I made it through another semester without having a little breakdown.

This is good.

Kristi Edwards, North-Central Region advancement officer for the Arizona Community Foundation, and the Director of the Yavapai County Community Foundation, was my mentor for my Nonprofit Explorations course. The only mentored course I had this semester. Being a newbie in the NP world, she gave me a great overview of the NP sector in general, so now I have a better foundation–no pun intended–for the other courses in my degree plan. She was a wonderful mentor and I look forward to working with her again in the Fall for my Fundraising course.

I turned in my mentor evals and now I’m waiting for them to be signed. I get a whole month off before the Summer session starts. And, unlike my first two semesters, it’s going to be balls-to-the-wall 3 classes up until graduation in Dec next year.

No more whining about feeling overwhelmed.

I’m just going to have to suck it up and remember to breathe.

This summer, I’ll be taking:

~ Creative Writing II: Revising Your Novel mentored by the wonderful Georgia McBride, founder of YALITCHAT. I’m so looking forward to this class because I’ll be working on revising the first 100 pages of DA Book 2. A novel that I finished a while back, and started to edit, and then…stopped. So, it’ll be nice to revisit that story.

~ Advanced Children’s Lit: an online Moodle course through Prescott College

~ Sustainable Financial Mgmt mentored by Chantal Sheehan, COO of local nonprofit New Global Citizens. I met with her this evening and got a really good vibe from her. I think it’s another good mentor/mentee match. This organization is doing wonderful things with youth, so I’m very much looking forward to gleaning all I can from her.

Can’t wait to get started.

Technorati Tags: Kristi Edwards, Arizona Community Foundation, Yavapai County Community Foundation, Georgia McBride, YALITCHAT, Chantal Sheehan, New Global Citizens

Last year, I had the immense pleasure of being a mentor. From Sept to Dec I was a mentor through Free Arts AZ. For 14 weeks, another girl and I were placed at an all-girls group home. Every Saturday morning, for an hour, we drew, painted, wrote, cut and pasted, made bracelets…whatever. Basically, we played. These girls started to get used to us being there every week and couldn’t believe we were taking the time out of our lives to spend time with them. For free.

It was the best, most life-changing experience of my life.

I’ve been wanting to volunteer for a youth-based organization for a long time, but I was looking for a specific organization. And I found it with Free Arts AZ. They fit with the business I plan to open and I was able to utilize my writing skills there. I still volunteer for them when they have events on the weekends. If you ever get a chance to be a mentor for youth, do it. It will so change your life. I promise.

Currently, as I’ve mentioned numerous times before, I’m attending Prescott College to get my degree in Nonprofit Management. That business I mentioned above? I want to open a nonprofit writing center for teens. Actually, when starting out, it’ll probably just be different writing workshops, and not so much a building to conduct them in. I want to focus on putting these programs into public schools and youth-based nonprofit organizations.

But I digress.

The students who attend Prescott College create their own degree plan and then find mentors within their community—or nationally—to “mentor” the courses. They offer some online courses, but the majority of your degree plan is created by you. I’m actually looking for mentors for my classes right now, so if you’re interested, read all about it here. Since I know nothing about the nonprofit sector, I’m learning from the ground up and I created courses that, I hope, will prepare me for opening my own nonprofit. The Spring semester is almost over and the mentor for my Nonprofit Explorations course, Kristi, has been amazing. She’s also going to be the mentor for my Fundraising course. The difference between this college and other 4 yr colleges is that you’re learning by doing. You’re working side by side with a professional in the field and you’re getting hands-on experience. I think I learn best this way because I’m applying it as I learn it. And I’ll have all this knowledge for later.

The only thing that sucks for an introvert like me is going out and asking complete strangers to be my mentor. There’s a lot of stepping-outside-my-comfort-zone goin’ on, but I’m meeting some great people. And hopefully, I’ll be working with them in the future. On a professional level.

Technorati Tags: Sunday Scribblings

Yes, it’s true.

You can stop laughing now.

I’m a pancake connoisseur and hate pancakes that are so thick they soak up syrup. I love syrup. I love my pancakes drowning in syrup and butter. The best pancakes are the ones where you only have to use the bottle of syrup once. One time. Not multiple times and surely not the whole damn thing in one sitting (for the record, no that’s never happened to me).

The really cool thing about this place, though, is their orange juice squeezer machine…thingy. They advertise freshly squeezed orange juice and you actually have proof that it’s freshly squeezed. The juicer sits right out in the dining room, up against the wall near the kitchen and they use real oranges (y’know, as opposed, concentrate. LOL). They have crates upon crates of fresh oranges sitting right next to it. If the pitchers are running low, you’ll see the servers work the machine right there. It was pretty cool. I’m not a fan of orange juice, but it was pretty cool to see.

We ate at Ron’s Place, our usual place, on Sunday, then went to check out these townhomes. I just wanted to see the area, but the one unit we saw online didn’t include a refrigerator. I’d like a refrigerator already in the place, thankyouverymuch. We’re looking to sell our house and rent a townhouse. Not sure when it’s going to happen, hopefully by the end of the year.

On Sunday, we went to see GREEN ZONE. We liked it. I think Matt Damon makes a great action star. I think I might like to see him a romantic comedy, but he’s doing very well in the action genre and should probably stick to that. I could even see him doing an action/sci-fi flick. If you’re reading this, Matt, there’s a suggestion for ya.

Got some homework done, too. I have two assignments due this week because I’ll be out of town for 4 days next week and I’m not bringing the laptop. I’m attending my job’s annual records mgmt training in Alexandria, VA. Never been there and I’m really looking forward to going. My supervisor and I got on the list to tour the White House and we hope to see Obama at the Medal of Honor Day ceremony on the 25th. Squee! I’ll have pics, I promise.

So, that’s it for me. How was your weekend?

Technorati Tags: Butterfields Pancake House, GREEN ZONE, Matt Damon, White House, Obama, Medal of Honor Day

I was taking three classes, but then dropped the Modern Fiction course at Rio Salado. I guess I wasn’t into is as I thought I’d be. I figure I’ll take up a Creative Writing course at a later date. I’ve also been working on a community project for one of my other courses (which I’ll officially announce on Monday) and that’s overshadowed just about everything. That assignment involved a powwow with my BF and grew into something worth “squeeing” about.

I knocked out one of my New Years Resolutions last month by joining a gym: 24 Hour Fitness. I’m currently taking 2 dance fitness classes a week and let me tell you: that first class was. A. Killer. The 24Dance is on Monday nights at 530, so I basically go there straight from work. It’s all different types of dance—salsa, jive, hip-hop, bellydancing, etc. Seeing as how it was my first time, I didn’t stretch out. And paid for it two days later. By the time the Zumba class rolled around on Thursday evening, I was no longer sore. Of course, that comforting thought ended after an hr in that class. I could barely walk the next few days. Everything hurt and my body was saying things like “Ohmygodohmygodohmygod. Stop. Moving.” But I was sleeping good. Sleeping like the dead. And I had more energy. Now, a month later, I think my body’s gotten used to the high-intensity-heart-pumping classes and I’m no longer sore. Ar least, not as much as I used to be. I think I may be even losing some weight.

In the midst of all this, I tried to join a writing accountability group. “Tried” being the key word because I only did it for 2 weeks. This group was going to help me balance my writing life with my real life. We posted daily goals each week, but by the second week, I was already starting to see a pattern: 1) I would forget was I was supposed to be doing each day and 2) When I was supposed to be concentrating on writing DA3, I would think about something I had to do for school. During this 2 week period, I was feeling a little depressed and was carrying around this…raging anger. I was holding all this in and it was affecting my interactions with my manager at work.

The group itself wasn’t making me feel this, by no means. Part of it, I’m sure, was because of Auntie Flow’s Monthly Visit. The main thing was that I had inserted something new into my life and it wasn’t working. Once again, I was getting overwhelmed. My writing felt forced. I needed to take stock. Even though I was excited and hopeful about being a part of this group, it was just a case of wrong place, wrong time.

I’ve come to realize that until I find a balance with school, I can’t balance anything else. I need to find a groove with school before I can throw writing into the mix. I’m a officially a junior now, in my second semester, taking only two classes. I’ll be taking 3 starting in the summer until I graduate. I may never find a groove. Trying to find a mentor for these classes is a little intimidating and a little time-consuming. It’s something that’s always in the back of my mind, so I can never really relax. I may not be able to fit writing in–comfortably–until I graduate. I don’t want it to come to that, but it’s a possibility. I’m not okay with that, but unfortunately, I know me and my personality… I’m hoping that next year–January maybe?–I may have calmed some and can get back into Draven’s world.

Due to the whole school thing, I’ve also been neglecting my first two books. They’ve been reissued through a new publisher, with new covers, and I have yet to re-introduce them to the public. To help a sistah out, I invested $20-something and change in John Kremer‘s 1001 Ways to Market Your Books. Little by little, I hope to get the word out again about my books.

So…that’s the story. That’s where I’m at right now. You may see more posts, but don’t hold your breath. LOL. I like participating in the Sunday Scribbling and YA Highway’s Road Trip Wednesday. Maybe I’ll get back into the Weekend Wrap-Ups, too.

Technorati Tags: 24 Hour Fitness, John Kremer, 1001 Ways to Market Your Books

The first two classes don’t start until the 15th, but it still applies. I officially start school this week.

Blogging may be on a minimum.

As is visiting/commenting on the other blogs I try to read on the regular. Although, I may have to sneak over to Crystal’s blog because I have a feeling she’s going back to her weekly TV show updates. We’re both big fans of CHUCK and he’s back in a kick-ass way. Woot!

So, is anyone else back in school?

Technorati Tags: Liberal Arts Seminar, Community and Social Change, Modern Fiction, Rio Salado, Prescott College, CHUCK

Week: 1 & 2
Topic: Creating an NPO
Readings: Starting a 501c(3), IRS and Arizona Corporation Commission websites for more info
Deliverables: Write an action plan for the mechanics of getting incorporated and filing for a 501c(3)

Week: 3
Topic: Mission Statement, Vision Statement & Values
Readings: A Case Study of Prescott Nonprofits and The Board Development Kit
Deliverables: Write a mission statement, vision statement and values statement. Identify why there is a need for your NPO and who are the clients.

Week: 4 & 5
Topic: Case Statement
Readings: Planning Your Case Statement
Deliverables: Write a case statement for your NPO – at least 2 pages

Week: 6 & 7
Topic: Selecting Trustees, Executive Director & Staff
Readings: Managing a Nonprofit, Ten Basic Responsibilities of Nonprofit Boards, Chief Executives Role in Developing the Nonprofit Board, and 10 Ideas for Recruiting New Leaders
Deliverables: Create a board of directors for your NPO and identify their roles and why they were selected for the board. Write job descriptions for the ED and staff.

Week: 8
Topic: Volunteer Coordination
Readings: Volunteers: How to Find Them and How to Keep Them
Deliverables: Compare and contrast good volunteers vs bad volunteers. What is a strategy to “fire” a bad volunteer?

Week: 9
Topic: Social Entreprenuership
Readings: TBD
Deliverables: TBD

Week: 10
Topic: Fundraising
Readings: Designing A Comprehensive Fundraising Program
Deliverables: Write an action plan for a special event or write a solicitation letter for donor funding

Week: 11
Topic: Risks
Readings: The Nonprofit Board’s Role in Risk Management: More than Buying Insurance
Deliverables: TBD

Week: 12
Topic: Marketing and PR
Readings: Book of your choice
Deliverables: Write a marketing action plan for your NPO

Week: 13
Topic: Evaluation of Board and Staff
Readings: Evaluation of the Nonprofit Board and Models for Board Evaluation
Deliverables: Write an evaluation form for board members. Write an evaluation form for staff.

Week: 14
Topic: Strategic Planning – Overview
Readings: Strategic Planning and the Nonprofit Board, The Board’s role in Strategic Planning, and Planning Successful Board retreats: A Guide for Board members and Chief Executives
Deliverables: Write a paper describing your key learnings from these three booklets.

Week: 15
Topic: Wrap-up—Putting It All Together
Deliverables: Verbal Debrief

Considerations: The mentor is required to spend 1.5 hours weekly with student-although this can be altered in terms of when face time is.
1. Weekly phone calls
2. Monthly meetings of 4 hrs
3. Combination

She also gave me a book to keep for the rest of the semester: Managing A NonProfit Organization: Staffing, Fund Raising, Choosing Trustees, Financing, Marketing, Computerizing, Planning, Succeeding by Thomas Wolf.

There are still a couple of gaps to fill in the syllabus–and I need to get clarification on the length of the papers that I have to write–but that’s why it’s called a draft. I think I’m going to like Miss K as my mentor. She made it clear that this was just a draft, and she kept asking me if there was anything I could think of that should be added. She also made the point of saying that this should be fun. If I’m finding that it’s not, then I should rethink my degree. Which makes sense, and I like the fact that she mentioned it. Some of the topics we’ll be covering are actual courses in my competence, but we’ll just be skimming the surface. I think I was afraid that I would learn too much on these topics and have nothing for the actual courses. But as the course states, it’s just going to be an overview.

It should be fun, but it will be challenging, too. The Spring Semester doesn’t start until Jan 15th and I already feel like I’m going to jump ahead again like I did during first semester. I’ll be taking three classes each semester until I graduate, so I’m really going to have to take it week by week and not get overwhelmed. It would be so easy for me to do.

Technorati Tags: Thomas Wolf