HOME          NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE          LOG IN    
November 22, 2017
Distribution: Regional Vice Presidents, District Directors, Chapter Chairs, Vice Chairs
SCORE's Culture of InclusionInclusion

Did you see SCORE's message on inclusion from 10/31/17? Check it out here.

At SCORE, we put our clients first, and their success is our success. As we look at the present and the future, we have a critical need to improve SCORE's inclusion and diversity. There are many resources to help us in this process, and they can all be found in SCORE Training. Check out 008 SCORE's Culture of Inclusion e-learning module and 202 SCORE's Culture of Inclusion Resources. We look forward to continued conversation and commitments in this arena.

Please email inclusion@score.org with any comments, issues, or concerns.

 

National Online Workshop Client Leads ReportWorkshopsLeads

We've released the new and improved National Online Workshop Client Report! 

Found in the CORE Reporting tab, this report records emails of clients and potential clients in each chapter's metro area. 

Use the report link to view and download the email list, so that you can add them to your chapter newsletter email distribution list. 

Or take this in depth report to the next level, by reaching out to contacts based on the online workshops they've taken in effort of more robust client communication. By the end of this month, all chapter Constant Contact accounts will have a template email in them that can be customized to reach out to clients in this very way each month. Take a look at an example from SCORE Washington DC here. 

In the meantime, you can also use the word document  email templates here to follow-up with and invite clients to Mentoring as a supplement to their workshop. 

Chapter Grants FY2018 - Apply Now Grants

In FY2018, SCORE Headquarters is making $300,000 available through the Chapter and District Grant Program for innovative ideas, projects, and events to increase services to clients and advance SCORE's strategic plan. This year, there is no set number of grants. Grants will be awarded based on the amount requested (up to $5,000), until the grant dollars are depleted. 

Applications must be received by January 1, 2018.


Chapter Chair Calls - Recording Available CCC

Chapter Chair Calls were held on Thursday, November 16. The recording and presentation are now available below, and on the Volunteer Center Webinar Archive page. 

For information and to register for future quarterly Chapter Chair Calls, check the Chapter Chair Checklist on the Leadership Resources page.

November 2017 Calls:
Paychex Grant Application PGA

As part of our continued national partnership, Paychex will once again be providing a limited number of Foundation grants  to our chapters for a two (2) part seminar series. Interested chapters can request funding to host this seminar series utilizing Paychex subject matter experts in local communities where there is a designated Paychex HR professional. The deadline to apply for a 2018 grant is January 8, 2018 and chapter selection will be announced 2-3 weeks after the application is closed.
 
Chapters can choose one event date within each of the following weeks:
April 16, 17, 18, 19 or 20
October 15, 16, 17, 18 or 19
 
Paychex will invite customers from their national database to register and attend the SCORE Seminar Series, but primary responsibility for site selection, event logistics, registration and promotion of the seminars is on the applying chapter.
 
** If your chapter is selected, your chapter will be awarded a grant between $500 and $1,000 to be used for seminar related logistical costs (i.e. site, refreshments) and promotion. SCORE national will provide specific information on implementation of each workshops including an event timeline, promotional toolkit and contact information for meeting and engaging with your local Paychex team member.
 
If you are interested in offering this program in your chapter, please complete this application, but please review the following requirements for the Paychex grant before completing the online application here on behalf of your chapter.
 
*   Grant funds must be used specifically for the designated purpose(s) as outlined.
*   Seminars must take place on one of the five proposed dates for April and October.
*   Seminars must be scheduled during normal business hours (7am - 6pm)
*   Post event report is required within one week after each seminar including a list of registrants, number of attendees and relevant event feedback. 
*   Chapter also agree to provide any other information reasonably requested by The Foundation.
 
If you have any questions please contact Jessica Pisano, at  jessica.pisano@score.org.
Client Engagement Survey Launched CES

The annual Client Engagement Survey launched Monday October 30. This survey invitation was emailed to clients that received SCORE mentoring between October 1, 2016 - September 30, 2017. This year the survey was also sent to National Workshop Clients and Local Workshop Clients if the Chapter provided their Workshop Attendee lists. 

This survey contains questions that measure the clients' psychological attachment to SCORE, likelihood to return, belief in our mission, likelihood to recommend SCORE, and more. It also collects the demographic data and client business results that chapters use to market SCORE in their local business community.

Please encourage your clients to complete this survey! 
A sample template to help you reach out to your clients can be found here.
 
This survey will close Friday December 29, 2017.
Clients Not Yet Counseled Update CNYC

As you know, we continue to look for new ways to improve our effectiveness in providing timely, high quality service and to grow the number of clients that we serve. Last year, we tested the idea of a call center to see the impact of immediate client contact on our MRE conversion. A special 'Thank You' to all that have participated in that program over the past year. We appreciate your support and continued feedback. We learned that immediate contact does work to drive client engagement and drive mentoring request conversion to a mentoring session. We also confirmed some additional data on client triage processes and Clients Not Yet Counseled management that will be used in new process design for upcoming technology system upgrades.
 
While we successfully proved that immediate client contact works, we also recognized that the immediate client contact solution didn't solve our downstream issues with Clients Not Yet Counseled management. Specifically, in FY17, we closed out more than 20,000 MREs without ever having provided the client service. If we can effectively serve just a fraction of these close outs going forward, SCORE will better fulfill its mission. Trying to better impact these outcomes as well as dealing with capacity challenges and some shifts in resources this fiscal year, we are changing strategies for our continued improvement.
 
Hence, on December 1, 2017, the current Call Center Program as it is will cease . For Chapters still using the call center, you may have noticed that you have been receiving MRE notification emails as you did before being enrolled in the program. The Call Center is copied on these emails and we will continue to make the initial contact attempt. If you are ready to begin managing your client intake process again before the transition period ends on December 1, please log into CORE and remove 'callcenter@score.org' from the Client Notify Email address on your Chapter's information page.

In place of the current call center processes, and starting December 1, we will begin more closely monitoring the National Clients Not Yet Counseled report. Specifically, we will be following up with the assigned mentor (or the Chapter Chair/Chapter Admin for unassigned MREs) for any client MRE that ages 15 or more days from its creation date. Our intent is to reduce the number of clients that never receive service and to ensure session information is entered properly. This new process will occur for all Chapters. We will contact each Volunteer when the MRE has aged 15 days and ask three questions:
 
1)       Have you contacted or attempted to contact the client?

a.      If not, why?

b.      If so, how many times and what types of contact (phone, email, or video)?

2)       If contacted, do you have an appointment scheduled with the client?
3)       Have you already met with the client and just not entered session notes in CORE?
  
This reminder will allow us to better understand the lifespan of an MRE that is not counseled as well as SCORE's opporuntities to improve our client triage processes. Once an MRE reaches 45+ days old, we will close it out in CORE and send an email to the client apologizing for missing them and giving instructions on how to request service again if it is still needed. Attached is a draft process document that outlines this new process. 
 
As with all of the new things we try at SCORE, our goal is to better serve our clients AND make it easier for Chapters and Volunteers to manage the admin and daily activities, so that you can focus on client service. Thanks in advance for your support and please let us know if you have any questions.
Small Business Success Virtual Conference VirtCon

On Thursday November 9, SCORE held its 4th client-facing virtual conference. 

There were 11,544 registrants and live event attendance was 3,409. A special thank you to the following volunteers who participated in the live event as virtual mentors and moderators:

Gizil Andrews, SCORE Jacksonville
Joseph Brisby, SCORE Richmond
Cecil Furr, SCORE Oklahoma City
Allen Goldstein, SCORE Hampton Roads
Bill Hulsey, SCORE Boston
Simon Mahler, SCORE Mid-Columbia Tri-Cities
Steve Martin, SCORE Buffalo Niagara
Michael Morris, SCORE Oklahoma City
Tim Nelson, SCORE Boston
Michael Porter, SCORE Nashville
Steve Robinson, SCORE Portland, ME
Rose Rubin, SCORE Ulster

View recordings of the event presentations on SCORE.org:  https://www.score.org/event/smallbizsuccess-virtual-conference-live


Small Business Saturday SBS
Small Business Saturday is this Saturday,  November 25. Start promoting the day that encourages people across the country to support small, local businesses. Check out the event website and our resources available to help your marketing efforts.

2018 National Small Business Week AwardsNSBW
Do you have a client with an amazing success story? Encourage them to apply for SBA's National Small Business Week awards.

Since 1963, National Small Business Week has been celebrated since 1963. Many household names were previous National Small Business Week award winners, including Ben and Jerry's, Callaway Golf, Chobani, Dogfish Head, Stonyfield Farm, Pacifica, Maui Brewing Company and Tom's of Maine.

All nominations must be mailed or hand delivered to the nearest SBA office no later than 3:00 p.m. ET on January 9, 2018.  Winners will be announced during National Small Business Week, April 29-May 5, 2018.

Workshop Corner: Simple Steps for Exiting Your BusinessSSEB
SCORE has partnered with MassMutual to create a packaged workshop program to equip new business owners with guidance on how to exit their business. By taking into consideration succession planning, retirement planning, and estate planning, business owners can begin to develop a strategy to secure their future and the future of their business. This program focuses on the tactical steps business owners can take now to create a plan for exiting their business smoothly.
 
Use the materials and assets outlined in the packaged workshop program to help you execute this program in your chapter. Client engagement data shows that local workshop programs are a way to meet the needs of the small business community as effectively or even more effectively than mentoring.

Staff Resource of the Month:  Sherrill

Sherrill Berk
Director of Development
The Director of Development for SCORE seeks to enhance our donor relations program and fundraising initiatives and will focus on non-profit's fundraising campaigns, communicating with current and prospective donors, and building a stronger pipeline of donors for our organization.

SCORE Training:
103 Respecting Diversity at SCORE RD
Our clients' success is our success. Seek out opportunities to improve yourself for your clients. Check out this module in SCORE Training to strengthen your mentoring skills.

In this module, you see three reenactments of actual events that happened at SCORE. Volunteers will view what should and shouldn't happen; and learn tactics to ensure a welcoming environment for everyone. A facilitation guide to use with a group of volunteers is available for this module.

Watch Now
Administrative Support Needs Admin
Is your Chapter in need of more administrative support? Is your Chapter Admin seeking to work more hours than your Chapter can currently provide? Learn how The Panther Group can assist your Chapter in hiring and onboarding a paid admin or virtually utilizing a paid admin from another SCORE Chapter! If you are interested in learning more, please have your Chapter Admin complete this form:
SCORE Media and Public Service Announcements PSAs
SCORE's PSA campaigns for  FY2017 results are in:
We are almost at  $18 million  in TV value with over  130,000 TV airings  to date! 

SCORE has produced a number of television and radio spots that are used to promote SCORE's services, help more clients, get more volunteers and gain the much deserved recognition for the important work you do.
At the national level, SCORE partners with associations to ask them to air spots on national broadcasts, contacting national news outlets in an effort to gain attention, promoting to small business news outlets, and promoting directly thru national email and social media databases.
Webinar: 
SCORE Data Report: Fall 2017DataReport 
SCORE's latest installment of "The Megaphone of Main Street" data report series delves into the story behind the changing face of U.S. small business hiring and employment.

The official data report and corresponding infographic were just released on November 6. Share this cutting edge and valuable research with your local media outlets!

View the Data Report
SCORE Volunteer SpotlightsSpotlights


Check out our outstanding volunteers and chapters featured this month!