Tools for Getting Started on Your Project

Today we’ll cover…Tools and activities that can help you:

Think about what you are doing and why Plan ahead – create structure, make a

road map, increase likelihood of success Get multiple people on the same page Translate planning into action Be effective with time management

The SuperVAD is an important tool!

Some context: who, what, when, why Ways your SuperVAD can be useful Limits of the SuperVAD

Visioning: What do we want success to look like? What is your host site’s goal for this

project? If everything goes well, how will this

project impact the community/individuals served?

Personally, what are your highest hopes and dreams for your work on this project?

One strategy for planning Start with your goal and work

backwards. What will it take to get there?

Logic models

A simple logic modelInputs Activities Outputs Outcomes

• Money• Staff (time,

skills)• Volunteers

(time, skills)

• Curriculum• Books and

materials• Classroom

space

• Weekly parent/ child activities

• Literacy activities in OST program 3 times a week

• 1-1 tutoring• College

visits

• 15 children ages 3-5 participated in parent-child activities

• 50 children matched with a tutor

• Students taken on 5 college visits

• 81% of children who participated in at least 5 parent/child activities demonstrated increased school readiness skills

• 65% of children who participated in our afterschool program demonstrated increased test scores

Beyond input, activities, outputs and outcomes…. Community impact

(Theory of change)

Homework Find out – does your program already

have a logic model (or something similar?)

If not, it could be a helpful to create one. Check with your supervisor.

Where does VISTA capacity-building fit in? Improving and/or increasing

the inputs

And depending on the project, Helping shape the activities

Helping to determine appropriate outputs and outcomes

Inputs

• Money• Staff (time,

skills)• Volunteers

(time, skills)

• Curriculum• Books and

materials• Classroom

space

A helpful exercise Back it up a step and create another

logic model for your VISTA project and make connections to how it feeds into the program logic model

VISTA project logic modelInputs Activities Outputs Outcomes

• VISTA member

• Site supervisor & other staff

• Green Book• Resources

from: MLC, VISTA cohort, host site, community

CAPACITY BUILDING!!• Build community

partnerships• Create a

volunteer manual• Write volunteer

position descriptions

• Create training modules

• Develop curriculum

• Create marketing materials and an outreach plan

• Create a development calendar with grant deadlines

• Develop a new database for tracking

• Number of community partnerships established

• Number of volunteers recruited

• Number of staff and volunteers trained

• Amount of money leveraged

• Increase in volunteer engagement or retention

• Increase in funding

• Increase in number of people served

• Increase in services offered

• Increased efficiency

• Increased effectiveness of programs

Taking action

Getting organized Set goals! Break projects up into manageable

tasks and write them down. Prioritize. Give yourself deadlines. Review your goals and tasks regularly.

To-do lists Tips & tricks for time management and

prioritizing with to-do lists? Get the most out of your to-do list:

If you can do it in two minutes or less, don’t write it on the to-do list. Do it and move on.

All things being equal, do the hardest, least fun thing first to get it over with.

Cut big jobs into small chunks (more on this later!)

Update your list regularly; checking things off feels great!

Time management Email

Flag for follow-up Color-code similar items Create inbox folders for sorting Disabling features for better

focus Rule of thumb: keep up with

emails so you never have to scroll down to see them.

Calendar Use it! Set deadlines Reminder function Accessible on any device Or… use a planner/paper

calendar. PassionPlanner.com

Time Management, Cont. Apps & websites

Myhours.com Toggl.com Manictime.com Todoist.com Rememberthemilk.com myMemorizer.com

Other suggestions?

SMART goals Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant Time-bound

SMART goals Bad example: “I want to get more

exercise.”

Better: “I will walk for 30 minutes, 3 times a week for the next 3 months.”

Action planning1. Identify a specific project (better yet –

write a SMART goal)2. List out all of the tasks you will need to

complete (action steps).3. Identify what resources you will need

to accomplish each action step and what key people are involved. *Should some tasks be delegated to others?

Action planning4. Identify any potential challenges.5. Assign each action step a deadline.6. Prioritize. Which tasks are essential,

and which would be good if there’s extra time?

7. Track results. How will you know if you’re successful?

Me – We - You1. Identify goal2. List action steps3. Identify resources4. Identify

challenges5. Assign deadlines6. Prioritize7. Track results

Try it out!• Get in a small

group• Pick a goal• Work together to

fill out your action steps, resources, challenges, timeline, priority, and marker of success on the worksheet

Questions?Ellen Bergstrom eberstrom@mnliteracy.orgAmy Krillakrill@mnliteracy.org