The First Cut: Cabrini Madness

The first cut for Cabrini Madness 2011 took place last night at 11:59 pm (long after all of the NCAA games were over for the night--I guess we now know which tournament is more intense!).

Due to some confusion regarding tournament policies for matching donations, Commissioners EL Da'Sheon Nix and Bradley Troast have decided to advance 9 teams this week.

The following teams are advancing to the next round:
1. $2,161..... Cabrini Allstars
2. $2,118 ... The Dream Team
3. $1,561..... Boom Goes the Dynamite
4. $1,385 ..... The Kids Are All Bright
5. $1,338 ....... The Golden Stars
6. $1,285 ..... Team High5ive
7. $1,265 ... Change Makers
8. $1,215 ..... The Green Team
9. $1,208 ..... Cabrini Loyalty

The following teams didn't make the first cut, but still raised a combined $1,828 for Cabrini Connections:
10. $785 ... The Blue Chips
11. $600 ....... The Free Agents
12. $330 ....... Team 5Dragons
13. $113 ..... Running for Cabrini

Teams have demonstrated a lot of creativity thus far in the tournament. We've seen teams raise money through bowling nights, wii tournaments, wing eating contests (see an action shot to the left), chili cook-offs, pizza sales, and online giving campaigns. I look forward to seeing what teams do in the final few weeks of competition!

I'd like to take a moment to thank my family and friends who have supported my team, The Kids Are All Bright, and have helped us move to the second round standing strong at #4. My personal competitive side and desire to win the tournament aside, your generosity helps us keep the doors open to a really amazing program!

As many readers know, it has been a challenging financial year for Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection. However, our organization is not alone in facing ongoing financial obstacles. A study was released just today by the Nonprofit Financial Fund which indicates that 87% of nonprofits feel "the recession is not over." The study also found that while 85% of nonprofits anticipate an increased demand for their services in 2011, only 46% of organizations expect to be able to meet this need.

While this study reinforces the challenging landscape faced by nonprofits such as Cabrini Connections, Cabrini Madness is a really positive reminder that we have a lot of people willing to support the program and advocate on its behalf.

Congratulations to all teams, and good luck in the rest of the tournament. For all tournament fans, stay on top of tournament news, media updates, and standings on the official Cabrini Madness site.

Please support your favorite team before the next cut on Sunday, March 27th!

What is a Beard Worth?

The answer to this question is A LOT if you're part of Beards for Kids, a fundraiser launched by Gabe Chapman, a Cabrini Connections mentor. This is just one example of a slew of fundraisers that have been started by volunteers, alumni, staff members, and Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection supporters in the past few weeks to try to help us through this holiday season.

Beards For Kids "This holiday season I’m participating in the Beards For Kids 2010 Challenge. I’ll be growing a beard from now until the end of the holidays and have a goal of raising $10 per day for Cabrini Connections. Please help me reach my goal by donating here today: http://beardsforkids.org" -Gabriel Chapman

Santa's Naughty or Nice Charity Pub Crawl "HO HO HO - What better way to feel the joy of the season than to fill yourself with HOLIDAY SPIRITS and give a little something back to the community? For a donation of $10 (or more), you will get the company of some very fine individuals and a big red Santa hat (first 45 attendees)." -Elena Lugo and Melanie Munsey

Matt Golden's Fundraising Page "I have asked family and friends to help me raise $2,000 for Cabrini Connections in the month of December. I have set up a website on FirstGiving and have already raised $270! Hopefully, our contributions can help Charles Hill and other students continue to succeed at Cabrini Connections. http://www.firstgiving.com/mattgolden" -Matt Golden

One Month's Rent Campaign "Please support my cause by contributing an amount toward one month's rent for next year. We have a beautiful 4500-square foot space near downtown Chicago where all of our youth come to meet with their mentors. You can get a good sense of it here as I walk through in this video: http://vimeo.com/16755309." -Bradley Troast

Alumni Fund Page "I graduated from the program back in 1992 and I'm troubled to hear that it is in financial peril and there is the real possibility that it can close. This program was a key factor in my finally seeing what possibilities lay out there for me to be successful... They are currently doing that for so many of the Children of Cabrini and I'm not aware of many programs that do it in a grass root, no nonsense kind of a way." -Isaiah Brooms

Holiday Mapping For Justice Help Mike raise money to support the mapping project at Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection

Birthday Wish "I'll be 64 on Dec. 19th, and I hope you'll donate to help me celebrate." -Daniel Bassill

These are each excellent examples of creative, fun, and non-traditional avenues for fund-raising. The wide range of individuals involved in DESIGNING and LEADING fund-raising efforts is also a testament to the various people impacted by an organization like Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection. It is great to have so many people adding their voices, passion, and energy to the cause!

At the recent Tutor/Mentor Conference, I listened to a lot of conversations during workshops where staff and administrators of programs expressed that fund-raising wasn't necessarily their forte. A lot of energy needs to be put into fund-raising, but strapped for time and money to pay additional staff, many small nonprofits (like ours) do not have the capacity to have a paid person focusing solely on development.

It is exciting to see how the creative minds of a few individuals are turning everything from going out for drinks on a Saturday night to growing facial hair into both support for the organization's mission and a significant dollar amount to help keep the doors open.

Thanks to the exceptional individuals who are leading these efforts and to all those who are showing their support!

Holiday Season Giving

Thanksgiving is over which means:

1. "Frosty the Snowman" came on the radio 2 times during my 20-minute grocery shopping trip.
2. My mom will urge my dad to put up holiday lights every day from now until December 24th when he decides to get out the ladder.
3. I am craving Christmas cookies 24/7.

Until this year, these have been some of the main things I have associated with the post-Thanksgiving weeks leading up to the holidays.

After having joined the nonprofit world, however, I realize that the weeks from now through the end of the year are some of the most critical days for nonprofit organizations to raise funds.

In these weeks comprising the "holiday giving season" more people donate to nonprofits than during any other time of year, so organizations like Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection rely heavily on people's generosity to get through the end of each year.

When depending on donations, it almost goes without saying that the economy is hurting nonprofits extremely hard. In my weekly PIP seminar, many fellows express how the recession is impacting their organizations. Several of our speakers have suggested that the "nonprofit world" is about 2 years behind the "business world" within the recession, meaning we are getting hit hard now and face more tough times ahead.

For Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection, a lot is riding on the next few weeks of donations and grants. While the programs are solid (Tutor/Mentor Connection just had a successful conference, and Cabrini Connections continues to bring in a packed room of students and mentors each night of tutoring), we are financially at a point where our future and the organization's survival into 2011 and beyond is uncertain.

We face an uphill battle, but if you look at the impact the organization has made in its 17 years, it is filling a critical role in the city of Chicago and in the Cabrini community.

As it says on the homepage of the Cabrini Connections website: "Thanks to the many people who have responded, Cabrini Connections has connected more than 500 inner city teens with 800 workplace volunteers. At the same time, CC has built a library of information and a collaboration strategy that is helping more than 200 other youth serving organizations in Chicago, and countless others around the country."

While the situation is certainly grim, there are reasons to be optimistic. Today we are stuffing envelops of "Holiday Fund Raising Appeal Letters" to send out to hundreds of our supporters. We have also had a number of our students write appeals discussing what the organization has meant to them. They are definitely worth reading to get a personal glimpse at what the organization means to individual students. You can read Melissa Young's letter below and read all of the letters on our fundraising blog.

Please consider what you might do during the holiday season to help push us through this tough time and give us momentum to start next year.

You can donate now, pass this holiday letter and response form on to your rich uncle (or anyone else), and register for eScrip so that your holiday purchases support Cabrini Connections (go to this website, and enter group ID 500025364).

Thanks for your support and happy holidays!

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Letter from 11th grade Cabrini Connections student, Melissa Young:

Dear Reader,

My name is Melissa Young. I am a junior at Josephinum Academy. I started attending Cabrini Connections when I was in 7th grade. For the past four years at Cabrini Connections, it has been the best I ever had in my life. There are so many opportunities here. There is also so many people that help us achieve the dreams we have. They also teach us about the real world, such as an example, we have to be here on time, or if we are running late, or not feeling too good, they make sure we call in, and tell them our situation. There is an example of what would happen with a real job.

Cabrini Connections has so many things for us (students) to do, like clubs. We have video club, which I am in. There is also art club, tech club, and writing club. Fun stuff for all of us to do. Like I said before, I am in video club. I really enjoy it. They taught me how to use a camera, the many different shots, how to do a story board, and how to edit. I even got the chance to do some of the videos by myself.

They also take us on field trips like basketball games and college tours. Through this program I figured out what two colleges I am thinking about going to, which is Columbia College or DePaul University. As for the basketball game, I enjoy seeing girls play, instead of the boys. During or around Halloween I plan my own fundraiser. We called it the Halloween Bake Sale. Through this I learned how to fundraise events and know how to organize.

Last summer I was the lucky student to go on one of their events called the Golf Benefit. I was able to meet the chairmen of Cabrini Connections. I was also able to video tape everything and watch people play golf for the first time. You can meet so many people through this program. When I first came it was just me and my niece. Four years past, and I know mostly everyone, and they all know me.

Every Wednesday and Thursday we have tutoring night, which now I meet with my tutor Elena. She has been so great to me. She helps with homework problems or if I am ever in need of something. I am really glad that we met.

Now that I told you my story at Cabrini Connections, I really hope that in the kindness of our heart you will donate us some money so that all these wonderful things could stay open for children and teens like me. If you could I would really appreciate it. Thank you for reading my letter.

From
Melissa Young

P.S. Have a good day =)

Communicating the Vision and Goals of the Tutor/Mentor Connection

These past few days, I have been investigating opportunities for funding and sponsorship for the Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference and other ongoing operating costs associated with the Tutor/Mentor Connection's current and expanding vision. As the T/MC President and CEO Dan Bassill discusses in his recent blog post, the landscape of agencies doing similar work to that of the T/MC has changed drastically since the organization was launched in 1994.

As I continue scouting out grant opportunities and as I begin crafting Letters of Intent to potential funding sources, I am continually attempting to focus and refine my thoughts. It is important for me to learn how to communicate the strategies, goals, and vision of the T/MC in ways that are succinct and compelling. What I have below is not particularly concise and it is still in a crude format, but it is my "working brainstorm" as I attempt to clarify how best to introduce the T/MC to potential corporate funding sources and foundations. Dan has encouraged me to share my progressing brainstorm on my blog. As always, I welcome any feedback or suggestions!
______________________________________________

What would happen if every at-risk teen had the support and individualized attention of an adult tutor/mentor?

That is a question we ask ourselves daily. Studies consistently demonstrate that students matched with adult mentors are more likely to stay in school, less likely to use drugs, and more likely to go on to higher-education. In addition, students matched with tutor/mentors gain valuable social skills, increased self-esteem, and improved study habits. Although the benefits of tutor/mentor programs are well-established, thousands of students across the Greater Chicago Area do not yet have access to such opportunities in their communities. Approximately 200,000 students in Chicago live in at-risk neighborhoods and would benefit from matches with a tutor or mentor. Nationwide, an astounding 15 million students need or want tutor/mentor opportunities who are not yet involved in such programs.

Our mission is to provide an organized framework that empowers and encourages adult volunteers to give their time, skills, and support in seeking life-changing solutions for youth who live in educationally disadvantaged environments. This means we connect inner-city youth to adults from various backgrounds who serve as one-on-one tutor/mentors, advocates, and role models to these teens.

The Tutor/Mentor Connection champions tutoring and mentoring throughout the Greater Chicago Area not just in one neighborhood or with one program. We seek to increase the presence of tutor/mentor programs within high-poverty communities on regional and national levels. Our strategy involves the ongoing commitment and support of businesses, political leaders, faith institutions, universities, and individuals.

What does the Tutor/Mentor Connection do?

• We support the growth of new tutoring and mentoring programs: The T/MC acts as a guide and consultant to hundreds of tutor/mentor agencies that seek our advice for starting or building their own programs. Our online resources provide all the information necessary to create and maintain an effective program. In addition to sharing our own ideas online, we also link to over 1,500 other websites and articles relevant to tutor/mentor organizations. Our “Links Library” connects to a wide range of skill-building topics such as grant-writing, process improvement, and training guides.
  

• We promote the quality and effectiveness of existing tutoring and mentoring programs: Each year since 1994, we organize two capacity-building conferences attended by over 200 leaders of tutor/mentor programs. These conferences provide training on how to effectively lead tutor/mentor programs while fostering camaraderie between program leaders. In addition to conferences, we make information, learning resources, and tools available to any program leader, volunteer, or donor through our free online Tutor/Mentor Institute.

• We point potential volunteers, students, corporate partners, and individual donors to programs throughout the city of Chicago: We built and maintain the first and most extensive database of Chicago-area volunteer tutor/mentor programs. Our interactive, online Program Locator points people to existing programs in their communities and identifies “gaps” where programs are still needed.
  

• We draw public visibility and support toward tutoring and mentoring programs: We take an active role in educating the public about the value of tutor/mentor programs and about how individuals, businesses, and institutions can become involved as volunteers or as donors. We give presentations to university groups, maintain blogs and websites that receive 9,000 monthly visits and 150,000 monthly page-views, and lead Volunteer Recruitment Campaigns to draw attention and support to programs in the Greater Chicago Area.

• We facilitate collaboration between programs to share best practices and strategies: Through the biannual Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference, collaboration meetings, and online forums and conversations, we are the “connectors” in helping tutor/mentor programs learn from each other about current trends and effective practices in the field.

• We use innovative technologies to illustrate and evaluate how we involve the entire community: We utilize Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping to illustrate where programs exist and what types of assets (such as businesses, banks, and churches) are “stakeholders” in those communities. We also use Social Networking Analysis (SNA) to measure the impact of the T/MC’s work and to illustrate our role in facilitating connections between programs, mentors, students, and community members.

• We are in-tune with the needs of tutor/mentor programs because we operate our own: While the Tutor/Mentor Connection operates on citywide, national, and even global levels, Cabrini Connection—the second part of our two-pronged organization—works at the local community level. Since 1993, Cabrini Connections annually links 75-80 teens to nearly 100 adult volunteers through one-on-one tutor/mentor matches and other enrichment opportunities. Cabrini Connections keeps the Tutor/Mentor Connection grounded in our work and provides a place for us “model” the best practices we advocate to other programs and to develop innovative new strategies such as our online feedback system for students and mentors (SVHATS). The goal of the T/MC is to help programs like Cabrini Connections develop in every high poverty neighborhood in the Greater Chicago Area and nationwide.

What are the funding needs of the Tutor/Mentor Connection?

While the technologies and strategies described above are integrated into the T/MC’s current actions, none are fully funded. Currently, the organization depends on borrowed volunteer time to innovate and sustain these concepts.

The T/MC has grown the way most small businesses grow. It started with a vision designed to solve a problem. Since 1993, its leaders have volunteered time and talent using whatever funds could be raised to convert the vision into an action plan that is now attracting attention throughout the world.

In many other states, Mentoring Partnerships exist that do similar work to that of the T/MC, yet their annual budgets range from $300,000 to $1 million. The T/MC has never had more than $225,000 in a single year to impact the third largest city in America.

The T/MC aims to “quicken the pace of its progress” and is seeking grants and social investment of $500,000 per year for three years (totaling $1,500,000). These funds will support project management, information collection and analysis, programming, software and hardware acquisition, and will help the T/MC stretch the application of these technologies in its ongoing commitment to expanding the availability and quality of comprehensive mentoring-to-careers programs in Chicago and in other major cities.

The Tutor/Mentor Connection strives to create opportunities for all kids to flourish through caring relationships with adult role models. By expanding our efforts to connect adults to programs serving inner-city youth, we heighten kids’ opportunities to blossom to their full potential and to move from poverty into higher education, jobs, and successful careers.