We are excited to announce that we will be awarding FIVE mini grants worth $100 each to ILA members interested in attending the IAACE conference on April 25th to the 27th in French Lick.  The mini-grants will be awarded based on the completion of the short application located at the bottom of the page.

Eligibility requirements and additional details are as follows:

• You must be an ILA member
• You must attend the ILA meeting held at the IAACE conference (meeting date and time TBD)
• Reimbursements will be given out on April 27th, at the end of the conference
• Deadline to apply is Wednesday, February 28

The ILA Board of Directors is working hard to make sure there are many presentations that ILA members will find valuable.  We currently have ILA members presenting on how to make literacy "cool", a poverty overview discussing how poverty impacts our students, how to decode skills for beginning readers, writing courses, interactive panels to discuss fundraising and volunteer/student recruitment and retention. and more. 

We realize how very difficult it is for literacy programs to find the funds to attend professional development opportunities and we know how important these opportunities are for our shared purpose of advancing adult literacy.  Please take advantage of this opportunity and join us in April at the IAACE conference!

Click here to visit the IAACE Conference page.

Download the application here (to apply electronically click the button below).

  

By Amber Harris, guest blogger

​When it comes to literacy, it might seem to the casual observer that the United States as a whole is doing well, especially for people living in urban areas. The numbers, however, tell a different story: a story of a literacy crisis, even in big cities. New York City is home to 6.4 million working age adults, but 2.2 million of these adults do not have a high school diploma or English proficiency, reducing their ability to make a living wage and lead a fulfilling life in the United States. 50% of adults who do not have a high school diploma read at below a basic level, and 44 million American parents are not able to read their children a story.
Funding has been cut from many literacy programs, leaving millions of people in need without any means to improve their literacy. So how do we address this crisis? By getting innovative. Here are just a few ways to gain funding for literacy programs that may require a little creativity, but can help those struggling find new hope.

1. Crowdfunding
Just because public funding may be disappearing from many literacy programs, that doesn’t mean that citizens can’t direct their dollars toward literacy using digital crowdfunding. Though most commonly used to sell a product for profit, it can also be used for social programs like literacy efforts. In fact, about 10.7 million was raised for civic projects between 2010 and 2013. One example of this in action is the Alpha-Mania Storybooks crowdfunding campaign, which was created to fund both printed books and e-books for early childhood literacy skills. Supporters received copies of the books, and the intent was to eventually distribute materials digitally at a low cost, allowing more children and educators to benefit.

2. Sponsorship
Many corporations are now beginning to add sponsorships for social programs into their business plans, and tend to support programs that their leaders feel strongly about, or issues that have close ties with the company’s mission. Barnes & Noble is one company that funds nonprofits promoting literacy, but there are other sponsorship opportunities available that can provide much-needed funding.

3. Grants
Money from grants has always been in high demand, but that doesn’t mean grants are not worth pursuing. The Department of Education offers millions in specialized grants, including funding for “Innovative Approaches to Literacy”, while many private organizations offer smaller grants and contests to help fund educational programs.   

4. Digital Solutions   
Struggling with a rampant literacy issue, Philadelphia met all the challenges head on—by harnessing the power of technology. Investing in digital solutions, the city government used data that detailed what was and wasn’t working to create a free, interactive learning system for adult literacy. In-person classes and small groups coached by volunteers resulted in over 3,000 adults completing their basic literacy training or earning their GEDs in 2015. It’s the creativity and hard work of many that leads to successful literacy programs like Philadelphia’s—and these programs show that innovation can make a big difference.

By Laura Priebe, Literacy Administrator, Hoosier Hills Literacy League 

How do you recognize your volunteers?  Some organizations have a volunteer appreciation dinner, others give gifts, but if your budget is limited, here’s an option for your organization that requires just the cost of nice paper and color printing. 
 
The idea came from a session that I attended at the ProLiteracy Conference in Minneapolis.  The title caught my eye – “More than a Gift Card – Low and No Cost Ways to Recognize Volunteers.”  Minnesota has a huge volunteer literacy organization, as their state funding mandates that a certain percentage of the literacy work is done by volunteers.  As a result, their state literacy organization is very plugged into the local community organizations.  The idea is simple, a customizable recognition certificate issued by the state literacy organization.  Local organizations can use it as they please.  One volunteer may be the best event planner you can dream of.  Another might put in hours in the office.  Another might be a dedicated tutor.  All of these people help make your organization run smoothly, and without them, you would be lost.
 
Because the Indiana Literacy Association recognizes that the work of ADVANCING INDIANA THROUGH LITERACY is done at a grassroots level, we want to help you recognize those who are helping you do the work. ILA has created the attached certificate (below).  If you use Microsoft Publisher, you can easily customize it to recognize as many of your volunteers as you wish.  We’d love it if you found something to celebrate in ALL of your volunteers.  If you don’t have Publisher, use Photoshop, or just a nice pen.  Celebrate those volunteers, and let the ILA help you!
​

​This month we're asking YOU to share! September is a huge month for literacy. Last week was International Literacy Day and just around the corner is Adult Education and Family Literacy (AEFL) Week. The National Coaltion for Literacy (NCL) created this week to raise awareness about the need and value of adult education and family literacy.  We hope that you will make the most of this opportunity and set aside some time to plan how your organization will recognize AEFL Week. The NCL and Pro Literacy have created many excellent resources to help you promote the importance of literacy. Here are a few links to get you started:

• Print, hang up and distribute the AEFL Week fact sheet linking adult low literacy to income inequality and parenting.
• Pro Literacy has put together a great toolkit to assist you in promoting your program and adult literacy in your community. It contains facts about AEFL Week and adult literacy, many activities to help you plan events in your community and schools and/or with elected officials, sample letters, proclamations, news releases, tips and much more!
•  Sample social media messages for you to use/adopt.

If you have questions or need additional information or assistance please let us know!

All current ILA members are invited to the 2017 ILA Annual Meeting. Your attendance will be highly appreciated. The meeting will be held online via a GoTo Meeting on Friday, September 29th at 1:30pm EST

Please RSVP to inlitassoc@gmail.com at your earliest convenience. The GoTo Meeting link will be sent out a week before the meeting.

Among the topics we will be discussing is amending four of our bylaws which have been emailed to all members. 

We will be sending an agenda prior to the meeting, which will also be available via our website.

If you are interested in becoming a member please visit our Membership/Contact page.

​Last month we asked you for ideas and suggestions on how you find and recruit new volunteers. Here are some of the suggestions we received. Please continue to let us know how you are doing in your efforts to recruit volunteers!

• My program recruits volunteers by using a comprehensive approach. We speak to as many groups as possible to educate the community about the problem of low literacy adults and how our volunteer tutors change their lives. It is always good if you can have a newspaper story or two as well. In our experience, people seldom volunteer after immediately hearing or reading about us but it plants a seed that pays off in the future.
  
  Next, we have an open house inviting the public to further explain tutoring and we show them our facility and resources. We don't make a direct ask at this event but invite them to contact us if they want to become involved. We try to keep this low pressure to ensure that the volunteers really are ready to make a commitment to our program and students.
  
  Finally, we use social media for specific asks for specific students occasionally. We might say, "Jake needs help to increase his reading ability. He has his own lawn mowing business but needs help with vocabulary and comprehension. If you want to be the one to help Jake call our office today." We don't do this very often but it has been successful. You just need a social media strategy that builds your audience and keeps them engaged so your message reaches their news-feed.
  
  
• Our book sale provides volunteer opportunities for those who want to help but cannot make that commitment. It also allows younger people to volunteer for a two-hour shift selling books for us in the mall. It exposes us to many potential volunteers and students for the weekend we are at the mall.
  
  
• "Find a local employer who has a vested interest in your community and seek them out. " Many businesses encourage their employees to volunteer in their community. Reach out to local businesses to find out if they have employees that would be interested in volunteering as tutors or at your special events.
  
  
• READ LaPorte County, Inc. recently held a tutor roundtable to discuss tips, joys, and stories about tutoring. They provided refreshments and free books for tutors of adults. 
  
  
• VolunteerMatch.org is a valuable resource that can help you find volunteers in your area. The site offers a variety of tools and services to help you recruit new volunteers and manage volunteers and prospects. You'll also find webinars, training videos, and a variety of books and resources.
  
  
• Contact local retired teacher organizations, local universities and local churches. Sometimes, churches will refer parishioners who are retired teachers to volunteering opportunities in the community.
  
  

Lastly, here are several Creative Suggestions on How to Recruit Volunteers:
1. Donate adult books with a bookplate/inscription for the literacy program/volunteer, to the public library.
2. Place upcoming tutor trainings in the events column of your local newspapers.
3. Put up a display at the local farmers market.
4. Have “a general interest workshop” (i.e. birdhouse building) and recruit volunteers from among the participants.
5. Set up an information table at the mall.
6. Enlist the support of the mayor and council members.
7. Place a ‘Thank You” advertisement in the local newspaper’s volunteer section.
8. Rent a portable sign and have it placed on a major intersection.
9. Advertise in the newsletters of local retirement communities.
10. Place help wanted ads at the local community college.
11. Participate in college job fairs.
12. Blend traditional face-to-face workshops with online opportunities so that ongoing training is available to volunteers without overtaxing staff.
13. Distribute flyers at major bookstores.
14. Design a special tutor recruitment insert to be added to the city water bills one month.
15. Advertise in your city’s community calendar e-mails.
16. Partner with a 4-H group to provide literacy information and training to its members or with older Girl Scouts.
Sources: Florida Literacy Coalition, Community Literacy of Ontario, The ABCs of Volunteer Recruitment, ProLiteracy, Reducing Waiting Lists.

Our original blog post "How Do You Recruit Volunteers" also contains valuable suggestions on recruiting literacy volunteers. Re-read it here, and as always, feel free to contact us with comments. 

​As all adult literacy programs know, volunteers are the lifeblood to our programs. We use volunteers to tutor students, to assist in the office, to serve on boards, etc. But the challenge is always the same: where do we find more volunteers? This month we would love to hear some of the things that you do to find and recruit new volunteers. Here are a couple of examples to get you started.

• Social media. Though the usage of social media by literacy programs is improving, there are still more opportunities to improve usage of the media. It is imperative that programs keep an active presence - whether it is Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Sharing of stories, or opportunities available, and of program status updates will keep people interested in the program, and will get them involved.
• Current volunteers. There is no better resource for volunteers than by your current group telling their friends about their experiences and encouraging them to volunteer. Keep your volunteers involved, keep them active, and keep in touch with them. A good experience will lead to them telling others about the program. (And, don't be afraid to ask them to share their experience with others!)
• Get your name out. All too often, literacy programs serve their communities in relative obscurity. More needs to be done to keep programs in the public eye. This means not only using social media, but creating contacts with local print and broadcast media. This means having a presence at local fairs, festivals, and community events. There are also opportunities for your current volunteers to share their stories, and share their reasons for volunteering. People can't volunteer for programs they don't know about, so you need to get your name out.

These are just a few ideas we should all keep in mind, but we would love to learn more about what you do! We will follow up with your ideas and feedback next month!

We asked a few of our members to provide us with a comment or two about why they are members of the ILA. Here's what they had to say:

Bob Stephenson, The Literacy Coalition of Howard County and ILA President:
I joined ILA for the networking opportunities. In the 18 years I have been at the Literacy Coalition so many great people have mentored me and I love the opportunities to share ideas and experiences. My ILA membership gives me that opportunity and has helped me keep my program viable through good and bad times.

Dan Helms, Board Member:
I believe in the mission of literacy organizations, and in the need for the statewide leadership and coordination of adult literacy activities provided by the ILA.

Pat Griffin, Interlocal Association and ILA Board Member:
I was encouraged to join by Tom Miller who thought it would be good to expand membership to workforce development board staff to add a new perspective.  I now have a better understanding of literacy programs and their significance in preparing people in getting jobs as well as higher educational attainment.  I have met many compassionate instructors and directors, realizing the commonality of our professions.

Laura Priebe, Hoosier Hills Literacy League and ILA member:
Joining a state professional organization makes sense for a lot of reasons! As the sole employee of a small non-profit, I often feel like a one-woman show!  Connecting with my colleagues across the state helps me exchange ideas and keeps my practice fresh. It’s great to compare notes on what works in different areas, and get ideas and encouragement to try new strategies. Besides the practical exchange of ideas, ILA membership reminds me that I am part of a team.

Cynthia (Cindy) Cates, Kosciusko Literacy Services and ILA member:
Kosciusko Literacy Services was a member of the Indiana Literacy Foundation. Before it was dissolved, I attended the conference and was impressed by the training session. KLS joined ILA to share best practices. Since each adult and family literacy agency is managed differently in the 92 counties, ILA remains a clearinghouse to share ideas, problems, and solutions.

Dawn Schmidt, Huntington County Literacy Coalition and ILA member:
ILA membership is valuable to us for all the networking that it can provide. Although we are a small literacy program it is good to be a part of a community of like minds, with shared goals and concerns. It is a good resource group.

Become an ILA Member today!
Our goal is to be THE voice for literacy programs and students in the State of Indiana. We strive to be the place that helps tell the stories, make the connections, offer the assistance that will allow our member organizations to grow and succeed. Your support will allow us to achieve these goals.

Individual/Literacy Organizations: $45

Visit our membership page to sign up or renew!