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Coach Dave

The Academy Awards of AfterSchool

PASESETTER WINNERS

Tonight I attended the PASESETTER Awards, the annual gala of the Partnership for After School Education.  The event is a veritable who’s who of afterschool practitioners and supporters, with more than 500 individuals gathering to celebrate the importance of afterschool programming and recognize five  outstanding leaders in the field.  Congratulations to the 2015 PASESetter Award Winners (pictured above): Aubrey Semple, Lamont Jackson, Katha Cato, Ranti Ogunlye, and Matthew Smilardi.

New York City is leading the charge to professionalize the afterschool setting, and PASE is one of the main reasons why. Keep up the good work!

Giving is expected to rise in 2015 (or not)

THE GOOD NEWS: According to the Philanthropy Outlook, philanthropic giving is expected to increase 4.8 percent this year, and 4.9 percent in 2016.  This growth is spurred largely by an increase in foundation giving, thanks to market gains in the past few years since the economic downturn of 2009.

THE BAD NEWS: Another report, this one by the Atlas of Giving, anticipates a 3.2 percent decline in giving in 2015, because of an expected decline in the stock markets and a possible increase in interest rates.

In light of these conflicting reports, what’s a fundraiser to do?

The National Mentoring Conference

Mentoring Conference

I’m very happy to return to DC for the National Mentoring Summit for the third straight year.  The event, which is co-sponsored by MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention brings representatives from mentoring organizations from all over the country to participate in workshops, exhibits, and networking events. Mentoring is about building lasting, meaningful relationships, and this event is a true reflection of what that means.

National Mentoring Roundtable

mentoring resource Center

I was honored to participate in a national roundtable on mentoring, hosted by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. The OJJDP Administrator and Assistant Attorney General moderated the event, heard recommendations from over 70 of the nation’s leading mentoring organizations on how to support, sustain and enhance mentoring programs for youth.  Here’s my two cents on the topic:

  • OJJDP and other funders should make a larger investment in training/certification programs for youth sports coaches. There are 6.5 million volunteer sports coaches in the US, representing a huge pool of candidates to become trained mentors
  • Re-granting programs like Social Innovation Fund can be an effective way for federal mentoring dollars to directly impact grassroots organizations.
  • More corporate partnerships, such as the one between AmeriCorps VISTA and Citi. It would be great if OJJDP could solicit matching dollars from corporations and partner with them to develop national marketing/awareness campaigns and calls to action around mentoring.
  • Additional capacity-building support would make small, grassroots organizations more sustainable and could help to “level the playing field” with respect to funding opportunities.
  • More investment in demonstration projects that can showcase innovation and encourage creativity.