THE BINDER PAVE AmeriCorps

From the V-café “If you have tips, tricks, or shortcuts in your head. WRITE THEM DOWN=the next VISTA may not be a telepathic mind reader” Patricia Sturm, VISTA Touro Law Center TELL THE BINDER EVERYTHING

Have a reference list of special abbreviations or symbols. ALPHABET SOUP

From the V-café “Binders are really helpful -- I have been working on putting together a lot of information from the very basics (how to create a user account and troubleshoot common computer problems) to complex (the structure and purpose of training activities).” Dana Nelson, VISTA, First 5 Service Corps VISTA Project THE BASICS

From the V-café “The organization I'm working for is super spread out and has a lot of people and services so the first thing I did was put in a directory of contacts and highlighted the important ones to know.” Maureen Hagar, VISTA Father Bill's and Mainspring DIRECTORY OF CONTACTS

From the V-cafe “For donations, keep a list of the company who donated, the contact person, phone/ , what they donated and any notes on the process of getting donations (if they require a 30 day notice, only donate once a year, etc).” Maureen Hagar, VISTA Father Bill's and Mainspring DONATIONS

From the V-café “So the next vista can understand the project and where it is going instead of being in the dark!” Holly Stout, VISTA Military Officers Association of America AGENDAS AND MEETING MINUTES

From the V-café “I keep a small notebook with me for my sloppy notes; then, I tighten them up and throw them into my "Civic Engagement" binder. Each community organization that I bump into/meet with has their own divider. I'm keeping obsessive notes in the binder of exactly how the meetings go and what was said. That way, throughout the year, I can start to notice themes without having to keep it all in my head. This is also a good resource for whoever comes after me, to be able to see the history of our partnerships.” Tiffany Montano, VISTA Education News Network NOTES

From the V-café “Then I kept track of my schedule for my 'orientation' and noted which events/meetings/shadow experiences were most helpful” Maureen Hagar, VISTA Father Bill's and Mainspring TRAINING NOTES

Keep all the newspaper clippings and press releases. NEWSWORTHY

Keep all the details surrounding events- timelines, committee notes, vender information, invitations and fliers, what did and didn’t work, attendance, and maybe even after the event jot down ideas to make it even better. InvitationsOrganization EVENTS

Grants. Keep all grant applications to see what works and what doesn’t work. Make a calendar to include when grants are due, so that in future years someone might want to apply to the same granter. THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY.

From the V-café “We have a shared network, so I have all of the more essential documents in the binder with a cover page. The cover page has the name of the file if applicable, the purpose for the document, when the document should be used or accessed, and the location on the server. Because, as Erin mentioned, my files are in a labyrinth of folders guarded by David Bowie in a ridiculous outfit.” Jonathon Wright, VISTA Habitat For Humanity Seattle South FILE NAMES

“I think a digital binder or some kind of would be helpful, particularity if it was assessable online. Maybe google docs because then you can have others easily collaborate and update content for years to come. “ Lydia Wolfe, VISTA BSA, VISTA Campus WWW…WHAT?

From the V-Cafe “Don't just leave it (your electronic 'binder') on your work computer. Passwords get forgotten and people lose access, documents get missed when old machines are junked, etc. Burn it to data CDs/DVDs. Put it on flash drives. Save it to a network drive. it to everybody. Keep a copy for yourself. Anything that gets it 'out there' more places than being stuck on a single computer.” Steve Godecke, VISTA who became VISTA State Program Coordinator ONE GENERAL TIP FOR ELECTRONIC SUSTAINABILITY:

From the V-café “The point is, people. People are your best friends when it comes to sustainability. Especially people that are going to be with your organization long term. Pawn all your projects off on them, and give them all the information that they need. Really institutionalize your project, make it part of the operating procedures of your organization.” Jonathon Wright, VISTA Habitat For Humanity Seattle South FINAL THOUGHTS