Iowa Mentoring Partnership

The Iowa Mentoring Partnership (IMP) is a collaborative program of Volunteer Iowa and serves as the certifying body for quality local youth mentoring programs. Youth mentoring programs are offered training opportunities, advocacy initiatives, and statewide marketing and media campaigns. IMP also works to build collaborative relationships between go... vernment, private, and public agencies in support of these local mentoring programs which are essential for strengthening families, communities, and the state of Iowa. Role of a State Mentoring Partnership: Mentoring Partnerships are non-partisan, public-private organizations that galvanize local or statewide mentoring movements, providing the leadership and infrastructure necessary to support the expansion of quality mentoring relationships. Mentoring partnerships serve a unique role as a clearinghouse for training, resources, awareness, and advocacy, providing the critical link between MENTOR's national efforts and local organizations and programs that foster and support quality mentoring relationships. Mentoring Partnerships are focused on the following key priorities: Advance the quality of the local mentoring field by building relationships with new and existing mentoring programs and provide capacity building trainings and technical assistance grounded in evidence-based approaches. Engage with a wide variety of public and private stakeholders to increase both the number of volunteer mentors as well as resources for the local mentoring field. Collect data on a regular basis to describe the impact of mentoring in the broader community and identify gaps in the range of services needed. Expand public and private support and investment in mentoring through public awareness and advocacy efforts that foster communities and prioritize quality youth mentoring. Mentoring partnerships have developed solid, field-tested solutions to some of the mentoring movement's greatest challenges.Read More