It's that time of year again. A time for spring showers and, for better or worse, a flurry of final papers (for better if you like writing papers and are well-versed in the art of persuasion; for worse if you have no such desire or skillset).
For this class, I propose to write my paper on non-profit funding issues. The first part of the paper will deal with the effect of overall economic change on the availability of funds from public grants and private donations and endowments. Of course, in the current economic climate, spending cuts have to be made by all levels of government, and naturally, most of the cuts should be in the area of education and youth programming, not defense, entitlements, or tax breaks for companies that make over a billion dollars a year. Government grant programs have been cut, and private grant programs have also suffered a hit, as donations decrease and investment income on endowments is lower than anticipated. With fewer opportunities available and for less money, available grants become more competitive. Thus, in the past five years or so, funding for afterschool programs has become overall more difficult to obtain (and retain from year to year).
With this pressure in mind, some programs have to alter their overall mission to make them eligible for either a broader range of grants (generalize programming from, say, engineering for young women to science and math-related fields for young women) or a different pool of grants altogether that may be enticing due to the amount of funds available, ease of obtainment, etc. (shift from engineering to computers). If possible given time constraints and resources available, I'd like the second part of the paper to look at the effect changes in mission (driven by funding in particular) have on overall program effectiveness. My hypothesis is that "chasing" funding ultimately undercuts the program mission, but on the other hand, if changes are not made, perhaps the program would be unable to find funding and would cease to exist in any form. Part of the reason I am interested in this topic is because I don't know for sure what the evidence will show.
At this point, I am unsure how far I will delve into the actual mechanics of grant-writing. I do envision some sort of appendix that would be of immediate use to ALA staff, whether it be suggested grants to pursue or, as mentioned in class, a mock or template grant proposal. This will depend on what my colleagues end up doing, what my conclusions end up being, etc.
Accountability--accounting for money to ensure it meets the donors specifications.
I look forward to many hours of chocolate- and NCIS-fueled research.
About Me
- BJ
- I had plans for a super-awesome summer internship involving Middle East policy. Those plans went kaput, but I've decided to do what I'd be doing anyway, for personal edification and satisfaction. And fame, obviously.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Very Disjointed Class Notes 3/24
presentation to other professionals?
grant applications?
writing component--looking back, framed to be useful for ALA staff
model program?
policy brief?
opportunity to demonstrate what we've learned put in form useful to academy
neighborhood effects--program context
last semester's material can be used
what's the purpose of this final project that we have in mind?
changing neighborhoods and stability of schools
grant applications?
writing component--looking back, framed to be useful for ALA staff
model program?
policy brief?
opportunity to demonstrate what we've learned put in form useful to academy
neighborhood effects--program context
last semester's material can be used
what's the purpose of this final project that we have in mind?
changing neighborhoods and stability of schools
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Explore UT Mega-Post Part 3
When we left our heroes, they had just arrived at the dining hall, all 19 kids still in tow.
To their credit, the Explore UT folks did have a rather-harried woman waiting outside, herding people. She told us that one of us needed to go inside to get the meal tickets, while everyone else waited inside. I volunteered (perhaps a fatal miscalculation :-) ). So I traipsed inside, expecting a fairly expeditious process, since we had pre-paid for our tickets. It quickly became clear that was not to be the case. There was one line for everyone--school groups who'd prepaid, school groups who hadn't, and random hungry individuals. I watched as a woman several people ahead of me paid cash in small bills for 50 lunches, which had to be rung up as two separate transactions because some were tax-exempt and some weren't, and the woman hadn't filled out the tax-exempt forms ahead of time, and then the cashier had to count out 50 tickets by hand. I took advantage of the fact that I wasn't going anywhere for a while by calling Soph to verify our headcount. We knew from the sign-in sheets that we had 19 kids (even though only 17 ever signed in), plus the four of us PRP-ers, plus 8 LBJ volunteers, plus 2 ALA staff. That adds up to 33, right? So when I got to the head of the line, I claimed our 30 prepaid tickets without any problem. Then I bought three more. The cashier gave me the option of filling out more paperwork to get them tax-free, but the monetary difference was like a dollar, and I knew there were 19 ravenous adolescents outside, so I didn't bother. So after about 20 minutes in line, I was free! (good thing we arrived early...) As I left, I noted that the line had grown even longer. Maybe they were limited by only having one cash register, but they could have really used more than one cashier. They could have had a line for picking up prepaid tickets only (thus not involving any exchange of money and therefore, no cash register required). Or they could have advised picking up the tickets earlier in the day, in advance of the assigned mealtime.
Having gone over the figures with Soph on the phone while in line, you can imagine my surprise when we ended up one ticket short (we had forgotten to count a third ALA staffperson we'd never met before who came with). I couldn't very well ask someone else not to eat, and I didn't fancy having to stand in line again for 20 minutes to get another ticket, so I fell on my sword and skipped lunch myself. I think overall lunch went well--the kids chowed down while we PRP-ers worked on a post-lunch game plan.
Best-laid plans and all that...
We'd planned to see some robot soccer at 1, but at 1 we were still at the dining hall. So we leisurely finished lunch and headed to our "Hogwarts Potions Class" early. It was there that we found out every showing was sold out, and had been for quite some time. Nevermind the fact that nothing, anywhere, at any time had indicated that some shows would require tickets, or already be filled up 30 minutes before it was supposed to start. From that frustrating development, we trooped over to the engineering area of campus.
While other PRP-ers took over herding duties, I went over to our final planned stop, the chemistry demonstration to find out if they required tickets for entrance to their show. I was assured by one of the young gentlemen that they didn't require tickets, and that if we arrived at quarter to 3, we'd be assured of good seats. He said this after I'd already mentioned that we were a group of 30 and had trouble at the pharmacy school.
So I went back to find everyone at the robot soccer demo, and then we took in some outdoor demonstrations near the engineering building, waiting for 2:45, when we'd walk fifty feet inside to the chemistry show. I think this was the most fun part of the day for most kids. Although I later heard one child lost a contact lens, I was not aware of this at the time (maybe because I finally excused myself to use the restroom after being uncomfortable since lunch time). Much to my chagrin, the chemistry demo was already full when we went in at 2:45. Thanks for nothing, guy I talked to not an hour before. My frustration was compounded when we came up one person short on our headcount. Adults were dispatched to find the missing child, which was accomplished rather quickly, although I never got the full story on this happening, as I was busy trying to locate another activity nearby. Most of the kids seemed pretty indifferent to the Rube-Goldberg machine activity, I have to say, but it's very possible that their energy level was finally flagging.
Soon enough, we headed clear across campus for an impromptu stop at the LBJ museum, before staging a final photo op and sending the kids off onto the vans. I don't really remember much of that part. I think I might have been experiencing a blood-sugar crash and an adrenaline letdown. For whatever reason, I almost fell asleep standing up in the museum.
After watching the kids ride off into the sunset, I got a massive burger and then took a very long nap. The end. Coming next: Explore UT Mega-Post Part 4: The Analysis.
To their credit, the Explore UT folks did have a rather-harried woman waiting outside, herding people. She told us that one of us needed to go inside to get the meal tickets, while everyone else waited inside. I volunteered (perhaps a fatal miscalculation :-) ). So I traipsed inside, expecting a fairly expeditious process, since we had pre-paid for our tickets. It quickly became clear that was not to be the case. There was one line for everyone--school groups who'd prepaid, school groups who hadn't, and random hungry individuals. I watched as a woman several people ahead of me paid cash in small bills for 50 lunches, which had to be rung up as two separate transactions because some were tax-exempt and some weren't, and the woman hadn't filled out the tax-exempt forms ahead of time, and then the cashier had to count out 50 tickets by hand. I took advantage of the fact that I wasn't going anywhere for a while by calling Soph to verify our headcount. We knew from the sign-in sheets that we had 19 kids (even though only 17 ever signed in), plus the four of us PRP-ers, plus 8 LBJ volunteers, plus 2 ALA staff. That adds up to 33, right? So when I got to the head of the line, I claimed our 30 prepaid tickets without any problem. Then I bought three more. The cashier gave me the option of filling out more paperwork to get them tax-free, but the monetary difference was like a dollar, and I knew there were 19 ravenous adolescents outside, so I didn't bother. So after about 20 minutes in line, I was free! (good thing we arrived early...) As I left, I noted that the line had grown even longer. Maybe they were limited by only having one cash register, but they could have really used more than one cashier. They could have had a line for picking up prepaid tickets only (thus not involving any exchange of money and therefore, no cash register required). Or they could have advised picking up the tickets earlier in the day, in advance of the assigned mealtime.
Having gone over the figures with Soph on the phone while in line, you can imagine my surprise when we ended up one ticket short (we had forgotten to count a third ALA staffperson we'd never met before who came with). I couldn't very well ask someone else not to eat, and I didn't fancy having to stand in line again for 20 minutes to get another ticket, so I fell on my sword and skipped lunch myself. I think overall lunch went well--the kids chowed down while we PRP-ers worked on a post-lunch game plan.
Best-laid plans and all that...
We'd planned to see some robot soccer at 1, but at 1 we were still at the dining hall. So we leisurely finished lunch and headed to our "Hogwarts Potions Class" early. It was there that we found out every showing was sold out, and had been for quite some time. Nevermind the fact that nothing, anywhere, at any time had indicated that some shows would require tickets, or already be filled up 30 minutes before it was supposed to start. From that frustrating development, we trooped over to the engineering area of campus.
While other PRP-ers took over herding duties, I went over to our final planned stop, the chemistry demonstration to find out if they required tickets for entrance to their show. I was assured by one of the young gentlemen that they didn't require tickets, and that if we arrived at quarter to 3, we'd be assured of good seats. He said this after I'd already mentioned that we were a group of 30 and had trouble at the pharmacy school.
So I went back to find everyone at the robot soccer demo, and then we took in some outdoor demonstrations near the engineering building, waiting for 2:45, when we'd walk fifty feet inside to the chemistry show. I think this was the most fun part of the day for most kids. Although I later heard one child lost a contact lens, I was not aware of this at the time (maybe because I finally excused myself to use the restroom after being uncomfortable since lunch time). Much to my chagrin, the chemistry demo was already full when we went in at 2:45. Thanks for nothing, guy I talked to not an hour before. My frustration was compounded when we came up one person short on our headcount. Adults were dispatched to find the missing child, which was accomplished rather quickly, although I never got the full story on this happening, as I was busy trying to locate another activity nearby. Most of the kids seemed pretty indifferent to the Rube-Goldberg machine activity, I have to say, but it's very possible that their energy level was finally flagging.
Soon enough, we headed clear across campus for an impromptu stop at the LBJ museum, before staging a final photo op and sending the kids off onto the vans. I don't really remember much of that part. I think I might have been experiencing a blood-sugar crash and an adrenaline letdown. For whatever reason, I almost fell asleep standing up in the museum.
After watching the kids ride off into the sunset, I got a massive burger and then took a very long nap. The end. Coming next: Explore UT Mega-Post Part 4: The Analysis.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Explore UT Mega-Post Part 2
The campus hadn't seemed busy as we gathered or walked over to our first stop--Welch Hall--which was supposed to host the Marine Science Touch Tank. Welch Hall was crowded with dozens of parents and kids and tables and booths devoted to all kinds of organisms--pond scum, meal worms, and tarantulas--but no touch tank to be seen. Since the tables seemed to have some interesting stuff, we made the decision to let the kids look around, despite the fact that the touch tank was nowhere to be seen.
(Side note: I will feel bad about saying this if the touch tank was somewhere else, not where it was supposed to be, but: I interacted somewhat with the Marine Science people over the past few months, and it was next to impossible to get a hold of them or elicit any response, so my opinion of their level of organization is quite low, and it wouldn't surprise me if they ended up not showing up on the day)
Despite the variety of interesting (to me) booths, interest among some students seemed to wane fairly quickly. Trying to get 19 kids to finish up at the same time was an impossible task. We just had to be authoritative and say, "No, time to go," and herd them firmly to the exit. Our lunch slot wasn't until 12:30, so we decided to swing by the alleged International Festival on the way.
The International Festival turned out to be another illusion, and we found ourselves batting 0. I was personally embarrassed to have failed to deliver on promises twice in a row. I was really annoyed but with no easy outlet for my frustrations. We decided just to head over to the dining hall, even though we'd be a little early. One of the volunteers had the idea to take the kids past the turtle pond, which I thought was a good idea and the kids seemed to enjoy.
Next came lunch, which deserves its own post...
(Side note: I will feel bad about saying this if the touch tank was somewhere else, not where it was supposed to be, but: I interacted somewhat with the Marine Science people over the past few months, and it was next to impossible to get a hold of them or elicit any response, so my opinion of their level of organization is quite low, and it wouldn't surprise me if they ended up not showing up on the day)
Despite the variety of interesting (to me) booths, interest among some students seemed to wane fairly quickly. Trying to get 19 kids to finish up at the same time was an impossible task. We just had to be authoritative and say, "No, time to go," and herd them firmly to the exit. Our lunch slot wasn't until 12:30, so we decided to swing by the alleged International Festival on the way.
The International Festival turned out to be another illusion, and we found ourselves batting 0. I was personally embarrassed to have failed to deliver on promises twice in a row. I was really annoyed but with no easy outlet for my frustrations. We decided just to head over to the dining hall, even though we'd be a little early. One of the volunteers had the idea to take the kids past the turtle pond, which I thought was a good idea and the kids seemed to enjoy.
Next came lunch, which deserves its own post...
Explore UT Mega-Post Part 1
So after a hectic month of fundraising, planning, and motivating the kids to leave their beds and other responsibilities on a Saturday morning, the day of Explore UT dawned exactly as we DIDN'T want it to: thunderstorms. Between nightmares about forgetting to pick Soph up and the storm itself, I didn't sleep very well.
The atmosphere when we got to ALA at 9:30 could best be described as tense. We had only planned for 15 kids, and we were told to now expect 21. We had planned to have one of us go along in each of the vans to facilitate parking and meeting up with the volunteers on campus, but were now unable to. We had only been counting on two ALA staff members (plus our professor) attending, and three actually came. And the weather was looking dodgy, with intermittent showers, fierce winds, and less-than-desirable temperatures.
I was already beyond stressed and the day hadn't even started yet. Fortunately, Soph and I found parking easily and even had enough time to grab coffees to warm up before meeting up with the LBJ volunteers, who, for a wonder, were rather prompt (of course, we'd padded the meet-up time a bit). The vans arrived, but couldn't find parking in the planned lot, so eventually the kids were dropped off while the ALA staff went to park elsewhere. While the staff were otherwise occupied, us PRP folks set out to distribute materials for the day. For the most part, we'd been able to get the volunteers to sign in and receive maps and schedules as they arrived, keeping chaos to a minimum. Getting bags and cameras to the kids proved more of a challenge. The kids were far more interested in getting a camera than a bag or signing in. We also had markers for the kids to write their names on the cameras. The cameras turned out to be inside shrink wrap inside boxes. So kids were clamoring for cameras, and we were trying to pass out bags, and get the kids to sign in, and help them unwrap cameras, and collect trash, and get the kids to write their names on the cameras all at once. In hindsight, maybe we should have unwrapped the cameras ahead of time, and tried to get an assembly line going, rather than a mob. I don't know how the cameras were eventually parceled out (we were at least 4 short, I think), so maybe Soph can talk about that.
By the time all that was done, the ALA staff had returned from parking. It was time to get going, but first we had to get people buddy-ed up. This also did not work well. Some volunteers had six kids and some had none. Rather than an orderly procession, two-by-two, we again mobbed in the general direction of our first destination. Without a designated "leader," there was an air of disorganization and indecision as we trudged onward. This might have been because we PRP-ers were still scrambling to get all the kids signed in (which we never did) and surreptitiously checking to make sure we hadn't left any kids behind when the sign-in sheet didn't reconcile to the number of kids, and attending to half a dozen other details. We should have designated someone--one of the volunteers or one of us--who knows the campus well to serve as "tour guide" throughout the day. That would have made things more organized and less chaotic.
TO BE CONTINUED
The atmosphere when we got to ALA at 9:30 could best be described as tense. We had only planned for 15 kids, and we were told to now expect 21. We had planned to have one of us go along in each of the vans to facilitate parking and meeting up with the volunteers on campus, but were now unable to. We had only been counting on two ALA staff members (plus our professor) attending, and three actually came. And the weather was looking dodgy, with intermittent showers, fierce winds, and less-than-desirable temperatures.
I was already beyond stressed and the day hadn't even started yet. Fortunately, Soph and I found parking easily and even had enough time to grab coffees to warm up before meeting up with the LBJ volunteers, who, for a wonder, were rather prompt (of course, we'd padded the meet-up time a bit). The vans arrived, but couldn't find parking in the planned lot, so eventually the kids were dropped off while the ALA staff went to park elsewhere. While the staff were otherwise occupied, us PRP folks set out to distribute materials for the day. For the most part, we'd been able to get the volunteers to sign in and receive maps and schedules as they arrived, keeping chaos to a minimum. Getting bags and cameras to the kids proved more of a challenge. The kids were far more interested in getting a camera than a bag or signing in. We also had markers for the kids to write their names on the cameras. The cameras turned out to be inside shrink wrap inside boxes. So kids were clamoring for cameras, and we were trying to pass out bags, and get the kids to sign in, and help them unwrap cameras, and collect trash, and get the kids to write their names on the cameras all at once. In hindsight, maybe we should have unwrapped the cameras ahead of time, and tried to get an assembly line going, rather than a mob. I don't know how the cameras were eventually parceled out (we were at least 4 short, I think), so maybe Soph can talk about that.
By the time all that was done, the ALA staff had returned from parking. It was time to get going, but first we had to get people buddy-ed up. This also did not work well. Some volunteers had six kids and some had none. Rather than an orderly procession, two-by-two, we again mobbed in the general direction of our first destination. Without a designated "leader," there was an air of disorganization and indecision as we trudged onward. This might have been because we PRP-ers were still scrambling to get all the kids signed in (which we never did) and surreptitiously checking to make sure we hadn't left any kids behind when the sign-in sheet didn't reconcile to the number of kids, and attending to half a dozen other details. We should have designated someone--one of the volunteers or one of us--who knows the campus well to serve as "tour guide" throughout the day. That would have made things more organized and less chaotic.
TO BE CONTINUED
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
48 Hours Mystery
I can't believe there are only 48 hours to go before Explore UT.
I am nervous. I am natural worrier, so of course I am nervous.
I am worried that it will rain.
I am worried that the van(s) will break down.
I am worried that a child will get lost or hurt.
I am worried that there will be a parking snafu.
I am worried that there will be a lunch snafu.
Mostly, I am worried that all the work we have done--grant-writing, fundraising, soliciting donations, assembling candy grams, getting the kids pumped up, writing our curriculum, carrying out the curriculum, arranging parking, arranging dining, wading through transportation issues, and so much more--won't pay off in a tremendous day for the kids.
I am nervous. I am natural worrier, so of course I am nervous.
I am worried that it will rain.
I am worried that the van(s) will break down.
I am worried that a child will get lost or hurt.
I am worried that there will be a parking snafu.
I am worried that there will be a lunch snafu.
Mostly, I am worried that all the work we have done--grant-writing, fundraising, soliciting donations, assembling candy grams, getting the kids pumped up, writing our curriculum, carrying out the curriculum, arranging parking, arranging dining, wading through transportation issues, and so much more--won't pay off in a tremendous day for the kids.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)