National Afterschool Association 24th Annual National Convention: Day 3

Day 3

Morning Workshop: Marketing to Teens presented by Rachel Rudd and Naomi Brower, Utah State University Extension

Workshop Blurb: This workshop will address recruitment and retention in afterschool programs, specifically with teens. We will discuss how to develop a marketing plan for your program, special event, or specific club. Participants will learn about some simple ways they can reach out to the community and youth that they serve.

Lessons Learned:

• Teens are multitaskers
• Teens prefer "byte"-sized entertainment
• Teens expect content on demand
• Teens want to participate at their own pace, control
• Enlist teens to manage your social media
• Don't try too hard to be cool
• Know your audience

Step One - Commit to a Business Paradigm

• Convenience
• Competition
• Product Tie-Ins
• Autonomy - personal growth, development
• "Why should your customers do business with you instead of someone else?"

Commit to a business paradigm. Educators want to provide activities that support academic achievement. Educators require student participation to meet their goal. Students want to have with their friends afterschool. Afterschool will not be successful unless it meets the student needs 

Step Two - Research Consumer Needs

• Music
• Fashion
• Television
• Hobbies
• Trends
• Listen, listen, listen
• No hidden agendas
• No preconceived notions
• Don't sell your ideas, sell their ideas.

Step Three - Develop Marketing Strategy

Determine the available media to communicate your message.

• Public address
• School newsletter
• Daily bulletin
• Closed circuit T.V.
• Assemblies
• Facebook (Program and/or volunteer page)
• Twitter (Program and/or volunteer page)

 Recruit your spokespersons

• Consumers are "peer-focused"
• Know which consumers are held in high regard
• Utilize their "coolness" as an asset to sell your product.

 
Step Four - Develop a Business Plan

Analyze assets

• Existing afterschool programs
• Popular teachers
• Facility space

Students are on campus after school doing something. Find out what they are:

• Sports
• Band
• Academic clubs
• Student gov't

Teachers are on campus after school. Find out who they are, what they're doing, how much they're getting paid (if applicable):

• Tutoring
• Special projects
• Alternative learning

 Make the best of your greatest assets: your and your staff

What skills and talents do you bring to the program?

If gaps exist, subcontract with community-based service providers:

• Dance classes
• Martial arts
• Musicians
• Artists

Step Five - Launch Product

Test and revise everything

• Development and research is ongoing
• Change/eliminate anything that's not working
• Test new products

Reward best customers

• Don't take loyalty for granted
• Publicly acknowledge best attendance
• Rewarding customers creates atmosphere of caring

Relaunch products periodically

• Ongoing marketing efforts
• Re-introduce products with new campaign
• Turn old favorites into "new and improved" products

Stick with what works

• Let your customers tell you when they need a change
• Offer multiple classes of most popular activities
• "Ride the camel til it dies."

What gets them to come?

• Accessibility (self-transportation)
• Strong connection to club
• The variety of activities
• Space (attractive and teen only)
• Flexibility
• Positive adult relationships
• Other positive relationships (friends)

My Thoughts:

The presenters were really good, kept everyone awake by making it interactive and asking the audience what things have worked in their programs. For a newbie like me, something like that is always very helpful. The information they provided was very detailed and helpful, as seen by some of the highlighted text. I will have to go to their website and check it out for further resources.

National Afterschool Association 24th Annual National Convention: Day 2, Part 1

Day 2, Part 1

Morning Workshop: Good to Great...Motivating Your Team to Achieve! presented by Annemarie Grassi, Open Doors Academy

Workshop Blurb: Staff burnout is high amongst youth-serving organizations, and too often job satisfaction is low. This workshop is designed to provide participants with tools for strengthening the team dynamic, building accountability and clarity of roles and responsibilities, motivating employees to reach beyond mediocrity, and increasing overall job satisfaction.

Lessons Learned:

Create an Engaged Culture -

• Communicate a clear vision
• Set clear and consistent boundaries
• Create and communicate high expectations
• Cultivate caring and meaningful relationships
• Provide constructive and reflective feedback

Establish Clear Expectations -

• DON'T....micromanage, shut out new ideas or allow for excuses.
• DO...establish clear expectations and boundaries, create a clear model for presenting new ideas, and provide clear measures for training, development, and evaluation (staff test, rubric)

Model a Culture of Caring-

• Macro Level: staff celebrations, recognitions, social gatherings .
• Meso Level: direct service support, staff meeting lunches, thank you cards
• Micro Level: annual meeting and visioning with individual staff, accessibility when needed (evening cell phone calls), offer opportunities to mentor your staff.
• Everyone wants to feel valued: How do you support your staff?

Keys to Building Success -

• Establish a personnel training system: orientation, review of materials and hands-on training, Staff Entry Exam .
• Create a culture that continues to engage professional development.
• Utilize your current resources and staff to coach and train others on the team (peer coaching).

Moving from Good to Great - 

• Share your vision frequently
• Set clear and consistent boundaries and high expectations
• Create a culture of support
• Provide constructive and reflective feedback

My Thoughts: 

Out of all the workshops I attended at this conference, this was the most in-depth. In the second half of her presentation, Ms. Grassi shared her organization's professional development structure: Orientation and training period, staff meetings, staff trainings, etc. She provided a copy of the Evaluative Rubric Report her organization uses to evaluate staff, as well as a copy of the procedures they use for submitting an Idea for Change. I found these examples to be very useful for my own organization, particularly the Ideas for Change. It was broken down by small program change, change in the structure of the program, and large structural change that affects the organization as a whole. She also included a copy of their annual report that was created--quite cleverly, I might add--by the students.

-----------------------------
Afternoon Workshop: Survival Strategies 101 (For What They Didn't Tell You) presented by Dr. Paul Young, National Afterschool Association.

Workshop Blurb: This session is designed to help new afterschool program directors survive and thrive. Participants will be equipped coping strategies for job-embedded challenges that are never discussed in preparatory programs. Sample topics include relationship building, resiliency, ethics, visioning, and more.

Lessons Learned:

To enhance the development of relationships, new leaders can improve interpersonal skills that help them connect, such as:

• Psychological cues - make yourself vulnerable and reveal who you are.
• Proximity
• Resonate - be "in the zone" and attentive.
• Identity similarities - birth dates, state of origin, anything shared with others.
• Environmental issues - overcoming adversity together encourages clicking.
• Self monitor - match others' emotions with attitude and charisma; work a room.

Preparatory programs don't teach you about people, relationships, leadership, delegation, juggling, "other" on your job descriptions (the small print), and stress.

Survival Strategies 101

1. Never lose focus on WHY your program exists (mission).
2. Practice visioning - short term, six months, one year, multiple years, write out vision and share it with others for clarity.
3. Minimize multitasking activities to reduce work situations that lead to mistakes.
4. Develop practices and procedures that enhance interview, selection, orientation, and ongoing training to help all staff survive and thrive. Invest time in hiring the best people.
5. Prepare for dealing with the media--both when things are good and where is a crisis.
6. Develop collaborative relationships with school personnel.
7. Help staff improve their work ethic. Teach work ethic virtues and what you expect to see.
8. Teach with clarity the expectations you have for staff managing students.
9. Learn to identify needs and how to deal with difficult people.
10. Develop and utilize tools for conducting effective meetings.

My Thoughts:

This workshop was interrupted towards the end by a tornado warning and the subsequent move to the tunnels of the hotel, but he went through it pretty quickly after the first we-may-have-to-evacuate warning. The session was interactive, Dr. Young wanted to hear stories from the "frontlines" so to speak, which was interesting for me. The only problem was that I had attended one of his sessions the day before and some of the same information that was covered in that session was mentioned again during this one. It was new for the people who hadn't been in that session, and it applied here as well, I just didn't want to hear it again.

Stay tuned for Day 2, Part 2

National Afterschool Association 24th Annual National Convention: Day 2, Part 2

Day 2, Part 2

Mid-Afternoon workshop: Creative Inspiration for Young People presented by Sonia Toledo, Dignity of Children, Inc.

Workshop Blurb: As educators, we must first understand how to tap into our creative mind to inspire our young people to use their creative mind. This workshop will focus on understanding the process to spark creativity in ourselves and then design an environment where children can find their creative niche: writing, dancing, singing, drawing, photography, acting and many others. Participants will walk away with a clear understanding of how to develop a curriculum to meet the developmental needs of their children by using a creative process.

My Thoughts:

Unfortunately, this workshop was cut short due to the tornado evacuation. It should've started at 2:30, but by the time we were given the all-clear to return, it was 3pm and the presenter only had 45mins to present. We watched a short movie on the web called "Brain Storm" that took up the majority of the time, talked about what was discussed, and then our table had to create a tall tower using 20 pieces of spaghetti, a marshmallow, string, and a really long piece of tape that Ms. Toledo gave us.We called it the Marshmallow Challenge.

We didn't win the prize (a bag of marshmallows), but we were runner-ups. I didn't "walk away with a clear understanding of how to develop a curriculum to meet the developmental needs of their children by using a creative process" as the workshop had promised. I wish that Ms. Toledo had bypassed the movie and went straight to the "Setting up the Environment to Spark Creativity" segment mentioned in her materials.She provided takeaways, but the material is fill-in-the-blank and we never got around to filling in those blanks. As the soon-to-be founder of an organization focused on creativity for young people, I was very much looking forward to this workshop and getting a different perspective. If anything, I can use the enclosed article to assist in my grad paper. I recently contacted her organization to see if I could get the workshop PowerPoint.
-------------------

Evening Workshop: Redefining Leadership in AfterSchool presented by Emily Gunter, Urgent Inc.

Workshop Blurb: This is a fast paced interactive presentation where the participants are fully engaged with their own investigation of their talents and strengths. Afterschool is the proving ground for your innovative approaches in the learning and caring environment. Find out how to become a leader in education through your successful best practices. Success is contagious!!

Lessons Learned:

~ You can achieve anything you want as long as you are willing to take the path to get to it, in an inspired way.

~ Choose to be a servant leader by being courteous, kind and respectful to all people in Truth, Simplicity and Love.

9 Empowering Thoughts of a LEADER;

1. Choose now to be a leader.
2. Have a passion to lead.
3. Be an inspirational thinker to lead
4. Believe in yourself, believe you can lead
5. Anticipate problems and have a strategy.
6. Have high values.
7. Have bonding power (love and smile)
8. Have a vibrant energy
9. Be a professional communicator

"Indecision and lack of major purpose is the biggest thief of time." 

Breathe, Relax, then Lead

• Become alert and respond with inspired action
• Consciously breathe to link to your knowledge
• Consciously breathe to conquer fear, doubt and anger.
• Consciously breathe to embrace love, peace and freedom as you lead.

How to Speak as a Leader Without Fear

• Breathe deeply
• Have simple notes with just key points in bold
• Start with the end in mind
• Have fun

10 Points of Leadership 

1. Vision - your gifts that come through you
2. Believe - have faith in yourself
3. Integrity - be truthful to yourself always
4. Courage - go within, hear your wisdom
5. Attitude - be inspired by your loving self
6. Excellence - act with humility and honor
7. Success - be prosperous by building winning relationships
8. Perseverance - honor the strength of your ancestors
9. Commitment - have authority over your mind and stay steady in your high values
10. Teamwork - unity brings strength

My Thoughts:

I found this to be a very spiritual--and science-filled--leadership session. The interactive portion of the session at the beginning was an interesting routine they do for their target audience, one of which is to say Batio Bati (Swahili for "I need you to be present", "I am present") three times.I felt very calm and peaceful after attending this workshop, especially after the tornado warning had left me a little riled.

National Afterschool Association 24th Annual National Convention: Day 1, Part 2

Day 1, Part 2

Afternoon Workshop: Eight Habits of Highly Effective Afterschool Leaders presented by Mike and Chelsea Ashcraft, Children's Choice Child Care Services, Inc.

Workshop Blurb: Attend this workshop and explore the traits, passions and habits required to be a highly effective afterschool leader of children and staff. These 8 habits are essential for afterschool professionals in leadership roles: leading kids, mentoring colleagues, or supervising staff. Come investigate these powerful elements and learn practical and use approaches to enhance these traits and transform yourself and others into extraordinary afterschool leaders.

Lessons Learned:

The 8 Habits of Highly Effective Afterschool Leaders are

1. Safety First - not only health, but emotional as well.

2. Vision and Values - Values = Foundation (who's the boss?) and Leadership = Love ( staff, youth, etc.)
     

    Values -

• Positivity
• Sponginess (soaking up knowledge)
• Trust and support
•  Goals/mission/vision.

    Vision = Compass (where you want to go)

• Shared vision of excellence centered on the kids, families, schools and community.
• Focus on quality

A Dream Is Just A Dream Until You Take Your Pajamas Off And Get To Work!

3. E.R.E - Environment, Relationships, Experiences. The environment sends cues about how we should  feel and behave. It's all about relationships...knowledge rests not just within truth, but also upon error. When it comes to experiences, you should "make like a puppy" (be enthusiastic), establish "Funergy" (the act of combining playfulness and enthusiasm to create a valuable experience--my own definition) and create "Purple Cow" moments.

4. Leadership Culture = KIPC (Knowledge, Information, Power, Control)

5. Influence - fun, playful, challenging, meaningful work, sincere acknowledgement, objective feedback, teamwork and relevancy (what's in it for me) is intrinsically rewarding. Find a frame that works. If you can't frame it...don't teach it.

" Pull the strong and it will follow wherever you pull it. Push it, and it will go nowhere at all" - General Dwight D. Eisenhower

6. Community Building (Kids, Families, Staff) - all activities should have a purpose. All for one and one for all.

7. Dialogue - Planning, Purpose, Outcome, Kiss & W.A.I.T (Why Am I Talking)! - 

    

    Ground Rules for staff/board meetings:

• One person at a time (using a "talking stick"--this would probably work better with Youth Advisory Council)
• No put-downs
• No Fire-hosing (shooting down ideas or opinions)

8. Forever - Lifelong Learning and Critical Reflection

• Request help
• Sharpen the saw - take care of yourself physically, socially, mentally (learn a new skill, read, write, teach, etc.), and spiritually (nature, meditation, music, art, etc.)

My Thoughts:

I'm currently taking a mentored Leadership Development course this spring and thought this workshop would complement that, specifically since the focus is on afterschool leaders. During my mentored course, I learned about many of the above topics (vision, values, influence, organizational culture, communication and continued learning) but there is always room for improvement. I can help a child develop a positive self-image by avoiding showing favoritism, having faith in children to accomplish tasks and do the right thing, and being consistent in attitude, behavior and decision; I can employ the no-firehosing rule when it comes to communicating with staff and/or board members. Just be more open-minded use words like "and" or "if" instead of "but" (That’s a good idea, AND it might work, IF you can find a way to afford it" vs "That’s a good idea, BUT we can’t afford it").

---------------------
Mid-Afternoon Workshop: Leadership Lessons for Afterschool Program Directors presented by Dr. Paul Young, National AfterSchool Association

    Workshop Blurb: Are you an administrator of an afterschool program? Do you share responsibilities for training aspiring or practicing program leaders? Want to do more leading than managing? AfterSchool Leadership Lessons includes dozens of practical job-embedded studies that are relevant for school-based, community-based, full-time, or part-time, new or experienced program leaders. This session is interactive, fun, and certain to equip you with ideas that help you design the future of your afterschool program.

Lessons Learned:

• Afterschool program leaders must be collaborative partners that embrace school learning goals and show commitment to achieve those goals. Working in isolation without community connections will result in high levels of frustration.

• Afterschool professionals have a personal obligation and a collegial responsibility to support the needs and increase the capacity of individuals leading afterschool programs.

• Leadership comes from your ability to inspire trust in other people. If people trust you, they will follow. If people can't trust you, eventually things will fall apart.

Leadership skills, knowledge, discipline, qualities and traits that afterschool professionals need to be effective in their work: knowledge, appearance of power, standard, integrity, vision, assertiveness, trust, charisma, optimism.

• Being a manager, supervisor, or the person accountable for things or simply having a title does not make you a leader. You must build relationships to become a leader.  

• Leadership is about influence. There are five common levels of leadership influence (referenced John C. Maxwell's Leadership 101):           

         1. Position - People follow because they have to.

         2. Permission - People follow because they want to.

         3. Production - People follow because of what you have done for the organization.

         4. Pinnacle (Person Development) - People follow because of what you have done for them     personally.

         5. Personhood - People follow because of who you are and what you represent.

• A leader's job is to anticipate what will happen, minimize the unpredictable, understand the consequences, and lead with cunning and power. Character is essential. Legacy is shaped by instincts which reflect character. Leaders cannot ignore their ideals or fail to deal with the realities around them!

My Thoughts: 

Early on during school, I quickly learned that I did not want to be the ED of my organization. I want to be the person coming up with the program ideas, like a program director/manager/coordinator. When I saw this workshop offered in the book, it was an immediate first choice. The workshop was mostly interactive. The NAA website has AfterSchool Leadership lessons for members only and Dr. Young had about 25 in his presentation. Since he couldn't go over all of them, he asked engaged the audience by finding out what they wanted to talk about. He announced the birth date of a family member and whichever audience member was closest, got to pick a topic. "Dealing with Difficult Parents" and "Ethical Afterschool Leadership" were a couple of the topics that were chosen. This workshop touched on things I've learned in my mentored Leadership Development course such as influence, relationship-building, and the skills needed to be an effective leader. Dr. Young even provided some action items that I can do:


1. Review, learn, adapt, and practice strategies outlined in common leadership lesson on NAA website.

2. Read the books Buy-In: Saving your Good Idea from Getting Shot Down (Kotter, J & Whitehead, L.), Leadership 101 (Maxwell, J), and Purple Cow (Godin, S).

3. Self-evaluation is essential to improving leadership capacity. Reflect on how effectively you invest and engage in your own professional development.

4. Network with and learn from other afterschool program leaders. Listen and learn from their stories.

National Afterschool Association 24th Annual National Convention: Day 1, Part 1

For the first time ever, I attended the National Afterschool Association (NAA) Annual Convention held in Grapevine, Texas.The weather is beautiful, the Gaylord Hotel and Convention Center is AMAZING and I am somewhat prepared for the information overload.

Workshops I attended on Monday, April 2, 2012:

Morning - Attendance Matters: Afterschool Can Improve School Day Attendance presented by Ellie Mitchell, Maryland Out of School Time Network and Kacy Conley, Pennsylvania Statewide Afterschool/Youth Development Network

Workshop Blurb: Chronic absence from school has a negative affect on student achievement and outcomes. Research indicates regular participation in out of school time programs can improve attendance. The workshop will offer practical strategies to strengthen program and school day attendance practice.

Lessons Learned:

• Students should miss no more than 9 days of school each year to stay engaged, successful and on track to graduation.
• Absences can be a sign that a student is losing interest in school, struggling with school work, dealing with a bully or facing some other potentially serious difficulty.
• By 6th grade, absenteeism is one of three signs that a student may drop out of high school.
• By 9th grade, regular and high attendance is a better predictor of graduation rates than 8th grade test scores.
• Missing 10%, or about 18 days. of the school year can drastically affect a student's academic success.
• Students can be chronically absent even if they only miss a day or two every few weeks.
• Attendance is an important life skill that will help a child graduate from college and keep a job.
• Most schools only track Average Daily Attendance and Truancy. Both can mask Chronic Attendance.

Practical Strategies:

1) Create a culture of attendance starting in your afterschool program -

• Take roll everyday in s caring/creative manner
• Reach out to students/families with poor attendance
• Make the case to students, parents and referring teachers about the benefits of participating regularly in afterschool
• Establish and communicate clear expectations about regular attendance
• Offer incentives for attendance
• Analyze program attendance data to identify areas in need of improvement; involve youth in program planning.

2) Request and use school day attendance data -

• Ask schools if they can provide names of chronically absent students to target recruitment.
• Ask for data on levels of chronic absence for schools overall, grade and ethnic population to identify areas of program expansion/outreach.
• Find out partner schools are already doing about chronic absence and join school-based teams that address attendance.
• Seek parent/guardian consent to see attendance and grades.
• Regularly get data on in-school attendance for program participants (report cards or data sharing agreement with school).
• Identify if program is serving students with problematic attendance.
• Talk with school partners about working together to assist poor attenders.
• Refer students and parents to additional support services.

Other considerations:

• Peer to Peer Influence - engage youth as ambassadors for attendance, support and facilitate youth led campaigns.
• Use a family focused event to educate parents/guardians about chronic absence and the importance of attendance.
• Consider including education about common health problems (i.e. asthma) in after school program and build partnerships with health providers.
• Homeless/foster care youth and youth with disabilities have more attendance challenges.

My Thoughts - 
I can honestly say that at times during these presentations I kept forgetting that this was about after school programs. It seemed like the information was geared towards actual school programs, but some of these programs are actually in the schools. Being in the schools is something that I would like to eventually happen, so it's possible that I might encounter this situation. I chose this workshop because it ties in to the mentored Program Planning and Evaluation course I'm taking this semester. TWZ plans to conduct weeks-long workshops, so we plan to make it known that if students sign up for a workshop, they need to come every week to build on information covered during the previous week. One of the strategies was to "offer incentives for attendance." Since the outcome will be a tangible product (published book that will include a public reading and book release party), I would hope that that would be incentive enough to attend each week and see the process through until the end.

I also think that Strategy #2, the sharing of data between schools and after school programs, is very important during the evaluation process. One of the programs that I hope to offer at TWZ is the Write Mentor: juniors and seniors who maintain a specific GPA will be partnered one-on-one with a professional writer for a whole semester. This will be seen as a privilege and the only way for a student to participate is to uphold a certain GPA. This will also hold true for any youth who have a seat on the BoD and the Youth Advisory Council. This type of data sharing will be very useful during the grant process.

-----------
Mid-Morning: General Session and Keynote Address
Truths, Lies and an Opportunity, presented by Jim Harris, MSW, Ed.S, Opportunities Consulting Services, LLC.

Keynote Blurb: If you work with youth today you don't need anyone to tell you that it can be overwhelming to say the least. Even the most resilient professionals may find themselves paralyzed by the complexities of today's society. In this presentation Jim gets back tot he basics about our work with young people. He confronts the hard facts of working with youth by providing you with a perspective that will help you see the importance of your work on a daily basis. You will walk away from this session with some good laughs and your "batteries" recharged!

Lessons Learned:

Truth #1 - Kids are designed to upset you!

Truth #2 - You are designed to outsmart kids!

Lie #1 - We are a second rate professional! 

• Learned Helplessness is our arch-nemesis 

Lie #2 - We are in the miracle business!

• True success comes from real-life moments
• The Law of the Nudge - changes that occur in small, seemingly insignificant ways

The Opportunity - is to serve youth

My Thoughts:  

Jim told some really great personal stories and when the blurb said that the session would have some "good laughs", they were definitely delivered. I have yet to encounter the "learned helplessness" that Jim talked about, but I know that that statement really resonated with the other attendees. So many obstacles can block your path, the push-back on a professional level, parental-level, etc., and being beaten over the head with "can't, can't, can't", that you start to wonder if you're really making--or can ever--make a difference in a young person's life. But Jim tells us that we are, and we can, but it's not going to happen right away. It's going to start slow, build over time, until the end result will be HUGE(i.e. high school diploma, entrance to college, or in my case, a book deal). The opportunity we get is to serve youth, and that in itself, is a privilege.

Stay tuned for Day 1, Part II...

FOR IMPACT Afternoon Session: JUST ASK! Share the Story – Present the Opportunity

Hosted by the Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits and Tom Suddes of the Suddes Group

Date: November 29, 2011 Time: 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm

Location: Phoenix Catholic Diocese, 400 E. Monroe, Phoenix, AZ 85004

Just Ask! Just Ask! Just Ask! Get a VISIT… With a Qualified Prospect…to Share the Story…to Present the Opportunity…Shoulder-to-Shoulder…to Fund the Vision. Tom will present strategies on how to structure the visits and provide tools and techniques to give you the confidence you need to “Just Ask!!! You will learn how to create great Engagement Tools that can facilitate terrific dialogue, communicate stats & stories, foster engagement and interaction and GRAB PEOPLE’S ATTENTION!

Normally, I am significantly uplifted after leaving a Tom Suddes workshop. This one felt a little flat to me. Maybe because 1) He was tired after jumping on top of the podium during the first half of the workshop (wish I'd seen that. He didn't do that the first time I saw him) or 2) It was an all-day workshop and even though I'd already attended the first one over a year ago, I felt like I should've gone because I felt as though I missed some info. Which I did.

But I always leave with some words of wisdom and Tom never fails to drop some good ones:

• Find like-kind people who believe in your mission to serve on your board.
• ROI - about logic and magic, stats and stories, math and people.
• Selling is not telling unless it's a story.
• Presentation design - who goes with you on the visit? Predisposition hands-on or visual.
• The goal is to get the commensurate gift to campaign. 
• When presenting it should be in the format of You/Them/Us: You: 2 bullet points and the 3rd bullet is relationship to organization. Them: ask questions about them. Us: reason for visit (Ask "Do you know about we do?").
• In regards to qualified prospects: Identify, Prioritize, Strategize. Identify (low hanging fruit, referrals, ideal profiles, magic formula, target sectors, Women Rule! Prioritize (master prospect list)
• Champion - for your organization
• Invite - others to get engaged
• Invest - should make commensurate gift

Something to think about: Before the second session started, I had lunch at the location and sat with two ladies. They asked the typical get-to-know-you questions and when I told them what I wanted to do, one of the ladies said, "Oooh. You could be like one of those mobile libraries. But for creative writing. You could get yourself one of those camper-type things and just park on school grounds and have the school put out a sign or something to let them know you're there." Huh.

19th Annual Arizona Statewide Afterschool Conference

 Saturday, November 19, 2011
8 am to 3:30 pm
Phoenix Convention Center, West Building
100 N 3rd Street, Phoenix 

Introducing the Keynote Speaker...

The Arizona Center for Afterschool Excellence is pleased to announce Dr. Gale Gorke as keynote speaker for the 2011 Arizona Afterschool Conference: The Power of Afterschool: Discovering Each Child’s Passion and Potential, taking place on Saturday, November 19th at the Phoenix Convention Center. 

Dr. Gorke will join over 500 afterschool providers and staff from across Arizona to share her experience and strategies to engage all youth in afterschool programs.   Both her keynote and workshop will address the important role that afterschool programming plays in providing experiential learning opportunities and provide hands-on ideas to engage children with a variety of learning styles and interests.

A veteran of the education field, Dr. Gorke has nearly 25 years of experience in afterschool and public school settings with a doctorate in academic intervention in afterschool programs.  Dr. Gorke is the Executive Director of Kids Kan Inc., an organization that specializes in staff development, activity selection and program implementation. She effectively models teaching that accommodates for all youth, regardless of ability.  Learn more about Dr. Gale Gorke on her website at: http://galegorke.com.

 I really enjoyed the energy that Gale brought to the conference. She got us all energized in the morning by getting us up and out of our chairs, interacting with other people. And by interacting, I mean we were partnered with someone at our table.We had to eyeball what they were wearing, turn our backs, and then do something to change our appearance. At least 3-4 times.

So. Much. Fun.

 By the time we were done, I was wearing articles of clothing from someone else at my table! Hilarious. But it got our blood flowing, got us awake and ready for the workshops. I learned much from Gale:

Three Things We Know About Change -

• Individualized
• What do I have to give up?
• Without pressure, things will go back to the way they were before the change.

Learning Made Easy - 

• You
• The Environment
• The Curriculum

The Element -

• Aptitude
• Passion
• Attitude
• Opportunity

Reasons We Don't Find Our Element - 

• We don't understand our power
• We don't understand nature
• We don't understand we can grow and change
• We lack the education...or have not recovered from education

What is Intelligence?

Ask the right question - "How are you intelligent?" Not "Are you intelligent?"

Intrapersonal Intelligence - how well you know yourself

Interpersonal Intelligence - how well you know other people

Love this quote:

"We live in a world of possibilities
When we believe it, we'll see it"
~ DeWitt Jones

Opportunity - 

• Never too late!
• Overcome fear
• Expectation - can't see what you're looking for!

Workshop Session I - The Power of Afterschool Program Staff facilitated by Jackie Reilly and Sarah Chvilicek, University of Nevada

Description - Afterschool staff members have an enormous power to impact the youth with whom they work Come and learn about positive youth development and developmental assets, and explore the power you have to impact youth! You will enjoy a memory walk, discuss and do a hands-on activity, to understand how to connect the youth you work with to youth development research.

Review - While there were some interesting take-home sheets, I was more interested in the "youth development" and "developmental asset" aspect and could have done without the interactive activity.

Side note: I had to decide between this workshop and another workshop about marketing to teens. I should have gone to the other one.

Workshop Session II - Integrating School and Afterschool: A Panel Discussion facilitated by Michelle Gayles, Valley of the Sun United Way

Description: Building partnerships between out of school time programs and schools is a tremendous opportunity to connect formal and informal learning in order to prepare youth for a future that demands a wide variety of skills. Workshop participants will engage with a diverse group of afterschool and school staff to learn how they are effectively partnering between schools and out of school time programs to leverage their strengths for the benefit of Arizona's youth, including opportunities for skill building, character development and engagement of caring adults.

My Thoughts - I wish I could remember the names of the people that had sat on this committee, but for the life of me I cannot find the piece of paper that mentioned all that. From what I can remember, there was a school administrator, a nonprofit ED, a teacher?, and someone else (Darn me for tossing that paper!). Either way, it was a good mix of people representing the topic of discussion. They responded to a set of questions, but also answered questions from the audience. What with the economy and all, I've been debating on whether I should have my own "place" or just collaborate with another youth-based organization. I was hoping to get some sort of how-to plan for that, but just mainly got advice for a newbie like me considering that option.

• Show data
• Mutually beneficial
• Communication
• Consent level - CEO/Principal of school
• Organizational buy-in
• Designer/Supervision
• Service/Delivery

Side note: This workshop was not my original choice. I had intended to go to another workshop that talked about common core standards afterschool. I got talked into going by a friend. LOL. Was disappointed a smidge...until I realized I could get the handouts for that workshop on the AZCase website.

Workshop Session III - No Fear Grant Writing! conducted by Jill McIlroy, Free Arts of Arizona and Jarrett Ransom, The Rayvan Group (jrransom [at]hotmail[dot]com)

Description - This workshop focuses on submitting a grant request regardless of dollar request. No grant too small or too large. Any amount of funding assistance goes a long way in today's economy. Jill and Jarrett will work with you on drafting a grant request outline by working individually with their supervised guidance. This new workshop combines two tenured development professionals who have focused on grant writing in the nonprofit industry for several years; bringing real-life situations to the table.

My Thoughts - As an occasional volunteer for Free Arts AZ, I wanted to get a feel for how their development process works. Being a writer, some people may--mistakenly--believe that writing grants would be easy. If the author in question writes non-fiction, no problem! However, I write fiction. So this may take getting used to.Needless to say, I plan to make a grant writer a permanent part of my staff. LOL.Here are a few things I gleaned from this workshop:

The 10 C's of Writing a Winning Proposal - 

• Concise
• Complete
• Clear
• Compelling
• Credible
• Compliant
• Community-Oriented
• Consistent
• Clean
• Current

For a program design, the #1 goal is the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timely) objective:

By the end of  ________ , increase/develop/educate___________ by ____________%

Reasons why a grant may not be approved -

Funder- related:

• Doesn't fund in your community
• Doesn't fund projects like yours
• Hasn't been contacted to discuss the project
• Has a specific application format that you didn't follow
• Only funds preselected organizations

Program design - 

• Unclear project purpose
• Goals are not broad
• Objectives are not specific/measurable
• Implementation tasks are missing
• Evaluation plan was not included
• Management plan lacks qualified personnel

Financial Info -

• Project budget lacks line item detail
• Project budget does not add up
• Organizational budget is not current
• Sustainability not demonstrated
• Form 990 has never been filed
• Organization not listed with Guidestar
• Application submitted after deadline

General Tips - 

• Don't take rejection personally
• Just write - you can go back and adjust your writing, style, format, etc.
• The best grant writers love red ink and know when to accept and reject corrections
• Be sure to follow funder guidelines and answer all questions in full.
• Do not cut and paste
• Stay current
•  Stay mission-focused
• Measure

How to stand out amidst other submissions - 

• Relationships
• Collaboration agreement (there's that word again)

 Overall, I really enjoyed this conference and plan to attend again next year.