Help Fund the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC - 2025

Tutor/Mentor Connection (1993-present), Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC (2011-present)

I started the Tutor/Mentor Connection in 1993 and the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC in 2011. Please contribute to help me continue.

(scroll down to bottom of this page to find PayPal button and/or mailing address)

This entire website is full of reasons for helping me help volunteer-based tutor, mentor and learning programs grow in every area of persistent poverty. It's also a resource for any type of problem-solving!

The image shown above is from a visual essay titled "Tipping Points".
It visualizes the strategies that I'm sharing and that I ask you to support with your contributions and by sharing my posts.

Rather than trying to be a single leader in a huge city, the T/MC, and now T/MI, have sought to provide an information platform that all leaders can use to LEARN, EDUCATE, and INNOVATE ways to support long-term, mentor rich, volunteer-based tutor, mentor and learning program growth in more places and to solve other complex social, political and environmental problems facing this country and the world.

With your help, I can continue.

If someone you know has become ill and needs money to pay bills, they set up a "Go Fund Me" page and ask for contributions. So, this is my "fund me" page. I (Daniel Bassill) have been self-funding most of this work since 2011, supported by a small group of continuing donors.

Please send a contribution of $25, $50, $100, $250, $500 or more to help me continue in 2025 and beyond.

Mail contributions to:

Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC
c/o Daniel Bassill
932 N. Salem Avenue
Arlington Heights, IL 60005

Thank you for helping me help others.
Note. The Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC is not a 501-c-3 non profit, so your contributions are not tax deductible. They will be used to support social benefit and the lives of thousands of young people born and living in high poverty areas of Chicago and other places.

June-July 2025 T/MI News

June-July 2025 - Issue 242

Seek out youth programs in your areas. Give them your support!

There are terrible things happening across the United States and around the world. My daily media is filled with these stories. To me, this drowns out needed calls for support for youth-serving programs in Chicago and other places.

As we head through summer toward the new school year, use the resources in my newsletter and website to find and support organized, on-going, volunteer-based tutor, mentor and learning programs. They all need your help.

At the same time, use other resources that I share to find ways to support people in your community who need help and to close the gaps that are dividing us from each other.

These resources can be used by anyone, in Chicago, or around the world.

Please share this so others in your city can find and use these resources!

Visit Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC Website

These are social media posts from Chicago youth serving programs

This was posted on LinkedIn by Chicago Scholars, celebrating alumni who have been part of their program. It is one of many posts I see on my feed every day from Chicago area youth-serving programs.

Use this list to find many other Chicago area youth-serving programs who have accounts on LinkedIn.

This was posted on Facebook by Diamond in the Rough Youth Development Program, Inc.

Use this list to find other Chicago area youth-serving programs who have accounts on Facebook.

Find lists of Chicago area programs using Twitter and Instagram, plus my list of tutor/mentor program websites at www.tutormentorexchange.net

One thing anyone can do to help kids living in high poverty areas is get to know existing youth serving programs and help them attract attention from media, donors, volunteers, parents and students. You can do it by sharing links to their websites or by liking and boosting their posts on social media. If you're able, you can even volunteer and/or donate.

Scroll through this set of Tutor/Mentor blog articles to see how I've highlighted work of other Chicago area volunteer-based tutor, mentor and learning programs. Do you have someone in your community hosting a website and encouraging others to draw users to it the way I do?

Independent Sector's annual report on the "value of volunteer time"

The Independent Sector is one of the leading resources in the philanthropic sector. One of its annual reports provides an estimated national value of each volunteer hour. Read the report at this link.

Visit the blog article section on the Independent Sector website and find leadership articles that focus on the disruption and chaos caused by actions of the current administration. click here

Are you aware of the City of Chicago's violence reduction dashboard, created by the University of Chicago's Urban Crime Lab? The graphic below shows one page from the website.

A few weeks ago I watched an introduction to this dashboard and its many interactive features. It's a publicly available tool launched to support efforts to reduce gun violence through transparent, real-time data. This link points to the Urban Crime Lab page that includes a video of the webinar and many other resources. View the dashboard at this link.

I wrote about the webinar and shared other screenshots on this Mapping for Justice blog article. Use your own blog to share resources like this.

Reimagining leadership in the Nonprofit Sector

I saw this message on BlueSky recently: "Nonprofits are being called on to do more with less in an impossible environment. With deepening polarization, an affordability crisis, and labour force shortages, it's time to reimagine leadership in our sector". It points to a PDF at this link.

In the mid 2000s I added another report form the Ontario nonprofit network, titled: The Constellation Model of Collaborative Social Change. view it here

These are two of many resources that can be found in the collaboration and community building sections of the Tutor/Mentor Library. Make sure your staff and volunteers are making time to learn from these.

Most of the information shared in this newsletter and on the Tutor/Mentor Connection/Institute, LLC website and blogs is focused on sharing information across networks that can be used to solve complex problems. This article, from The Weaving Lab, was found on LinkedIn. It describes the network building process, its challenges and its opportunities.

If you read the post on LinkedIn you'll see a comment that I added, sharing the 4-part strategy concept map, which you can see at this link. Once I've finished upgrading the www.tutormentorexchange.net website I will add a link to this article in a sub-section focused on innovation and knowledge management. It already has many articles that I've collected over the past 20+ years.

Below are resources to use.
View latest links added to tutor/mentor library, click here

Resources & Announcements
(New additions are at top of this list)

* Knowledge Alliance - research and evidence to support education policy - click here

* TutorCruncher - resources for tutoring companies - click here

* UCLA Center resources - Guide to Learning Supports pdf - click here; and, here

* Every Hour Counts - network of intermediaries building after school systems - click here

* MyChiMyFuture - Chicago youth programs map and directory. click here; visit the website - click here

* Chicago Mentoring Collaborative - click here

* Chicago Learning Exchange supports Out-of-School-Time community in Chicago - click here

* ACT Now - Championing Quality Afterschool Programs in Illinois - click here

* Trust Talks - podcast by The Chicago Community Trust highlights the Trust's strategic priority to close Chicago region's racial and ethnic wealth gap - click here

* Chicago Community Area Hardship Index (2019-2023) - click here

* To & Through Project website - click here

* Center for Effective Philanthropy - click here

* Forefront -Illinois' statewide association of nonprofits, foundations and advisors. click here

* AfterSchool Alliance resources - click here; New report - click here

* Chicago Public Schools locator map - click here

* National Mentoring Resource Center - click here

* Proven Tutoring clearinghouse - click here

* Chicago STEM Pathways Cooperative - click here

* South Side STEM Asset maps - read about using maps - click here

* Incarceration Reform Resource Center - click here

* Prison Policy Initiative - click here

Recent Tutor/Mentor Blog articles that point to Tutor/Mentor Connection archived files:

(Do you have a blog? Share it on social media)

Changes to this website - click here

Still judged by the color of their skin - click here

It takes a village - click here

Mapping Strategy, Ideas and libraries - click here

Poverty and racism in America - understand the issues - click here

What are your volunteers learning? - click here

Reaching youth in high poverty areas - click here

Bookmark these Tutor/Mentor Resources

* Lists of Chicago area, volunteer-based tutor, mentor programs - click here

* Homework help and volunteer training resources - click here

* Resource Library - click here

* Strategy essays by Tutor/Mentor - click here

* Work done by interns in past - click here

* Maps and Map-Stories from past 30 years - click here

* Political Action resources - click here

* Featured collections on Wakelet - click here

* Tutor/Mentor Institute Videos - click here

* About T/MI articles on blog - click here

* History of T/MC - T/MI articles - click here

* Create a New Tutor/Mentor Connection - click here

* Reaching out to Universities to adopt the Tutor/Mentor Connection strategy - click here

* Chicago Youth Serving Organizations in Intermediary Roles - click here to view a concept map showing many organizations working to help improve the lives of Chicago area youth. Follow the links.

Thank you for reading.

Please share this newsletter with people you know who work in non-school youth serving programs, or in sectors that should be strategically supporting such programs, such as business, philanthropy, education and public policy. If they are not receiving these newsletters then we have no way of engaging them. Also encourage friends, family, co-workers to sign up to receive this newsletter.

I encourage others to duplicate what I'm doing. Write a blog and share your own vision, strategy and challenges. Share your link and I'll add it to this list in the Tutor/Mentor library.

View current and past newsletters at this link.

To subscribe, just Click here.
(If you subscribe, don't forget to respond to the confirmation email).

Please help fund Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC.
Visit this page and add your support.

Tutor/Mentor Connection, Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC

Serving Chicago area since 1993

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | http://www.tutormentorexchange.net

Connect with Dan (tutormentor) on one of these social media platforms.

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BlueSky

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Viewing on your phone?

If you are viewing the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC website your phone you do not see the full website, which is pictured here. Instead you will need to scroll on your phone from section-to-section, starting with the featured content in the middle of the home page, then moving down the left side of the site, then the right.

For more information about "getting started" visit this page.

This change is described in this blog article.

July2019-eNews

July 2019 - Issue 180

Ideas and Resources for Youth Serving

Organizations and their Supporters

The ideas shared in this monthly newsletter can be used by youth organization leaders, resource providers, political leaders, universities, volunteers and youth to help mentor-rich programs thrive in all of the neighborhoods where they are most needed.

Visit Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC Website

Volunteer Recruitment for Fall 2019

Many youth programs are already deeply involved in recruiting volunteers for the coming school year. Are you prepared? Do you need more ideas. Visit this page on the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC web site and use the tips for recruiting volunteers.

Are your volunteers doing all they canto help kids in y our program move through school and into jobs and careers? Read about expanded role volunteers can take.click here

The Fund Raising Challenge

It takes 12 years for a youth to move from first grade to high school graduation and many more years beyond that before he/she is securely in a job and able to raise a family. Not all youth programs are designed to provide continued support for this many years. Not many donors provide flexible on-going funding to support such programs. Where are you talking about this?

Read articles about philanthropy on Tutor/Mentor Blog - click here.

How Are Youth Programs Telling Their Story?

Are you using Twitter? A Blog?

I created this graphic to draw attention to some of the Chicago youth tutor and/or mentor programs who were posting information on Twitter. Then I put it in a blog article to encourage others to do the same. See it in this article.click here

Scroll through many similar articles -click here

What if hundreds of people were doing what I am doing? Would that help draw volunteers and donors directly to more programs?

Resources and Events

Browse Resources on Tutor/Mentor Connection.org web site

This graphic shows home page of T/MC web site. Use the top menu to access the links library and my list of Chicago Tutor and Mentor programs.

You can search for a topic, or sort the list of links by most recent, oldest, title, etc. Learn to use it and you have an extensive resource. I show a few recent additions below.

* Resources to find Chicago Tutor and/or Mentor Programs -click here

* Homework help & learning resources in Tutor/Mentor Library -click here

* Resources for fund raising -click here

* Chicago Organizations in Intermediary Roles-click here

* Civil Liberties - resource map (recommend other links). -click here

* Hashtags I follow on Twitter. Use to expand your own network -click here

There's a lot in each monthly newsletter. Bookmark it, or use this ARCHIVE page to find this and previous issues.

* Illinois Conference on Volunteer Administration, Aug 9, in Chicago.details

* Strengthening Chicago Youth web site,click here;blog -click here

* MENTOR Illinois, New Ex Director. Annual Breakfast moved to November. -click here

* To & Through Project web site -click here

* Incarceration Reform Digital Resource Center -click here

* City of Chicago, CPS, links -click here

Help Fund the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC

Keep this resource available to you and others.Click here

Recent articles on Tutor/Mentor blog:

Tipping Point: Growing and Supporting Future Leaders -click here

Make long-term, mentor-rich programs available in more places -click here

I host an in-depth web library. See how I shared sections using Twitter -click here

Look deeper to understand complex problems -click here

Recent additions to Tutor/Mentor Library

"Four Pathways to Greater Giving" - Bridgespan report - annotated -click here

"You Cant Be What You Can't See", by Milbrey W. McLaughlin. Story of CYCLE, a Chicago program -click here

Chicago Public Schools Data - Annual Regional Analysis Reports - click here

I've not written this newsletter since April due to my being laid up with an injury. I'm almost fully recovered and thank you for those who offered well-wishes.

While I try to send this only once a month, I write blog articles weekly. In each newsletter I post links to a few of the articles published in the past month or earlier.I encourage you to spend a little time each week reading these articles and following the links. Use the ideas and presentations in group discussions with other people who are concerned about the same issues.

Encourage friends, family, co-workers to sign up to receive this newsletter. Click here.

(If you subscribe, don't forget to respond to the confirmation email)

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August 2019 Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC eNews

August 2019 - Issue 181

Build Support for Youth Tutor and Mentor Programs as School Starts Again

Visit Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC Website

Help Recruit Volunteers

This graphic was created for the Tutor/Mentor Connection by volunteers from the Junior League of Chicago....in the 1990s! It's still a powerful message. You don't need to be Superman to be volunteer, or to help attract volunteers to youth programs in your city. Visit this page on the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC web site and find tips for recruiting volunteers.

Use Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram, etc to draw attention to your program. If I see your posts I'll try to share them with others.

Resources for Volunteers, Youth

Every youth tutor and/or mentor program will be hosting training and orientation sessions during September. The best programs will be providing volunteer coaching, training and support throughout the year.

The Tutor/Mentor Connection started building a library of resources in the 1990s and shares that freely with anyone who visits our web library.

Here are sections to visit

* Homework help - click here

* Training resources - click here

* STEAM learning - click here

* Youth As Leaders - click here

View this video to see how to navigate the library.

How Can We Do This Better?

When we start thinking we can't get better we've already started down a path to doing less than we need to be doing.

While there are some really great youth programs in Chicago and other places, there are too few of them and they reach too few kids.

Below are links to articles where I use this graphic. These and other articles on the Tutor/Mentor blog are intended to stimulate conversations in many sectors.

*Building communities - click here

* Increasing talent - click here

Influencing What Leaders Do

Every time YOU or someone else says "be a volunteer" or "be a donor" you need to point to on-line directories listing places where people can volunteer. You also need to point to places where people can find information showing where help is most needed and ways to make a difference.

The Connection/Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC web sites provide these resources.

Visit this page to see roles leaders can take to help programs grow in many places.

In the sections below are links that I point to often, and that I've added recently.

* Resources to find Chicago Tutor and/or Mentor Programs -click here

* Resources for fund raising -click here

* Blog article showing links to sections of Tutor/Mentor web library -click here

* Chicago Organizations in Intermediary Roles-click here

* Civic Engagement - resource map (recommend other links). -click here

* Hashtags I follow on Twitter. Use to expand your own network -click here

* Strengthening Chicago Youth web site,click here; blog -click here

* MENTOR Illinois, Annual Breakfast will be held in November. -click here

* To & Through Project web site -click here

* Incarceration Reform Digital Resource Center -click here

* City of Chicago, CPS, links -click here

Help Fund the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC

Keep this resource available to you and others. Click here

Recent articles on Tutor/Mentor blog:

Youth Development - Role of Leaders - click here

Using Maps in Planning, Media, Blogs - click here

Can Cities Reduce Violence Without Addressing Other Issues? -click here

Understanding Impact of Social Capital - click here

Library of Visual Essays on Tutor/Mentor site -click here

Recent additions to Tutor/Mentor Library

A story about network building (see graphic above). video - click here

"History of the Afterschool Movement in America" - video - click here

"How are Programs Building Students' Social Capital - key trends - click here

"Four Pathways to Greater Giving" - Bridgespan report - annotated - click here

"How to Challenge the White Walkers of NonProfit Life - article - click here

Browse the library to find many more links of value to you.

About this newsletter.

While I try to send this only once a month, I write blog articles weekly. Throughout the newsletter I post links to a few of the articles published in the past month or earlier.I encourage you to spend a little time each week reading these articles and following the links. Use the ideas and presentations in group discussions with other people who are concerned about the same issues.

If the newsletter does not format correctly in your email, or if you want to return to it for future reading or to share with others, use this link.

Encourage friends, family, co-workers to sign up to receive this newsletter.Click here.

(If you subscribe, don't forget to respond to the confirmation email)

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