An important measure is the use the computers receive after the students graduate from their classes. We keep logs to make these determinations, and we also try to meet with the seniors on a regular basis to obtain feedback. In one sense we have developed partnerships with our local funding agencies. But more importantly we have developed partnerships with teachers and schools who appreciate the value of such a program. We now have additional schools who would like to participate with the seniors.
Instructional staff is the main ongoing cost.
However, if the final model is successful, this expense will go away since seniors will be volunteering to teach other seniors. We then wrote NN Learning Center proposals which were submitted to the other three foundations with the idea that sharing the expense of the projects between several foundations would be more attractive to each of the potential funding sources. It seemed to work. We are now preparing several letters of intent to be sent to national foundations who might be interested in helping with these programs. With this increase in bandwidth we hope to extend our offerings to the senior and K-12 communities.