Creating an Open Mentorship Initiative

Creating an Open Mentorship Initiative#

Anna e só, , Ana Ruvalcaba, Ariane Djeupang, David Chapuis, Deborah Udoh, Harmony Elendu, Ijeoma Onwuka, Julius Boakye, Kweyakie A. Blebo, Omotola Omotayo, Sage Sharp, Yani Bellini, Yashasvi Misra

Participants#

In-person track#

Anna e só (project lead), Omotayo Omotola Eunice, Ana Ruvalcaba, Kweyakie Afi Blebo, Yani Bellini.

Online track#

Aditi Juneja, Yashasvi Misra, Deborah (Debs) Udoh, Harmony Elendu, Sage Sharp, Julius Boakye, David Chapuis, Ijeoma Onwuka, and Ariane Djeupang.

Description of activities#

  • Discussing experiences as mentees, mentors, and program organizers;

  • Defining what a “good” open mentorship program is;

  • Listening example of good open mentorship programs;

  • Understanding different approaches to structure mentorships;

  • Discussing pain points and mistakes made as program organizers;

  • Deciding to write a handbook for program organizers!

Output#

  • We decided to create a new handbook for program organizers to help them access shared communal knowledge.

  • We decided to reactivate a past DISC Unconference 2023 guide — a mentorship guide for mentors participating in open projects.

  • Our approach isn’t one that subscribes to a specific way to create and manage open mentorship programs; instead, it offers the open community a point of reference of practices tested by generations of contributors, and it helps it navigate complexity.

1. Introduction#

Learning paths#

  • I want to be mentored

  • I want to become a mentor

  • I want to create or lead an open mentorship program

  • I want to support an open mentorship program

  • I want to collaborate with an open mentorship program

  • History of open mentorship initiatives and programs

  • Examples of active open mentorship initiatives and programs

2. The open mentorship program of your dreams#

  • The language of open mentorships

    • Terms

    • Definitions

    • Participants

    • Relationships

  • What makes a good open mentorship program?

  • Why should you create a new open mentorship program?

    • How to approach existing open mentorship programs

  • Categories and variations of open mentorships

    • How to assess your community’s needs

    • How to mix and match types of programs

  • Activities and processes

    • Defining core activities and goals

    • Selecting mentees and mentors

    • Monitoring and assisting mentees and mentors

    • Finding and bringing in collaborators

    • Processing stipend payments

    • Defining and measuring success

    • Evaluating mentors and mentees

    • Evaluating the program

    • Ensuring your program’s sustainability

      • Financials

        • Creating, managing, and executing a budget

        • Building financial reserves

        • Ensuring funding goes to the right place

        • Diversifying funding source

        • Impact

        • Growth

        • Aiming for retention

    • Promoting your program

      • The voice of your program

      • Collecting and tracking stories

        • Interviews

        • Blog posts

      • Talking to prospect funders

        • Grantmakers

        • Corporate sponsors

        • Individual donors

    • Supporting mentors

      • How to train new mentors

      • Approaching this conversation

      • Pairing mentors

        • Co-mentoring

      • Safeguarding mentees

Getting involved with open mentorship programs#

Moving forward#

  • We need suggestions for a platform to publish our handbook — GitBook, maybe?

  • Outreachy and Software Freedom Conservancy are looking for funding for this initiative — we appreciate help with that!

  • Anna will keep leading it, and Anna will organize a working group via Discord.

  • We’ll keep working with other program organizers and open mentorship programs. ❤️

Contents