Senior Project Reflection

1. Positive Statement- I am most proud of the fact that I was able to make time with relative ease and that my activity turned out pretty much how I planned. 
2. Questions To Consider
1. P
2. P
3. What worked for me in my senior project was that I was able to complete all tasks and learn how to conduct extensive amounts of research and manage a nine month long project. 
4. If I had a time machine, I'd go back and pick a different topic, such as skateboarding. Most likely skateboarding. It would have made my senior year much more enjoyable. I didn't realize this until it was to late and I was already well into researching nonprofit organizations. 
5. The senior project has helped me realize that I am not cut out for office work. I realized this after a long mentor ship of mainly office work. Furthermore, it has also taught me the importance of thoroughly researching a topic. 

Mentorship

Literal
Contact name: Carlos Carrillo
Mentorship place: Uncommon Good
Mentorship Log

Interpretive 
The most important thing that I've gained from this experience is the fact that I now have a good idea of what it takes to work in an office setting as well as an altruistic setting. I've realized that although I do like nonprofit work, I don't want to do nonprofit work in an office. I'm just not cut out to do that. I am greatly thankful for this experience because I can now narrow down my career choices. 

Applied
In my time spent volunteering with Uncommon Good, I had the opportunity of observing and talking to the staff. After talking with Nancy Mintie and Rebecca Gifford (both of whom I ended up interviewing), I was able to conclude that my best answer was solid and well chosen. They reaffirmed my answer as well as helped me by recommending sources (such as the Stanford Social Innovative Review).

April Blog post

Nothing too fun this month. I do have to say that I am very glad to be done with independent component two. And to be honest, I'm getting pretty sick of senior project. Just like everyone else, I'd imagine.

The garden which I integrated into my component two is coming along beautifully. I'd take a picture of it but it's dark outside.

The junior interview which took place today was pretty interesting. I'm glad that I was able to give some advice, and the juniors which I spoke to seemed somewhat interested in what I had to say.

Seriously, this is all I can think of right now. Peace.

Exit Interview

1. My essential question is "What is the best way for an educational nonprofit organization to raise funds for resources to encourage underprivileged students attend college?"
1. My best answer is "The best way for an educational nonprofit organization to raise funds for resources to encourage underprivileged students attend college is by changing their ineffective business structure." This is my best answer because it addresses all that is wrong with the nonprofit sector and presents ideas on how to fix the root problems.
2. It was a long process. My research is what finally led me to this answer. Interview three was the most important because my interviewee affirmed all my ideas and research.
3. The main problem I faced was not being able to find enough research. I got around this by imputing better and more specific search queries as well as asking my interviewee for sources, which she gave me.
4. My two most significant sources are as follows
1. Nancy Mintie: She was my third interviewee and helped me find more research as well as letting me know that I was on the right track with my project.
2.  "In Search of the Hybrid Ideal" published by the Stanford Social Innovative Review. This source offers many different alternatives to the ineffective nonprofit business structure. 

Independent Component 2

I, Eustacio Rodriguez affirm that I have completed my independent component two which represented 30 hours of work. 


LITERAL
The source which really helped me complete my independent component was Rebecca Gifford, whom I had the pleasure of interviewing for my 4th interview. She was able to affirm all of the research I've done up to this point in time, and I've enjoyed conversing with her not only in a formal setting.

Here you will find my independent component two log in which I have recorded the activities I performed during every volunteer session.

For my independent component two, I decided to dip into my mentorship hours (which are gathered by volunteering at the Uncommon Good office) and use those to fulfill the 30 hours required. In those 30 hours, I've been able to learn some important things about public image, connections, patience, and progressive techniques.

INTERPRETATIVE
For the most part, my time spent volunteering at Uncommon Good has been consumed by a variety of office tasks. The most prominent involves calling, emailing, and mailing students which are part of the program and reminding them about upcoming meetings. This entailed drafting documents to send, cross referencing contact information, working with spreadsheets, etc.. Sometimes, I got the opportunity to help some of the staff members with whatever it was they were doing that day: things like sorting through emails and responding to the appropriate ones, setting up for meetings, going to the post office to drop off documents, etc.. From this section of my volunteer experience, I was able to take away that internal order must be maintained at all times. This in mind, I think of my peers and I, and fear for our success, seeing as how many of us are pretty scatter-brained and disorganized.

Nancy Dufford (left) and Shelly Randles (right)
Staff members

Carlos Carrillo
My mentor

Apart from office work, I had two opportunities to partake in things other than sorting through papers. The first was the "farm program" which I will talk more about later, but basically, Uncommon Good has planted a vegetable garden in my front yard. I helped prepare the land for the planting. The following pictures show what it looks like now (after about a month and a half).

A view of the garden from my roof.

Another view of the garden.

The other activity which I took part in was Uncommon Good's trip to LA for the celebration of "El Dia Del Nino." Because most of the families who are involved are Latinos or of Latino descent, it was decided that this would be an appropriate trip to take. We took a bus to Olvera Street and stopped at La Plaza de Culturas y Artes, where we toured a little museum which was dedicated to Mexican American culture. I feel like this was a very good way for Uncommon Good to promote community and closeness.

Some traditional hats used by Mexican American
field workers back in the day. 

A very old record player

APPLIED 
My essential question is: "What is the best way for an educational nonprofit organization to raise funds for resources to encourage underprivileged students attend college?"
This individual component has greatly helped me solidify some of my answers which include: progressive business practices, and good public image.

One thing I was able to observe was that Uncommon Good does a very good job of keeping up a healthy and attractive public image. First of all, Uncommon Good's founder (Nancy Mintie, who I interviewed a while back) is also founder of the Inner City Law Center created in 1980. She comes from a successful altruistic background. This appeals to the public because it is easier to trust someone who is experienced than someone who isn't. Furthermore, apart from Uncommon Good's mission to help underprivileged students, they are also a green organization. Their newly constructed whole earth office building is among the most eco-friendly designs out there. It adds substance to Uncommon Good's we-will-make-a-change image has attracted the attention of many potential donors/grant writers.

Uncommon Good is also making an effort to move in the direction of progression by creating a farming program which earns them a small amount of revenue (instead of just writing grant proposals and hoping for the best). What is especially resolute about this program is that it combines environmental awareness, social awareness, health awareness, and all while making a profit. Through the farming program, families of the students who are in the Uncommon Good program which would like to participate are able to sign up, and if they are eligible, hired workers will be given the go ahead to plant a serious vegetable garden on the family's property. The vegetables are grown organic without the use of pesticides or genetic modifications. At the end of their season, the vegetables are cultivated and then sold at a farmers market. The profits go towards Uncommon Good, who puts the profits back into the community). The vegetable comes at no cost to the family, and the family also gets a portion of the vegetables. All this encourages healthy eating, community awareness, sustainability, and independence. And Uncommon Good gets a bit of a profit. The goal is to establish a network of these vegetable gardens and expand in order to make more profit and have the community eating healthier and locally.

In all, independent component number two has greatly helped me move forward in my topic by providing me with real world examples of some of the techniques which I've been researching. It's reassuring to actually be in the middle of something and not just stick to reading about it.

March Blog Post

This month has been pretty uneventful. Unfortunately, my mentor has been out of the office due to some personal stuff and therefore I haven't been able to go in too often.

On another note, my research is going pretty well. I've been able to formulate several answers which I feel are fundamental. For now, my best answer remains "The best way for an educational non-profit organization to raise funds for resources to encourage underprivileged teenagers attend college is by adopting a different business model." The non-profit business model is flawed in many ways. For example, by law, a humanitarian non profit isn't allowed to make any profit, and therefore, there isn't much money to sponsor it's activities, rendering it virtually ineffective. The way that most non-profits acquire capital is by practically begging for money from funders (usually right wing foundations). They never get enough money out of them, and have to keep coming back for more. Basically, the problem with non-profits today is that most use business plans that make them unable to sustain themselves in an economic sense. I'd also like to say that I feel that the essential question format is too restrictive in some cases. Yes it's good that a question be specific, but the way that essential questions are supposed to be structured makes some of these projects way too specific, making it difficult to find research as hindering the ability to explore closely related (and relevant) topics of interest.

Third Answer

EQ: What is the best way for an educational non-profit organization to raise funds for resources to help underprivileged students attend college?

The best way for an educational non-profit organization to raise funds for resources to help underprivileged students attend college is by expanding their overhead budget.

• Most non-profit organizations skimp out on their overhead expenditures.
• With less money to spend overhead, non-profits aren't able to afford the services and items they might need to keep the organization running fluidly. 
• A larger overhead budget means that employees are better payed, resulting in better services provided and increased productivity.
• A better payed employee is always a harder working employee.
• Larger overhead spending means that non-profits are less prone to under-report their spending.
• Under-reporting leads to funders providing NPO's with less money to spend overhead, therefore putting more burden on NPO's. They must work harder with less money to make up the deficit. 

Non-profits have to increase their overhead spending in order to revitalize themselves with trained and able staff, adequate services, and better programs.