Hunger and poverty are two issues in society that must be kept in the forefront of our thoughts. The minute we stop thinking we can make a change in the devastating circumstances of others is the same minute we stop trying. Today’s grant opportunity addresses these needs and supports the groups who make it their mission to make a real change.

This week’s pick: Applications are currently being accepted through World Hunger Year for the Harry Chapin Self-Reliance Awards. This award honors “innovation and creativity in grassroots efforts against hunger and poverty.” For those neophytes out there who are not familiar with Harry Chapin (1942-1981), he was a singer-songwriter and humanitarian who founded World Hunger Year (WHY) to combat hunger in the United States.

Applicant requirements for this program include:

• Located in the United States
• Community-based
• Total budget for the program that would use the award cannot exceed $500,000
• Non-profit, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status
• Replicable programs
• Organization programs go beyond emergency food, shelter, and other types of assistance.
• Program activities address the root causes of poverty.
• Program outcomes meet organization goals.

The deadline is June 15, 2007. Community-based organizations selected for their innovative and creative approaches to fight hunger and poverty will receive up to $5,000. Link to application.

In Harry’s own words from his song “I Wonder What Would Happen to this World”

Oh if a man tried
To take his time on Earth
And prove before he died
What one man's life could be worth
Well I wonder what would happen
to this world

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In March, the Improve Group took the occasion to send a small care package to our troops serving overseas. The US post office at the Mall of America offered a wonderful opportunity where they supplied a fixed rate mailing box, a list of needed items and they attached the address for a unit serving in Iraq. Our staff had fun gathering a wide variety of goodies to send which included DVD’s, Sodoku books, snacks and small toys for children. We were delighted to get a letter back from US Army Lieutenant Colonel Larry Herke serving with the 1st Brigade 3rd Infantry (Red Bull) Division. Thank you for your kind letter, Colonel.

The Improve Group would like to wish all those enlisted and serving a safe tour of duty and a speedy return home.

Letter from Lt. Col. Herke

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State and Federal requirements to establish and maintain charter schools contain numerous requirements to plan to assess student achievement and report on outcomes. One of the six statutory purposes for charter schools from the Application to Create a Charter School in Minnesota and apply for a Federal Charter Schools Program Planning Grant is directly related to evaluation:

"Require the measurement of learning outcomes and create different and innovative forms of measuring outcomes.” *

Evaluation also plays another major role after a charter has been granted:

“I assure that the school will provide annually to the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Minnesota Department of Education such information as may be required to determine if the charter school is making satisfactory progress toward achieving the funded activities. This includes participation in any federal or state funded charter school evaluations or studies and compliance with all requests for information.
I assure that the school will cooperate with the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Minnesota Department of Education in evaluating the school’s program.”**

The Improve Group has proven experience providing educational planning, evaluation and reporting to charter schools, their sponsors and the Minnesota Department of education. We have worked directly with the charter school system where we supplied assistance that included:

• designing an evaluation plan and all measurement tools
• conducting an in-depth evaluation of a sample of charter schools
• evaluating data for all charter schools and comparing it to similar data for other public schools

We have also produced valid, compelling program reports that meet State and Federal requirements and can be used to start conversations with staff and Board members about school goals and accomplishments. If your organization is applying to form a new charter school or requesting on-going approval and you are interested in forming a relationship with an evaluator, please contact Susan Murphy at susanm@theimprovegroup.com to set up an appointment to discuss how the Improve Group can help.

For more information on the Minnesota Charter school system go to:
http://education.state.mn.us/MDE/Academic_Excellence/School_Choice/Public_School_Choice/Charter_Schools/index.html

*Charter School Application Narrative, Pg. 7, Section III. A.
*Charter School Application, Appendix 4, Assurances Statement, Pg. 20, Program Evaluation section.

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A few years ago, I looked into newspaper clipping services as a way of staying informed about topics of interest to me and my clients. I wanted an easy way to scan multiple sources of information without having to read dozens of newspapers, magazines and journals. However, I found most clipping services at the time to be cumbersome and difficult to use, with paper rather than email-based summaries. They were also fairly expensive for what I hoped to do.

I did find one resource that I liked called the MovingIdeas network. This site had an RSS feed that I could have published on our website. The articles that fed into the RSS had a decidedly progressive slant, although most had very detailed and valuable information about public policy, budget issues, education and health care compiled from a variety of sources. I continue to visit the site, although I no longer subscribe to the feed.

Recently I began using a newer resource, Google Alerts. This service basically performs a Google search at desired intervals (continuously, daily or weekly) and emails the search results. The search can be confined to news, blogs, groups or be comprehensive. I started a weekly search for news related to Safe Schools/Healthy Students (SSHS), as we've worked with a number of SSHS grantees and are anticipating a new SSHS grant to be released shortly. The weekly results are very interesting; today there were stories on a school uniform initiative promoted through an SSHS grant; a story on a recent shigella outbreak (which my son had a few months ago - yuck!); and a story on the limits of legal options around mental health services from the New York Times.

All staff members have also created their own alerts to monitor their areas of interest. It's led to some additional discussion within the office, about topics ranging from the most recent research on childcare to the latest gadgets available for analysis.

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Welcome to TechnoBabble, a new bi-weekly feature on the Inside Groove blog. TechnoBabble will explore the latest innovations and new applications of softwares and electronic technology that are of interest to us at the Improve Group.

This week I want to share a feature in Outlook that we have recently implemented to help us manage our technology resources. Improve Group staff go on a lot of site visits locally, in-State and in other major cities. We have seven laptops that adequately support our staff on these site visits. However, it has been getting difficult to manage the laptops and to know who is planning on taking them out of the office, especially when there are multiple site visits in the same month or week.

To solve this problem, we created user accounts for each laptop on our Windows Small Business Server and shared their Outlook calendars with all staff. After creating each user account, I logged in as each laptop, opened their Outlook and clicked “Share My Calendar.” Then I set up each Improve Group employee with the Author Permission level; this way we can each create “appointments” to reserve any of the laptops. Lastly, each staff member clicked “Open a Shared Calendar” in their own Outlook and chose the laptops’ calendars. Now, it is easy to reserve laptops far in advance or to see how many are available for last-minute needs.

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It is a bit ironic that I came across this opportunity today since I have just returned from attending the funeral of my brother. All week I have been watching my two boys and monitoring how they were doing through what is a very difficult and confusing time for them. They are lucky to have the love and support of many family and friends. Fortunately, there are additional great avenues of help for children going through difficult times and that is the focus of the opportunity I am highlighting today. This one is for the children.

Thie week’s pick: Philadelphia Phillies’ Pitcher Jamie Moyer and his wife Karen founded The Moyer Foundation in 2000 to help children in distress. Inspired by the compassion for others shown by a young cancer patient, Erin Metcalf, and concerned about the grief felt by her family at her passing, the couple established Camp Erin. Camp Erin is a bereavement camp supporting children experiencing loss and letting them know they are not alone. The camp system is currently expanding and by the summer of 2008, ten camps will be up and running around the United States. The plans are to establish a camp in every Major League Baseball city with the the program awarding thirty $100,000 grant commitments over the next three years. Hospice and bereavement organizations that are interested in participating in the program are invited to respond to the Request for Proposals by contacting the foundation.

Camp Erin is free for those who participate, but an application is required. Applying as early as possible is recommended as many camps have waiting lists. Current camp locations are in Arizona, California, Idaho, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington. For registration information go to: http://www.moyerfoundation.org/events/erin_registration.asp#arizona.

Our best to anyone dealing with personal loss.

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One of the things that may have triggered my interest in research and evaluation is my participation in the Youth Development Study. Starting at age 17, as a senior in high school, I began participating in this annual survey of education, work experiences, civic activity, general well-being, and family life. This study continues to this day, and has resulted in four books, 77 academic papers, and numerous dissertations. From the time I first began participating in the study, I was interested in how the questions were worded, why I was selected, and why they wanted to know three people who may be able to find me as I moved. I was also curious about the incentive - starting at $10 in the first years and gradually increasing (I believe I get $25 each year now). Most of all, I have been interested in the results of the study -- which have been much harder to come by. When I was selected for a sub-group of follow-up questions three years ago, I began probing the interviewer about study results and trends. This year, the University of Minnesota's Department of Sociology provided participants with a newsletter. Some highlights:

1. In 17 years, the study has had an attrition rate of about 31%.
2. More than 2/3 of study participants are married or cohabitating
3. 20% of women and 12% of men were not working at ages 30-31 - which is a slight increase from when the cohort as a group was aged 24-25
4. Income for the 30-31 cohort increased significantly from when they were aged 24-25, with household incomes increasing from $19,000 to $55,000.

I continue to be fascinated by this data set, and more than a little interested in what others in my age group are doing. The most recent publication from the data is:

"Career Beginnings American Style: Agency and Floundering in Subjective Perspective." Jeylan T. Mortimer and Laura Fischer. In Inside the Frontiers of Adulthood: How Young Adults Understand and Navigate Their Lives. Research Network on Transitions to Adulthood Qualitative Study Cross-Site Volume, edited by Teresa Toguchi Swartz, Douglas Hartmann, and Ruben Rumbaut. Forthcoming. 3rd Annual Conference on Emerging Adulthood, February 15-16, 2007, Tucson.

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The Improve Group has conducted focus groups for clients from a great variety of disciplines. Focus groups are a good way for researchers to learn about the human experience.

So, the Improve Group calls you to participate in a focus group – what exactly are you getting yourself into?

What is a Focus Group?

A focus group is commonly a meeting of a small, ad hoc group of people led by a facilitator for the purpose of exploring a topic, product or issue. A series of pre-determined questions are presented to stimulate conversation or solicit opinions and reactions from the participants. Groups meet for a designated period of time depending on the complexity of the topic (usually about 1 hour). Sessions are kept on schedule by the facilitator and everyone is given a chance to contribute.

Focus groups have become more sophisticated over the years and more creative methods are being used to gather information. Some methods include participants bringing photographs to discuss, writing in a journal or contributing to an online bulletin board or chat room. If the focus group is for a marketing firm they may offer a product for you to try out or a food to prepare and sample.

What a focus groups isn’t.

Focus groups should not be mysterious. Anyone asking you to be in a focus group should be able to give you a detailed explanation of:

• who is conducting the research;
• what the objectives of the meeting are, and
• how the information you share will be used.

If sensitive information is to be shared you should be given assurances of anonymity and security. Depending upon the nature of the topic a release form could be offered for you to sign.

Focus groups should never be judgmental; everyone’s thoughts and opinions should be heard and respected.

What is the value to you the participant?

A well-run focus group can be enjoyable and fulfilling. Sometimes you are offered an incentive to get involved, like a monetary gift, gift card or donation to a favored program or charity.

Although the incentives are a nice touch you cannot overlook the more personal incentive of being part of a focus group – the satisfaction of having your thoughts and opinions heard and appreciated. If the focus group is on a topic about which you are passionate you get the opportunity to tell others what you think and how you feel. There is real power in getting your ideas and concerns across to a group of peers or a client who is charged with the task of planning a course of action or recommending change.

Should you get the call, we hope you will believe in the importance of your opinions and consider taking part in a focus group.

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To this day my parents live in a house they bought when I was about 2 1/2 years old. It was on the edge of town on old farm land and when we arrived the chicken coop was still up along with an equipment shed and a small orchard. For a good deal of the year we grew most of what we needed right in our back yard. I still love to garden and I hold a deep respect for those who work the land and those who live in the rural communities.

This week’s pick provides funding for improvement in rural communities. Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM), one of the world’s largest agricultural processors, is currently soliciting applications for its 2007 Community Partnership Grants. Their granting mission is to “strengthen agricultural areas of the United States by funding community improvement projects”. Nonprofit, educational or community organizations where ADM operates are eligible. (I counted about 40 states on that list).

The deadline to submit is June 30, 2007. Four grants of up to $10,000 will be awarded. Applications can be found online at:
http://www.admworld.com/pdf/ADMGrantApplication2007.pdf

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