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44 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
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We're in the middle of our grant cycle.
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Response:
Step 1: Is your program primarily funded by a government grant or private grant? Step 2: Many of the organizations we work with started to work with us in the middle of their grant cycles, such as _____ and _____.* *Programs usually either put our service under one or more existing line items, such as evaluation and volunteer/tutor/mentor training. |
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We're happy with our current service. / We have a system in place already. (PART 1)
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Response:
Part 1 We’re always looking to learn more about the systems programs like yours use. Can I ask you just three specific questions about [name that system]? How do you use it? Who enters information into it? If you’re getting into a good conversation: How much time is spent each week. If you need to collect different types of information, can you do it on the fly, or does it take awhile / money to customize? Are you able to pull up reports of the data quickly on your own? What about long-term reports? How does that system ensure that your ____ are always delivering the highest quality services? |
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We're happy with our current service. / We have a system in place already. (PART 2)
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Part 2: Thank them for the information (give in PART 1) and then differentiate our system from there’s.
Thanks so much for that information. Just so you know, based on what I just learned from you, the way programs use our service is very different from [name that system]. Points you may end up hitting: Volunteers/members/etc are the ones who enter the data into the system, but the process of doing so feels like more of a reflection experience than a data entry one. Our system ensures that every single volunteer is getting the support that’s needed If applicable: Organizations often use our service in concert with the service you’re using (or with services like that) to make the data collection and entry process far more efficient for staff so that more time can be spent supporting _______ and far more time using data to improve and adjust programming for the current cohort of students/mentees being served. |
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It's just not something we're interested in (right now).
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Can I ask you just two specific questions before we get off the phone?
1) What’s the reason you’re not interested in a service like this right now?* *Use this response to make sure they understand what we’re offering. If they’re not, clarify immediately. 2) We’re constantly working to make our system even more valuable to the tutoring/mentoring/AmeriCorps community. What could make what we’re offering far more interesting to you or valuable to you? |
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“We don't know if we have the money to look at another system” / “We're happy with our current service / we have a system in place already.”
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May I ask you just one more question?
What if our system could reduce the amount of money or time you spend on ______ (reporting, evaluation, using data to improve programming, reporter support, time sheets)? Would it be worth taking a look at? |
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Can I see a sample database (show slower).
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If you’re not sure what they’re talking about:
- We’d love to share as much as possible with you. Please tell me exactly what you’re looking for so that I can determine how to send over the information you’re looking for. If they’re asking for an example of how data looks in our system: - Absolutely. To make things as relevant as possible, can you share a few data points with me that are especially important to you? If we have something like that in our demo site, I can show you what that would look like right away. If not, I can have it ready within 24 hours (schedule a time to talk/show-and-tell). If they are for strategies. - Absolutely. What types of strategies are you most interested in? - If they mention something that we don’t currently cover: Discuss that we designed the Network so that programs can add an unlimited number of resources to it so that it becomes their own. (Give an example...) |
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Thanks, please resend the info and I will contact you if I am interested.
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DON’T SEND THE COLD EMAIL. There’s not enough information to give them anything. Instead, either point them to the specific page in our website that deals with the type of organization they are, or send them a one-page PDF about our work in that sector.
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We are such a “small” program. Can this really help US? (Note: It’s funny how different peoples’ conceptions of what a small program is can be…I hear programs of 100 or more tutors/mentors call themselves “small,” which I wouldn't have anticipated).
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Response:
Strategy: Empathize and Connect to Existing Clients “I completely understand how you feel. We work with a number of programs with that size of reporters. In fact, [name of client] and [name of another client] had similar concerns when they were evaluating our service as a way to accomplish their goals around [name Goal 1 of the lead you’re talking to] and [name Goal 2 of the lead you’re talking to]. Ultimately, they made the investment because [reason]. If [name the same reason] |
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Our program uses a “specialized curriculum.” Do you work with any programs who also use a specialized curriculum?
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Response:
We love working with organizations that use specific curricula. When those organizations take advantage of our learning community feature… They use it to capture how reporters are adapting the curriculum for their specific circumstances on the ground. They also work with us to capture any innovations that reporters are making on the curriculum. Finally, they use our service to capture the specific challenges that reporters have with the curriculum. They then use the data around challenges to adjust any training that’s provided to reporters throughout the year. We believe that tracking how the curriculum is truly being used and then tracking how to best train and support reporters in their use of the curriculum is the marks of a high performing operation. |
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So we would need to reapply for funding every single year? (PMLN)
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PMLN Response:
Organizations tend to include our service as a part of their annual reporter training, support, or evaluation budgets, as the service will help you strengthen each of those parts of your program. Some programs will allocate a portion of the investment to their reporter training budget, and a portion to their evaluation budgets. Does that make sense? Do you have budgets for reporter training, reporter support, or for program evaluation? How much sense would it make to distribute the investment in the Network across one or more of those line items? How would distributing the cost affect the line item? Does it really blow things up? |
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So we would need to reapply for funding every single year? (Timesheets)
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TS Response:
Yeah. The AmeriCorps programs we serve tend to include our service as a part of their annual evaluation or contractual line items, rather than creating a new line item. Will that work for you? |
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How do we know our mentors and tutors will use/want to use the Network (PMLN)?
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Response:
Just as we designed the portion of the Network that you’ll be using, we designed reporters’ portion of the Network to constantly be respectful of their time. We spent three years soliciting feedback from reporters on the design and components of our service, and we continue to solicit and use feedback from them to continue making their experience of using the Network feel meaningful. Questions for the lead: What type of feedback have you received from volunteers around your current reporting/ongoing support/learning community/timesheet process? If you presented a system to them that addressed their concerns or frustrations with current practices, how do you think they’d react? |
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[They've already taken a tour...] How do we know our mentors and tutors will use/want to use the Network (PMLN)?
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How do you feel about recruiting a few reporters to take a look at their portion of the system and offer feedback on it. We can set up a session for us to walk them through the system over 10 - 15 minutes. During this time, you’ll also get a sense of what training reporters to use the system might look like for you.
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How long do current tutors/mentors usually spend taking surveys?
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Response:
The last time we measured, which was several years ago, the average was around 10 minutes, but, in reality, it’s totally up to you. You control all of the questions and the types of questions on the logs. You’ll also set expectations for your reporters around how much time they should spent on any free entry responses. |
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We don’t have time to write a grant. Can you help us do this?
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Response:
First, do you mind if I ask you one question to just make sure that you have to write a separate grant for this? Organizations tend to include our service as a part of their annual reporter training, support, or evaluation budgets, as the service will help you strengthen each of those parts of your program. Some programs will allocate a portion of the investment to their reporter training budget, and a portion to their evaluation budgets. Does that make sense? Do you have budgets for reporter training, reporter support, or for program evaluation? How much sense would it make to distribute the investment in the Network across one or more of those line items? How would distributing the cost affect the line item? Does it really blow things up? |
If PMLN:
We’d be happy to provide you with some language that other organizations have used to secure multiple years of funding. Can we review it together now, or should we set up another time? If TS: Figure out what they need and put the text together for them. |
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What if our tutors don’t have an e-mail address?
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Response:
From a technology perspective, you don’t need one. A number of programs we serve create fake e-mail addresses for their reporters. From a process perspective, this means that reporters won’t receive any e-mail reminders. How will you remind them to complete reports/sheets? |
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What if our tutors aren’t comfortable using computers/the Internet?
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Response:
When we designed the first version of our services, we operated on a shoestring budget and knew that we wouldn't have funds to support a separate tech support staff. That reality led us to design a service that reporters can use without reading instructions, even if they’re less comfortable with the Internet. Though our budget is larger today, the mindset of designing services that don’t require massive instruction guides for reporters has continued. We also stay up to date on usability research. For example: Since older eyes have a tough time reading italicized text on screens, you’ll find very little of it on the site. We minimize the number of drop-down menus to be friendly to older hands that have less dexterity with computer mice. |
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How do we know you all will be around in the future if we start using you now?
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We’ve been profitable and self-sustainable since 2004. Even during the worst of the Great Tecession, we continued to grow.
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What happens to our data if we should have to stop using the Network, or if you go out of business?
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Response:
Your data is your data. You’re able to export it at any time. Just so you know, the likelihood of us going out of business is extremely small. |
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What happens if the beneficiary safety box is checked?
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Response:
We take three immediate steps: 1) The reporter is taken to a special web page that asks her to call your emergency number to discuss her concerns. 2) You and any relevant colleagues of yours all receive an instant e-mail notifying you that the reporter has a concern, and asking you to connect with her. 3) We receive an instant notification and then call you to make sure you received the e-mail from us. Once we make sure that you received the notification from us, we hop out of the process, and you’ll follow your own procedures around following up on these concerns. |
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We do more than just tutoring. Can we really ask ANY questions we want on the survey?
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Response:
Yes, you can ask whatever you’d like at any time. You can also change the questions that appear on the logs whenever you need to. Nothing is set in stone. |
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How will our local database get built up? Do we have to upload all the strategies ourselves?
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Reponse:
You and other staff can upload strategies. Reporters can upload strategies. Most importantly…. The most important thing to think about is how you’re going to present this resource to your reporters. If you know that you won’t have time to pre-populate it, we’ve found that it can be really powerful to tell your reports something like: |
Option 1 (If you’ll rely on reporters to populate it during the year): “For so many years, our reporters have done amazing work in the field, but we didn’t do a great job of catching that magic for you. You, too, are going to do amazing work, only this year, we’ve invested in a system that’s going to help us capture that magic so you can share successful strategies with each other and with future reporters. That said, this year, our new online resource library is going to be pretty bare, but, as you share your smarts, it’s going to get better and better.”
Option 2 (If you’ll be populating it later on): You’ll see that the Network has a web-based resource library. Since this is our first year of using it, it will start out pretty bare. We’ll be adding resources to it throughout the year based on what you share with us in the logs. We’ll also be asking you to contribute resources. This way, come this time next year, next year’s reporters will have an incredible resource. |
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How much time will it take us to set this up? To manage? (PMLN Education & Youth Development Ecosystem)
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Implementation & Training Sessions:
4 hours (two, two-hour meetings) Most organizations get their first logs out to the reporters 2-3 weeks after their first implementation meeting with us. Eight weeks of ongoing training and check-ins to make sure you have everything you need from us: 15-20 minutes/week Reporter Training (We also have pre-recorded videos for this): - Logs: 5 - 45 minutes, depending on whether you’re going to review the particulars of your reporting process and whether you’re going to give them hands-on experience - Learning Community: We recommend 60 minutes, but you can do it in 20 if need be. |
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How much time will it take us to set this up? To manage? (PMLN - Separate Ecosystem)
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Implementation & Training Sessions: 4 hours (two, two-hour meetings)
Most organizations get their first logs out to the reporters 2-3 weeks after their first implementation meeting with us. Learning Community Customization: Setup (creating variables to organize the strategies): 1 hour Strategy Posting: 2 - 5 minutes/pre-written strategy Eight weeks of ongoing training and check-ins to make sure you have everything you need from us: 15-20 minutes/week Reporter Training (We also have pre-recorded videos for this): Logs: 1 - 45 minutes Depends on whether you’re going to review the particulars of your reporting process and whether you’re going to give them hands-on experience The 1 minute scenario: Note that for some organizations we serve like the NYC Mayor’s Office, they just send the one pager of instructions that we put together for them, and that was more than sufficient. Learning Community: We recommend 60 minutes, but you can do it in 20 if need be. |
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How much time will it take us to set this up? To manage? (Timesheets)
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Implementation & Training Session: 2 hours
Training reporters, supervisors and staff: Reporter training: 5 - 25 minutes, depending on whether you walk through the completion of a sample sheet online Supervisor training: 5 - 20 minutes, depending on whether you’re going to walk through he approval of an actual sheet online Staff training: This will vary based on what you’re training staff to do. |
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Who uses this?
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Right now, mostly community-based nonprofits, regional nonprofits, statewide nonprofits, and national and international nonprofits. We also work with school districts and city and state government agencies (from service commissions to cities’ service offices).
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How long have you all been around?
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Since June 2003, though we began creating the organization in 1999.
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Do you have research to show that your way of supporting programs really works? (PMLN: Education & Youth Development)
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We have a couple of formal case studies (from Duke University’s use of our service and from America Reads - Mississippi). They’re pretty old, but they talk to the main components of our service.
We have a formal evaluation plan developed with a professor at UCLA that we hope to implement when we can put the $100K needed towards it. Until then, we interview each of our clients once a year to learn how they’re using the system and to learn what we need to do to continue improving it for them. |
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Do you have research to show that your way of supporting programs really works? (Separate Ecosystem)
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We have a couple of formal case studies (from Duke University’s use of our service and from America Reads - Mississippi). They’re pretty old, but they talk to the main components of our service.
We have a formal evaluation plan developed with a professor at UCLA that we hope to implement when we can put the $100K needed towards it. Until then, we interview each of our clients once a year to learn how they’re using the system and to learn what we need to do to continue improving it for them. |
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Do you have research to show that your way of supporting programs really works? (Timesheets)
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We don’t have formal research.
No client of ours has ever failed an audit at the state or federal level. |
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Do you work with programs who do “X” (math, science, physics, etc. etc.), b/c we do “X”, and you all don’t have any resources on “X.”
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That’s one of the beautiful things about the Network. We’re working with new and different types of organizations all the time, and each of them takes advantage of how flexible the Network is to make it their own.
When we first started the organization, we didn't plan to build a resource library for conservation organizations like American Conservation Experience, but here we are. |
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Can we have more than one survey on the Network, so that our various groups of tutors/mentors can take different surveys (b/c we need different data from those, for example, who serve elem school students, vs. those who serve MS students)?
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Part 1: Absolutely.
Part 2: You can also create a single survey that goes out to all of your reporters, and then just have some questions appear for one cohort of reporters while having other questions appear for another cohort. |
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We only currently do a couple of surveys per year. What if we don’t want to do surveys as frequently as once a month or more?
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That’s totally fine. One of the organizations we serve, Volunteer Mississippi, issues reports quarterly (Reports go to the directors of programs they fund to report on their progress).
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What if people (reporters) have problems using the Network?
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If a reporter runs into a question or issue, they’ll first connect with somebody on your team.
If you’re unable to resolve the issue, just let us know and we’ll take it from there. If you’d like, we can even record any web-based help session that we have with the member so that you can see how we resolved the issue. |
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What if the number of reporters we want to use the Network changes during the year/contract period?
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We only want you to pay for what you’re using, so, if it makes sense on your end, I encourage you to start off paying for the minimum number of reporters you’ll have.
(Note that we do not issue refunds should their numbers go down, which is why we encourage them to pay for just the minimum number of reporters they’ll have on our site.) As numbers increase, we’ll then send over a prorated invoice for new reporters. |
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Can teachers (specifically teachers of students served by our tutors/mentors) use this? We need to get feedback from them throughout the year, too. What about parents?
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Info to get from the lead:
How often would you like to collect data from these groups? Do you know what data will be collected? Ask them to share this info. We’ll take a look at it and get back to them with a recommendation as to whether we can do everything on one site or if we’ll need a separate site for one or more of cohorts. |
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You mentioned cost-efficiency. Please explain to me how the Network can save us money at the cost you’ve quoted us… (PMLN)
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Ask them the following questions:
How much time do you currently spend: Creating each log/report through your current process. How often do you do that? Sending logs out to reporters. Reminding reporters to complete logs. Compiling all of the data for a single log. Creating graphic representations of the data (charts/graphs) Compiling data across multiple logs. Creating graphic representations of the data (charts/graphs) Capturing best practices and strategies from your reporters. Adding additional resources to a 24/7 learning community Making those strategies available to your reporters 24/7 Providing resources to members one-on-one throughout the year Ask, how many team members are involved in all of that work. Do the math to figure out how many hours this is across the year and ask the team member if it’s fair to multiply that hours number by $20/hour. If not, ask if there’s a more accurate dollar amount. Compare that figure to the Network’s cost. Ask, if you could reduce the amount of time spent on all of this by at least 50%, would investing in the Network be a smart investment? |
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You mentioned cost-efficiency. Please explain to me how the Network can save us money at the cost you’ve quoted us… (Timesheets)
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Ask them the following questions:
Every week, how much time do you currently spend: Distributing new sheets to members? Reminding reporters to complete sheets? Reminding supervisors to sign sheets? Compiling reports of hours for yourself? Compiling reports of hours for folks who issue paychecks? Compiling reports of hours for program officers? Ask, how many team members are involved in all of that work. Do the math to figure out how many hours this is across the year and ask the team member if it’s fair to multiply that hours number by $20/hour. If not, ask if there’s a more accurate dollar amount. Compare that figure to the system’s cost. Ask, if you could reduce the amount of time spent on all of this by at least 50%, would investing in the Network be a smart investment? |
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Who are your content partners?
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- Education & Youth Development
- Peace First - Barnes & Noble Spark Notes - Blue Ribbon Mentor-Advocate - Sarah Kremer at Friends For Youth |
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What content are you all creating, and what do you rely on others to create?
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Education & Youth Development:
We tracked thousands of recorded goals and challenges from tutors, mentors and sports coaches in the areas of literacy, interpersonal communication, engagement & motivation, and session planning, and then either created resources internally or worked with partners to create relevant strategies. |
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How do strategies end up in the National Database?
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We screen them against a number of strict criteria (feel free to share these criteria with the lead).
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¸ The strategy includes a detailed description of the challenge hurdled or the situation in which it was implemented.
¸ The strategy lays out the specific steps the person took to achieve success. ¸ The strategy provides explicit models or examples for volunteers to demonstrate for students, and there are opportunities for students to apply and practice that same strategy. ¸ The strategy is easy to understand from the perspective of a volunteer who has never volunteered before. ¸ The strategy guides the student to success – facilitating understanding and learning or promoting good behavior, rather than dictating answers and yelling or forcing compliance. ¸ The strategy is engaging as well as instructional. ¸ The strategy does not involve bribing the student to do anything. ¸ The strategy does not contain religious references or undertones. |
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Why do so few local strategies end up in the National DB?
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We need to make sure that every strategy at the National level meets the highest standards of our own team and of each of our clients. To pass that high bar, each strategy undergoes under te microscope to make sure it will work for everybody.
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How are you all funded?
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In 2003, we were seed funded by Echoing Green ($60K over two years), by Gary’s mom and stepdad ($15K loan), and through income that Gary was bringing in as he worked one to three other jobs.
Since that time, we’ve depended on revenue. |
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Do you all have funds we can apply for to use the Network?
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Ask: Just so I’m clear, if you don’t get outside funds to make this investment for yourself and your program, would making the investment be an impossibility during the next twelve months?
Take this data to your team lead and see if there’s anything we can do. |
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