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E-mentoring Clearinghouse

E-Mentoring is a mentoring relationship conducted via the Internet. E-mail can be the exclusive vehicle for young people and mentors to connect or it can be an additional communication tool for those who ordinarily meet in person. Either way, e-mentoring shares the goal of face-to-face mentoring: establishing a trusting, nurturing, positive relationship between the mentor and a young person.

The use of technology is what sets e-mentoring a part from traditional mentoring and organizations that are developing an e-mentoring program need to think about what safeguards they will have in place to protect everyone involved, and ensure participants' safety and privacy.

Organizing and administering a responsible e-mentoring program requires no less effort than conducting a traditional program. When setting up your e-mentoring program you still need to incorporate the Elements of Effective Practice.

Resources, training and ongoing support of participants is vital to any mentoring initiative’s success. To support the e-mentoring organization in these efforts, the Clearinghouse provides resources and online training for both e-mentors and e-mentees. Organizations can use the trainings and link to them via your Web site.

E-Mentee Training – Online training developed for mentees on the basics of mentoring. Topics include: mentee responsibilities, how to form great relationships, activity ideas for match meetings and how to end the relationship, when the time comes. Also includes quizzes to try out your new skills at the conclusion of the training.

E-Mentor Training – Online training developed for mentors on the basics of mentoring. Topics range from "What is Mentoring" to "Your Role as Mentor", "The Lifecycle of a Mentoring Relationship" as well as "How to End Your Relationship". Also includes a downloadable "Learn to E-Mentor Workbook (326k) which includes exercises, and tools that you can use personally and share with your mentee. In addition, a series of quizzes are available to try out your new skills at the conclusion of the training.

Starting an Ementoring Program - Organizing and administering a responsible e-mentoring program requires no less effort than conducting a traditional mentoring program. Just as with face-to-face mentoring programs, an online program needs to have safeguards in place to protect everyone involved and ensure participants' safety and privacy.

Limiting Risk in Your Ementoring Program - One of the key elements within an e-mentoring program is ensuring the safety and privacy of its participants. Just as with face-to-face mentoring programs, e-mentoring programs need to have safeguards in place to protect everyone involved.

Monitoring Ementoring Programs - There are several things to consider when developing your e-mentoring program: how are you going to manage, monitor and evaluate what is happening in your program? With e-mentoring you should incorporate several different ways to monitor how your program is going.

Orientation for Program Youth - It is important to provide an orientation session for the mentors, young people and parents/guardians who are thinking about participating in your e-mentoring program. This gives them the opportunity to learn more about your program so they can make a more informed decision about getting involved.

Recruiting for Your Program - Mentor and mentee recruitment is key to the success and growth of any mentoring program. The ability to find a steady, reliable source of mentors and mentees to participate in your program is an ongoing process. This section includes information about the strategies, criteria, selection process, and suggested locations for recruiting mentors and mentees.

Ementoring Technologies - The use of Internet technology to facilitate the development of a mentoring relationship between an adult and a young person is what makes e-mentoring different from face-to-face mentoring.

The Importance of the Coordinator - An e-mentoring program is as strong as its coordinators. To ensure a smooth start-up, assign management tasks beforehand and select people with the skills needed to do a good job.

Partnering for Success - If you are unable to recruit mentors or youth participants from within your organization, it is best to partner with existing groups rather than recruiting from the community at large. You may want to consider partnering with an existing mentoring program or with a local company, civic organization or youth-serving organization to implement an e-mentoring initiative of your own.

Finding Resources for Your Program - The size and scope of your e-mentoring initiative will hinge on the amount of resources you can devote to the program. Therefore, you need to conduct a thorough evaluation of all your organization's resources.

We encourge you to use the information in this web site to help you in establishing your e-mentoring program. If you have any questions about MENTOR e-mentoring resources, please contact Christian Rummell, Director, Mentoring Support Services.