Many people say "It takes a Village to Raise a Child".  This map shows how we think of "village".

Most don't think about the money and manpower it takes to enable each member of the village to do his/her job properly.  Most funding of non profits is "random acts of kindness" or charitable giving that is restricted to a specific geography, based on where the donor is located, or a limited number of years, based on donor guidelines.

No business could succeed with such restrictions on revenue. For non profits working to help kids grow from pre-school to first job, a 20 year journey, such funding strategies actually work against the ultimate goal, of kids in careers. 

The T/MC library has links to many articles that illustrate challenges and opportunities.  We show how volunteer involvement in a tutor/mentor program is an important form of civic engagement. It expands the network of adults supporting youth development and education strategies.

T/MC also has done surveys with program leaders to understand their most important challenges.   A discussion of challenges is hosted on the Tutor/Mentor Connection's Ning.com forum.

We encourage you to read and understand these, and build giving strategies that provide on-going and flexible funding to organizations working to help kids to careers.