Below are some of the responses provided by by people who filled out the Nov. 30 Conference Evaluation Form. The question was: What ideas for collaboration and capacity building did you take away from the conference?

Some of these questions are thought starters for additional discussions. Launch a new topic if you'd like to lead a new discussion around one of these topics.

• collaboration is necessary between program leaders if your program is to be improved. Capacity building should not come before quality building.
• creating relationships is the key for collaborations
• working with other organizations to get more $$$ for programs
• It's great to advocate for collaboration,  yet there needs to be a focus on strategic partnerships. It would be good to see how some of the organizations are currently partnering and discuss ways to emulate those successes
• strength-based perspective; lead by example
• mentor-parent linkages are important
• the need for more quality mentors; the need for more research; the need for more parental and community involvement
• attend State's service learning workshops
• start research focused on finding outcomes for defined categories of risk
• use Google map to prospect our area
• using businesses, churches, groups to find mentors/tutors: via tutormentorconnection.org
• working with students and universities
• how to build on what we are currently doing
• sparked interest in corporation funds & the Tutor/Mentor Connection
• awareness of other programs & services in community-networking
• call at least 2 non profits to network

Please feel free to add additional comments and suggestions.

This is the beginning of a list of ways leaders, volunteers and/or youth in tutor/mentor programs can take a role of building visibility, recruiting volunteers and/or donors, or sharing ideas

1. create a blog and write about your experiences in a tutor/mentor program - here's my blog . Here's the blog of a student from Hong Kong who interned at T/MC in summer 2006.

2. write a letter to the editor, telling of your program, the T/MC conference, and the need for holiday and year end donors to choose a tutor/mentor program.

3. bring someone else to a T/MC event, or web site - yesterday the people who attended the conference met a program officer from the MacArthur Foundation, and the Executive Directors of two other foundations. This enabled them to begin their own relationships with these foundations.  If you invite leaders and donors that you know to a T/MC event, or this web site, you help others build relationships with these people

4. put a link to this web site on your web site, and put links to programs in your neighborhood on your web site

5. recruit journalists, or students from English or journalism classes at local universities, to be reporters who write stories about your program, and other tutor/mentor programs

If you take these actions, you will be  helping build visibility and increase resources for all tutor/mentor programs.  Add your own suggestions below.