code, age served,
type of program.
You can also add
your own
program.
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STEPS TO START A PROGRAM: A mentoring-to-career strategy of the Tutor/Mentor Connection

19.
Use social media and on-line forums to expand your network,
share ideas and learn from others.
https://www.facebook.com/TutorMentorInstitute
http://tutormentorconnection.ning.com
http://www.tutormentorconference.org
http://tinyurl.com/TMC-LinkedIn-Volunteering
http://www.twitter.com/tutormentorteamConnect staff,
leaders,
volunteers on
any of these
forums
Pg 19

20.
Database
Develop a Team
Don’t forget to include people from
business groups that you will go to
as you begin to recruit volunteers
and donors. Think of volunteers for
their talent (technology, accounting)
and not just as tutors/mentors.
Look for Partners to help you - from
local business, schools, park
districts, churches, and community
groups.
Develop a Team
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21.
STEPS TO START A PROGRAM: A mentoring-to-career strategy of the Tutor/Mentor Connection
Create a map showing the talent and job functions needed to build and grow your organization. Use
this to help guide your efforts to recruit volunteers to help lead your organization as well as
volunteers who will become tutors and mentors to the youth you serve.
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22.
Define Mission and Goals
Borrow ideas from programs you visit and
read about to build your own vision of the
type of program that would work best in
your area, and with the resources you have.
At this stage you should begin drafting a
written program design and action plan.
Look at the graphics on the T/MC site to
see how we visualize our aim of helping
kids to careers. These shows a variety of
people and activities that could be part of
any tutor/mentor program.
Research
Build Team
Define Mission and Goals
Fundamentals
For Success
Pg 22
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STEPS TO START A PROGRAM: A mentoring-to-career strategy of the Tutor/Mentor Connection
Some of these graphics were created by interns. Engage youth
in your community in designing and communicating your
program goals.

23.
STEPS TO START A PROGRAM: A mentoring-to-career strategy of the Tutor/Mentor Connection
This graphic illustrates that there are three time frames during the day when youth can connect with
mentors, tutors and learning opportunities and that the goal of our efforts should be to help more
youth move successfully from first grade to a job and career.
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24.
STEPS TO START A PROGRAM: A mentoring-to-career strategy of the Tutor/Mentor Connection
This in every neighborhood there should be a range of organizations operating in the non-school
hours, not just a few programs serving youth at one age level, or another.
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25.
STEPS TO START A PROGRAM: A mentoring-to-career strategy of the Tutor/Mentor Connection
Neighborhood collaborations could result in programs working together to help youth have the
supports they need, and to help programs attract the ideas, talent and dollars needed to build world
class support systems.
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26.
STEPS TO START A PROGRAM: A mentoring-to-career strategy of the Tutor/Mentor Connection
Programs that are “mentor rich” have volunteers from a wide range of business backgrounds, who model
different types of careers youth might aspire to achieve. Such programs are supported by corporate giving
strategies that recognize the value of tutor/mentor programs to future, and current, employees.
Tutor/Mentor Connection, Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC Merchandise Mart PO Box 3303 Chicago, Il. 606542 http://www.tutormentorexchange.net tutormentor2@earthlink.net Pg. 26

27.
Look for a Host/Sponsor(s)
You will need a place to meet and
some financial support to get
started. If you can find donated
space, you’ll be much better off than
if you need to rent. Business sites,
churches, banks, insurance sales
agencies, health care sites, etc. are
ideal because they also provide a
source for volunteer recruitment and
in-kind donations.
Schools that offer space to operate
in non-school hours and evening
hours can also be potential hosts.
Research
Build Team
Define Mission & Goals
Find Host/Sponsor
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28.
Use asset maps to identify potential partners and supporters
This map shows some of the
businesses operating in the
Austin area on the West side
of Chicago. Since these
share the same geography
with programs in that area
they should be considered as
potential partners.
Similar maps can identify
faith groups, hospitals and
universities who may be
part of the same area.
Pg 28
STEPS TO START A PROGRAM: A mentoring-to-career strategy of the Tutor/Mentor Connection
This pdf provides ideas of how to use the Chicago Tutor/Mentor program locator to create maps like
this- http://tinyurl.com/TMILocator-how-to
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29.
Determine Structure
You could build a tutor/mentor
program focused on youth and
volunteers doing community
asset mapping, resource
mobilization, and creating
strategy visualizations.
See work done by interns
working with T/MC in Chicago.
http://www.tutormentorexchange.net/definition
-of-issues/ideasanimation
Pg 29
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30.
Determine Program Structure
What days, times will the program meet; where
will they meet? Begin to establish a vision for
the length of months/years that your program
intends to operate, along with the length of
service you intend to provide to individual
children.
Develop a format for tutor/mentor sessions
(group activity, one-on-one, or both) that
encourages workplace volunteers to participate.
If volunteers cannot leave work to get to a
school, or a 3-5pm program site on a regular
basis, design 5-8pm meeting times that
encourage volunteers to stop at a program on
their way home from work.
Program Structure: Actions
that motivate youth and
adults to participate.
Research
Build Team
Define Mission & Goals
Find Host/Sponsor
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31.
Determine Structure
Look for ways volunteers can build student motivation, study skills,
reading, writing, vocabulary and speaking skills, etc. These are habits
students can take with them into the classroom, or workplace.
Use the T/MC Links Library, and conferences, to see how other programs
provide tutoring, mentoring and learning supports to students. Try to build
your programs from “best practices” of other programs.
Use the T/MC Program Locator on-line directory to find contact
information for other programs in Chicago. Use search engines like
http://www.volunteermatch.org to find youth organizations in other cities.
Participate in the November and May T/MC Conferences
(http://www.tutormentorconference.org) to network and learn from other
program leaders.
Pg 31
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32.
Determine Recruiting Strategies
and Sources of Volunteers
TMC web sites, newsletters and
leadership conferences are a source
of information, as are interviews
with other tutor/mentor programs.
Participate in the Citywide
Chicagoland Tutor/Mentor
Volunteer Recruitment Campaign
organized by the T/MC.
Information on the recruitment campaign can be
found at http://www.tutormentorexchange.net
Determine Recruiting
Strategies
Program Structure: Actions
that motivate youth and
adults to participate.
Research
Build Team
Define Mission & Goals
Find Host/Sponsor
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33.
Determine Recruiting Strategies
and Sources of Students
Will students be recruited by schools, referred by juvenile
justice organizations, or recruited from the community. Are
you at a school, or a non-school location?
At the tutor/mentor programs which Dan Bassill led from
1975-2011, (http://www.cabriniconnections.net) our youth
were volunteers. They come because they, or their parents,
want them to attend. They are not the “problem kids” referred
by schools or juvenile authorities. Thus, our activities have to
motivate them to attend regularly.
How will you keep kids attending from one grade level to the
next? How will you keep them connected with you and the
volunteers over the summer.
These are some of the questions you need to address before
you launch your program. Discussing these issues with leaders
of existing programs can help you determine your own
strategies.
Determine Recruiting
Strategies
Program Structure: Actions
that motivate youth and
adults to participate.
Research
Build Team
Define Mission & Goals
Find Host/Sponsor
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34.
Set a Start-Up Schedule and
Develop an Action Plan
Keep in mind, you are simply bringing
adults and youth together. You must answer
the “what do I do” question volunteers will
have when they come to your session each
week. Plan your activities around the
calendar. Halloween, Thanksgiving,
Christmas, etc. offer themes for research,
writing, performing and building bonds
between students, volunteers and your
program.
Research
Build a Team
Define Mission & Goals
Find Host/Sponsor
Determine Structure
Determine Recruiting
Strategies
Schedule and Action Plan
Pg 34
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View Service Learning LOOP
animation at
www.tutormentorexchange.net/images/flas
h/rebuild_real.swf

35.
Recruit and Train Volunteers and
Youth.
You need to be recruiting both at the same time,
aiming for a start date when you bring them together
and launch your program.
Volunteer training is an on-going process. A start-up
orientation introduces your organization, its goals,
rules, vision and calendar of events. You must be
prepared to provide on-going information through
one-on-one contact, handouts, email, and training
workshops.
Try to share the responsibility for recruiting and
volunteer training workshops with other programs in
your area. Use the May and November T/MC
conferences (http://www.tutormentorconference.org )
as supplemental training for staff, volunteers and
board members.
Research
Build a Team
Define Mission & Goals
Find Host/Sponsor
Determine Structure
Determine Recruiting
Strategies
Schedule and Action Plan
Recruit and Train
Volunteers and Youth.
Pg 35
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36.
Begin Operations
Remember to track student and volunteer
participation at every session. Create
reports so you can see patterns of
attendance and adjust your activities based
on positive or negative trends.
This information provides evaluation and
planning information. It is also essential in
preparing grant requests to donors who
want to see quantifiable information.
Use the Internet (web sites, blogs, etc.) to
tell your story, and show others what you
are doing. Consider this an essential part
of recruitment, training and fund raising.
Research
Build a Team
Define Mission & Goals
Find Host/Sponsor
Determine Structure
Determine Recruiting
Strategies
Schedule and Action Plan
Recruit & Train Volunteers and Youth.
Begin Operations
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37.
It takes months, even years, to build an
effective tutor/mentor program. It takes 12
years for a first grade student to be a high
school graduate.
Programs need to build trust and
participation of children, parents and
volunteers, which is not given easily. As
you build participation, you must build
motivation, which often comes as you build
tradition, and a core staff of leaders and
veteran volunteers.
You must be patient, yet aggressive in
doing everything you can to make your
program as good as it can be.
Research
Build a Team
Define Mission & Goals
Find Host/Sponsor
Determine Structure
Determine Recruiting
Strategies
Schedule and Action Plan
Recruit & Train Volunteers and Youth.
Begin Operations
Continuous Process Improvement
and Annual Planning
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38.
Process Improvement
Once your program is started, your job is to sustain and nurture it from
year to year, so that it is able to serve children on a continuous basis, for
the number of years it takes for students to grow to be productive adults.
This involves continuous critical review of your process, your results and
your programs, with on-going incremental additions, revisions and
deletions, based on your own results, and what you are learning from
other tutor/mentor programs throughout the country (and the world).
Each year your review should lead to your plan for the next year’s growth.
If you do this you will surprise yourself in a few years as you look back
from where you and a small group of people began your program and see
the great progress you have accomplished – and the many lives you have
affected.
Use the http://www.tutormentorconnection.org web site as a regular
resource in this process.
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39.
THE RESULT
According to Mark Cohen, a
professor at Vanderbilt University’s
Owen Graduate School of
Management, “High risk youths
who are kept out of trouble through
intervention programs could save
society as much as $2 million a
youth per lifetime”.
Review similar research and articles in the No
Child Left Behind section of the LINKS
LIBRARY at
http://www.tutormentorconnection.org
Research
Building a Team
Define Mission
Find host
Determine Recruitment
strategies
Set Schedule and action plan
More youth stay in school, are
safe in non-school hours,
graduate, and move to careers
Recruit & Train, Begin
operations
Continuous Process
Improvement
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40.
Summary
Every child who is helped by a volunteer-based tutor/mentor program to become a
tax-paying adult represents a savings and an investment. We are offered with the
choice of a 12 to 16-year investment as a child becomes and adult and becomes a
taxpayer, vs the potential lifetime costs of public services associated with children
who live adult lives that are a drain on social resources, and who raise future
children who re-enter the cycle of poverty.
Volunteer-based tutoring/mentoring programs can not-only help individual inner-
city children have a wider range of possibilities for long-term personal fulfillment,
but they can also engage adults who don’t live in poverty, and educate them to
become more personally involved as they build their bonds with the kids they
connect with in tutor/mentor programs.
These programs enrich the lives of the volunteers, as much as they support the
growth of youth skills and aspirations.
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STEPS TO START A PROGRAM: A mentoring-to-career strategy of the Tutor/Mentor Connection

41.
Summary
Children can’t realize personal goals without the necessary skills. They cannot
secure rewarding jobs and personal happiness without self-esteem, a good
education and good learning habits. They can’t reach there full potential without a
network of positive role models who demonstrate these skills, and who expand the
experiences and learning opportunities for kids living in areas of highly
concentrated poverty.
Tutoring/mentoring programs are infused with these types of role models and
learning opportunities. It is up to each of us to provide the leadership and
resources needed to build and sustain such programs.
Daniel F. Bassill, President, CEO, Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC, Tutor/Mentor Connection
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STEPS TO START A PROGRAM: A mentoring-to-career strategy of the Tutor/Mentor Connection

42.
This type of organization is not
achieved in one or two years.
It will never be achieved without the
work done at the base of this
pyramid each year.
Research
Building a Team
Define Mission
Find host/sponsor
Determine Recruitment
strategies
Set Schedule and action plan
More youth stay in school, are
safe in non-school hours,
graduate, and move to careers
Recruit & Train, Begin
operations
Continuous Process
Improvement
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STEPS TO START A PROGRAM: A mentoring-to-career strategy of the Tutor/Mentor Connection

43.
Other Resources
Create a “learning organization” and draw
from this and the library of on-line
resources in the links below.
http://www.tutormentorexchange.net
http://www.tutormentorconnection.org
http://www.tutormentorprogramlocator.net
http://tutormentor.blogspot.com
http://debategraph.org/mentoring_kids_to_careers
http://michaelcnt.blogspot.com/
http://www.scribd.com/collections/3299390/Tutor-Mentor-Institute-
LLC-and-Tutor-Mentor-Connection-articles
Email tutormentor2@earthlink.net to discuss ideas for collaboration and capacity
building among programs, or between cities. Connect on Twitter
@tutormentorteam
Connect on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TutorMentorInstitute
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44.
You are encouraged to use this for planning and training. If you find
the material valuable to you, please consider sending letter of
appreciation and encourage others to visit Tutor/Mentor Institute,
LLC web sites to gather their own program development resources.
If you would like to have Dan Bassill come speak at your
organization, be part of a conference, or explain the purpose of this
and other ideas of the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC email
tutormentor2@earthlink.net to discuss fees.
This presentation is property of
Tutor/Mentor Connection
Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC
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Tutor/Mentor Connection, Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC Merchandise Mart PO Box 3303 Chicago, Il. 606542 http://www.tutormentorexchange.net tutormentor2@earthlink.net

45.
Tutor/Mentor Connection
Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC
Merchandise Mart PO Box 3303, Chicago, Il. 60654
www.tutormentorconnection.org
www.tutormentorexchange.net
Email tutormentor2@earthlink.net
STEPS TO START A PROGRAM: A mentoring-to-career strategy of the Tutor/Mentor Connection
Tutor/Mentor Connection, Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC Merchandise Mart PO Box 3303 Chicago, Il. 606542 http://www.tutormentorexchange.net tutormentor2@earthlink.net