Process

PHASE 1:
Educate Tomorrow has found a series of approaches that, taken together, bring help and hope to this forgotten segment of society. First of all, we know what it takes to make a successful transition out of foster care and into independent adulthood -- education. Educate Tomorrow's mission is "Independence through Education." Second, it takes just one person who takes the time to care, and to make a difference in a child's life - a mentor. Finally, it takes a community that is willing and able to make a commitment to take care of their most vulnerable youth. One youth, one volunteer, one organization, one community, one nation at a time to create systematic change for generations to come.

Educate Tomorrow intends to help other affiliates begin the process of building an Educate Tomorrow program. Educate Tomorrow believes that strong communities already have a lot of organizations and associations dedicated to helping the less fortunate, and to aiding children, families and schools. This initiative will walk community organizers through a discovery process to determine the most effective and cost-conscious approach to matching youth with mentors and supporting them with real information, options, training, support and enthusiasm.

Educate Tomorrow's founders, staff, volunteers, mentees and mentors have worked hard to find solutions to difficult challenges. Their goal is to share with the new communities the strategies, materials, resources, forms and models that they have accumulated along the way. This means those communities can tap loads of resources to make their start up faster and less stressful than trying to start from scratch.

Every community is unique. The foster care system is different in every county and state. The supports and opportunities in each community vary. The first step in creating a successful program in your community is to gather the facts about your resources and the community's current programs for transitioning youth.

The process is called "environmental scanning," but in many ways it is a consultation among individuals, organizations and communities. Educate Tomorrow created Guide 1 - Needs Assessment and Analysis to take a community step-by-step through a process to gather the information needed to create a strategic plan for an educational mentoring program in their community. During this phase Educate Tomorrow facilitators will help them explore their network, skills and strengths while together they discover the resources and needs of your local community.

Once this phase is complete, the community will be aware of the knowledge, support and resources needed to move into phase two and begin planning and strategizing their unique organization.

PHASE 2:

Educate Tomorrow has developed Guide 2 - Strategic and Initial Planning that was developed to help communities turn information into a plan and a plan into reality. The Educate Tomorrow will work with the communities and use this guide as a tool to take time to pause and reflect on what is known, and to find out information needed. Every assumption can have unexpected outcomes, so special attention must been given to work from facts.

Typically, during this time it is discovered that it is the time to expand the organizing committee, and to begin using the resources of Educate Tomorrow to help the group quickly move through the planning process and establish the organization so that you can begin serving foster youth and matching them with mentors. A team of four or five "doers" can make the program work.

The Educate Tomorrow facilitator will help organize this phase of the program. Educate Tomorrow has extensive resources that can be accessed to facilitate the progress, the facilitator's task is to help tap into the materials and resources needed.

Guide - 2 begins with an effort to synthesize the data and information, while helping develop an effective team of productive individuals who can bring the program to life. Important decisions will be made in the next few weeks that will have long range implications for success.

The Future can be Unpredictable - The Importance of a Strategic Plan
Despite our best efforts to anticipate and prepare for the future, various economic, demographic, social, environmental, governmental, and institutional forces outside of one's control could significantly alter expected results over the foreseeable future.

Successful growth involves multiple partners, the state and a range of other non-governmental organizations. However, the organization will have limited control over partner performance beyond what can be developed through written agreements and effective implementation of cooperative programs. Likewise, they will have little control over the youth's inherent abilities, although one can develop performance measures that provide a good indication of whether the work is helping youth transition out of the foster care system into productive self sustaining adults.

All start up affiliates are susceptible to federal, state and local laws and court decisions that may affect program strategies, policies, and processes. Many organizations depend on funding resources that may not choose to continue funding over the long haul.

No one knows precisely what's to come. Uncertainty is the single common denominator among the challenges facing strategic planners, new partners and those taking on this initiative. Success depends on helping those communities to preparing for that unpredictable future, building an organization or program with vision, strategy, and the strength needed to meet whatever tomorrow might bring. Educate Tomorrow facilitators are an integral part of that planning, and will train those community affiliates on how to prepare for their unpredictable futures.

Developing Partnerships
The ability to meet the goals individual community organizations have set for themselves in their strategic plans depends on the active cooperation of others. To succeed, they need to create a collaborative approach. In this process, Educate Tomorrow facilitators will help guide local partnerships at all levels as it is critical to success. Working with government and non-profit groups, and with volunteers and foster youth, can multiply resources, save time, control costs, improve communication, and strengthen relationships. Building a culture that instinctively looks for partnership and cooperative arrangements. It is our hope that through this initiative communities will not compete with any other providers of services, but instead will look to gain support and promote cooperation.

The benefits will be remarkable. Cooperative partnerships will allow those gathered under this initiative to leverage financial support; identify strategies; and to create an environment of cooperation, consultation and communication that will benefit the youth that we serve throughout the nation.

Utilization of Volunteers
The most critical set of Educate Tomorrow partners are volunteers. Volunteers ARE the service provided by Educate Tomorrow and the people needed to get communities organized for a local initiative and then a national initiative of this size off the ground. Each year, Educate Tomorrow works hard to increase our number of volunteers not only as mentors, but as community champions. Educate Tomorrow values their service, which is critical in accomplishing the mission. They contribute their time and talents to the youth being served, not only as mentors, but as, in support of developing the infrastructure of an affiliate in new communities.

Educate Tomorrow estimates the dollar value of the hours contributed by current volunteers in 2008 at over $2 million, but the real value goes much further. The volunteer workforce is the critical adjunct to the Educate Tomorrow workforce. They bring fresh energy and enthusiasm, new ideas, and skills that energize us all. The average volunteer is around 45 years old. There is tremendous value in recruiting older volunteers (baby boomers) looking to find an outlet for their knowledge and expertise. Volunteers come away with a better understanding of the state youth educational programs, a sense of contribution, and added leadership experience, while Educate Tomorrow is reminded of the need for public support for the program and the mission.

Volunteer contributions are not entirely free. Regardless of where they work, volunteers need orientation, appropriate skills or training, supplies and continuous management. In addition, they deserve appreciation, recognition, and support. As volunteers take on the important role of accomplishing the goals set forth in this initiative, the organizations need to constantly improve how their efforts are managed.

The program organizers in each community will be the facilitator of the program and the future mentor relationship, employing the talents of an entire community in pursuit of our shared goals. It is important to continues to value the volunteers by providing the necessary resources, materials and leadership to allow the mentors to better perform their contributed functions and Educate Tomorrow as part of this initiative makes those resources available.

Managing For Outcomes
Leadership is vital in implementing Educate Tomorrow's strategy. Educate Tomorrow's facilitators will help organizations balance the growth of the organization with limited budget resources. Continual improvement in all areas must generate the necessary increases in effectiveness and value. To accomplish this, Educate Tomorrow will require accountability for results, more efficient means of leveraging resources, and the introduction and evaluation of process, structural and technology improvements.
Educate Tomorrow's management approach is guided by key business principles: accountability, developing leaders at every level, and growth through replication.
Accountability
The facilitator will assist local leaders and staff how to be responsible for clear results, with a budget tied to performance and financial management. The Educate Tomorrow facilitator will train potential sites to use the technology available to work smarter and improve accountability, including providing single points of access to Educate Tomorrow services, and the developed automated tools to assist in and monitor the mentoring process. Educate Tomorrow will work to give communities the skills, technologies, systems, and practices they will need to meet measure results.

Growth through replication
The aim is to grow the number of youth served based from a solid foundation built on best practices. Utilizing experience and knowledge continuously building a model program to reach more youth.

PHASE 3:

In phase three, facilitators will help others begin implementing plans so that they will have the structure and systems in place to match foster youth with mentors and support their progress toward INDEPENDENCE THROUGH EDUCATION.

Together, we can create a Educate Tomorrow program that is uniquely suited to the needs of individual communities, partner in tomorrow's success for this underserved and at-risk population of youth in communities across the nation.

In Phase three it is time to begin actually implementing the plans, building infrastructure and alliances to start and maintain the Educate Tomorrow program in your community. Educate Tomorrow facilitators and communities have come a long way together, and have finally reached the end of the planning and can begin building the programs planned.

The Educate Tomorrow staff has spent thousands of hours designing and developing the procedures, processes and systems to ensure that the maximization of the success. Educate Tomorrow's support staff will be available to help every step of the way, providing resources and information to save time, money and aggravation. It is our goal for each community to succeed as smoothly and quickly as possible, to begin creating matches and supporting your mentors and mentees.

Guide 3 - Leadership and Organization Development, leads volunteers, organizations and support staff through this phase by a step-by-step process.

STEP ONE
Empower advisory board members and volunteers to begin working on tasks as assigned by committees and in line with the strategic plan.

STEP TWO
Create the office and organization infrastructure.

STEP THREE
Develop fund raising capacity and create first fund raiser.

STEP FOUR
Develop and implement marketing and public relations programs.

STEP FIVE
Support program development activities.

PHASE 4

Educate Tomorrow developed Guide 4 - Programs, Policies and Procedures that takes an affiliate through the nuts and bolts of running a holistic educational mentoring program. This guide follows best practices and resources materials to run each part of the program: mentoring, life skills, and in-school and out of school support programs. The over 150 page document is closely linked to a web based resource database that can be accessed by program managers once the program begins. On-going support for program managers will also be provided by staff at Educate Tomorrow headquarters.

PHASE 5

Educate Tomorrow developed Guide 5 - Program Evaluation and Tracking Outcomes that helps organizations that are well under way do a variety of tracking, from outcomes of their clients, to preparing for a fiscal audit as well as a program audit.