Capacity

Providing high-quality consulting for youth-serving programs and initiatives across the Carolinas and beyond.

Fee-for-Service Frequently Asked Questions

Our Services

Youth Mentoring Collaborative provides capacity-building consulting for free to organizations with annual revenues of less than 1 million and at market rates to organizations with annual revenues greater than 1 million. Our services support the overall youth services ecosystem by building practitioners' and organizations' capacities to meet their mission. This includes providing training, resources, public awareness, and advocacy that supports the expansion of mentoring initiatives.

What does capacity building mean?

We like the National Council of Nonprofits' definition as outlined below:

Capacity building is whatever is needed to bring a nonprofit to the next level of operational, programmatic, financial, or organizational maturity, so it may more effectively and efficiently advance its mission into the future. Capacity building is not a one-time effort to improve short-term effectiveness, but a continuous improvement strategy toward the creation of a sustainable and effective organization.

Research shows that by committing to quality improvements, programs can nurture stronger, longer lasting mentoring relationships. Through capacity-building consultations, Youth Mentoring Collaborative works with well-established, newly-developing programs, and those in between to improve their quality and impact.

Project Application Cycles

YMC offers two application cycles for projects annually to apply for support as follows:

2024 Fall Application Cycle

Jul 8 – Aug 31, applications accepted and approved
Sept 6 – Jan 31, project period

2025 Spring Application Cycle

Jan 8 – Feb 28, applications accepted and approved
Mar 4 – Jul 31, project period

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How We Can Help

Management and Operations

YMC will ensure adequate support is in place for managing board/staff development and training, resource development, or other needed organization development activities to support the sustainability of the organization, including but not limited to:

Shepherding the strategic planning process
Building and supporting Boards of Directors, Advisory Boards, and/or Youth Leadership Councils
Creating a fund development plan
Conducting individual/organizational equity readiness assessments
Develop a marketing plan to articulate the role and value proposition of the organization for various stakeholders

Program Evaluation

YMC will support the development of a program evaluation plan to measure the effectiveness of the organization in reaching expected programmatic outcomes, including but not limited to:

Developing or enhancing a logic model or theory of change
Developing or enhancing a process for conducting surveys, focus groups, and interviews among mentors, mentees, families, and other key stakeholders
Analyzing and creating a plan for improvement based on evaluation results
Communicating evaluation results to key stakeholders
Staff training on program evaluation

Program Planning and Design

YMC will provide ongoing training and consulting to program staff, mentors, mentees, and parents to ensure quality standards in all mentoring areas, including but not limited to:

Reviewing the relevant research related to your program model/service population
Supporting the implementation of the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring™
Incorporating Healing-Centered Mentoring™ practices into program design and structure
Developing or reviewing written policies and procedures
Collaborate with youth leaders/mentees from the organization to develop initiatives, partnerships, programs, and content

Looking for a paid consultancy?

We accept paid clients on a rolling basis!

Because our work is made possible through grants, sponsorships, and contracts, we believe that organizations that can afford to pay for our services should do so. Learn more about our equitable approach to pricing and how we can help your organization by clicking below.

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