Become a tutor or mentor in your local community.
We have partnered with 11 of Marin’s most trusted and successful Nonprofit Partners, giving you options with who and how you want to get involved. They make their programs easy to navigate, streamlining the process to connect you with the right child in need.
“How to use Marin VTMI to find the right nonprofit for you”
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10,000 Degrees
10,000 Degrees® is the leading, equity-focused scholarship provider and college success nonprofit in California.
Our mission is to achieve educational equity and to support students from low-income backgrounds to and through college—and beyond—to realize their full potential and positively impact their communities and the world.
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Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area
The mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area is to create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth.
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Bridge the Gap
The mission of Bridge the Gap is to provide comprehensive educational, social and emotional resources to underserved students in Marin County. Our goal is to ensure that all students graduate high school and achieve their greatest potential through college completion or other pathways to economic sustainability and independence.
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Canal Alliance, University Prep (UP!) Program
Canal Alliance exists to break the generational cycle of poverty for Latino immigrants and their families by lifting barriers to their success.
University Prep eliminates barriers to higher education and promotes equity in support of long-term career opportunity for first-generation Latinx students through structured academic and holistic support programming.
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Empowering Children Bay Area (ECBA)
ECBA recruits trains and places older adults (50+) in elementary school classes to build relationships and foster literacy fluency.
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Enriching Lives through Music (ELM)
ELM provides youth with an immersive music education and resources that inspire and empower them to pursue their dreams.
ELM’s Reading Buddies program offers 1-1 reading to students in grades 3-5. Reading takes place once a week for 50 minute sessions. ELM also has a need for volunteer math and science tutors.
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Karma Club Teen
Karma Club offers free tutoring for middle and high school students through our Peer-to-Peer Tutoring program in collaboration with private high schools in Marin, as well as volunteer tutors and from staff and interns. Demand is high and we are always looking for more help. When a tutoring request comes in, we make a direct one-on-one match with a tutor.
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Marin Court Appointed Special Advocates
Our goal is to see every child live in a safe, permanent, and supportive home.
To reach our goal, the Marin CASA program recruits, screens, trains, and supervises volunteers who play a critical role in providing a voice for children in the courtroom. Our highly trained, court-appointed volunteers are responsible for making recommendations to the court for the safety, well-being, and a permanent home for every child assigned a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA).
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Next Generation Scholars
Next Generation Scholars equips and empowers first generation, under-resourced Marin County middle and high school students to succeed in college and beyond through socially-conscious leadership development.
Grounded in individualized academic and social support for them and their families, our students are emboldened to address the inequities in the world, both for themselves and for their communities.
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Parent Services Project
Parent Services Project engages and strengthens families to take leadership for the well-being of their children, families, and communities.
Raising a Reader Ambassador program, reading to young children in home daycares and playgroups throughout Marin County. The volunteer would be trained on how to choose an age appropriate book, how to share it in an engaging manner and then how to expand the idea of the story through an activity.
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RISE Scholars, Inc,
Our mission at RISE Scholars is to empower Hamilton School students to realize their full personal and academic potential by providing them with an array of targeted and thoughtful curricular and co-curricular opportunities that support the development of a growth mindset, a positive attitude, and high achievement.
Ready to get started?
Contact the nonprofit of your choice directly. They’re waiting and happy to hear from you.
Frequently asked questions
Our mission revolves around connecting tutors and mentors with the right local nonprofit. Here are a few FAQs we get at Marin VTMI. For more information around a specific nonprofit, check out their profile page on our website or visit their site.
Still have questions? Reach out to us.
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The Marin Volunteer Tutor and Mentor Initiative acts as a facilitator. By developing this one-stop shop for volunteer engagement, we enable people to find and connect with the volunteer opportunity that is right for them.
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No. Never.
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Almost all of the programs require these types of security checks. It's the law. The ones that do not are those where either parents or others are involved in the delivery of the volunteer service.
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It might. Becoming a mentor requires meeting with your mentee on a regular basis. If you're gone for long lengths of time, you may want to consider becoming a tutor instead. Tutoring programs can usually accommodate these types of issues.
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No, although it can certainly help.
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You can be a tutor for as little as one hour per week or make a two year commitment as a mentor.
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All of our Nonprofit Partners want their volunteers to be happy with their assignments. If things are not working out, by speaking with them they may be able to offer a position better suited to your needs. If this does not work out or if there are no other opportunities within an organization, don’t worry. There is bound to be one right for you. Take another look at the offerings on the website and start over.
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After looking at the website and finding an opportunity that looks right, contact them and tell them about your concerns. They want you to be comfortable. What we've found is that most concerns seem to vanish once volunteers begin working with students. It's the magic of being a volunteer tutor or mentor.
We’ve compiled a spreadsheet and PDF compendium of all 11 nonprofits to help you find the right fit faster.
Nonprofit Volunteer Opportunities Overview
| Organization | Tutoring or Mentoring | Training Provided | Special Requirements i.e. Age | Volunteer Location | Episodic or Continuous | Time Commitment | Start Date | End Date | During or After Schools | Ages Served |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10000Degrees | Tutoring | YES | Over 16 | Many Marin Public Schools | Both | 2-4 hours/week | Fall | June | Mostly in Classrooms | K-12 |
| Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area | Mentoring | YES | 21+ | Arranged between Mentor and Mentee | Continous | Minimum 1 year, meet with Mentee 2-4X/month | Year-round | Year Around | Outside of School time | Ages 8-17 |
| Bridge the Gap College Prep | Tutoring | Orientation for Elementary School Volunteers | Reasonable level of health | Tam High, Tomales High, MLK Academy | Continuous | Once a week | Fall | June | After School 4-6 | TK-12 |
| Canal Alliance University Prep (UPI Program) | Tutoring | YES | 18+ | 711 Grand Ave, San Rafael | Continuous | 2hrs/week At least 1 semester | Fall | June | After School 4:45-5:45 | Grades 6-12 |
| Empowering Children Bay Area (ECBA) | Tutoring | YES | Adults 50+ | Many Marin Elementary Schools | Continuous | 2X/week for 1 hour or more | Fall | June | During School | Grades 1-3 |
| Enriching Lives Through Music (ELM) | Tutoring | Ed consultant 1X/semester | No | ELM Building, Kerner Blvd | Continuous | 1hr/week | Fall | June | After School | Grades 3-5 |
| Karma Club Teen | Tutoring | General Onboarding | No | Karma Club Afterschool Center Northgate Mall | Both, Mostly Continuous | Variable | Fall | June | After School | Grades 6-12 |
| Marin Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) | Mentoring | YES | 21+ Volunteer must document interactions in the database | At the Mentee's residence and in the community | Continuous | 2 year time frame. 8-10 hours per month | Can begin in the fall | Can begin in the spring | Outsde of school time | 0-21 |
| Next Generation Scholars | Tutoring | YES | No | 1018 E Street, San Rafael 94901 | Continuous | 1 hr/week | September | May | After School | Grades 6-12 |
| Parent Services Project | Tutoring | YES | No | Home Daycares, Playgroups, Multiple Marin locations | Continuous | Variable | Fall | June | Mostly mornings | Ages 0-8 |
| RISE Scholars, Inc | Both, Summer School Tutor | YES | No | Hamilton School | Continuous | Variable depending on the program | Fall, July | June | Both | Grades 1-8 |
Nonprofit Contact Information & Vetting
| ORGANIZATION | CONTACT | PHONE | VETTING | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fingerprints | TB Test | Background Check | Interview | Onboarding | ||||
| 10,000Degrees | Academic Success Team | academicsuccess@10000degrees.org | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 2 hour virtual session | |
| Bridge the Gap College Prep | Cat Tong | 703-966-0582 | cattong@btgcollegeprep.org | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Complete onboarding paperwork and sign Volunteer Handbook and Waiver |
| Empowering Children Bay Area (ECBA) | Paul Chilvers | 415-912-6025 | pchilvers@sequoialiving.org | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 3 hour zoom training |
| Karma Teen Club | Sally Newson | 415-847-2534 | sally@karma-club.org | Yes | Yes | |||
| Enriching Lives Through Music (ELM) | Claudia Lang | 415-760-5201 | claudia@elmprogram.org | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| RISE Scholars Inc. | Madi Cavanagh | Madi@riseforthekids.org | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Parent Services Project | Kerry Bacho | 415-246-4048 | kbacho@parentservices.org | No | No | No | No | 1-2 hours training |
| Canal Alliance University Prep (UPI Program) | Ivonne Molina | 415-454-2640 | ivonnem@canalalliance.org | Yes | 1 hour in-person orientation | |||
| Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area | Karlynn Lee | 510-575-0173 | klee@bbbsba.org | Yes | Yes | Yes | Reference checks, Virtrual trainings | |
| Marin Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) | Sherene Chen | 415-846-2436 | sherene@marincasa.org | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Training |
| Next Generation Scholars | Llesica Diaz | 415-233-1267 | llesica@nextgenerationscholars.org | No | No | Yes | A phone call to see if availability and expertise align with their student's needs | |