3 Cups Short-Term Mentorship Program

3 Cups of Coffee is a short-term mentoring program that builds social capital and professional networks for people who don't have tools or connections to access the “hidden job market.”. The program matches a work-ready job seeker with a volunteer mentor who is a professional working in the woman's desired career field. The mentor provides guidance about career strategies and corporate culture, opens doors to personal professional networks, and advocates for her mentee with her talent-seeking peers. 3 Cups of Coffee- GRAD offers mentorship specifically to low-income community college students preparing for graduation.  PA Women Work has been operating this program successfully in Pittsburgh, PA since 2014, and is partnering with Philadelphia-based JEVS Human Services on a pilot replication of the 3 Cups project.  3 Cups of Coffee could easily be replicated nationwide, improving the social capital and employment potential of job seekers facing barriers to employment throughout the country.

According to Policy Link, social equity is achieved within an equitable economy, where all citizens (including working-class people and people of color) have access to good jobs, dignified and rising standards of living, and increased voice, power and ownership. https://www.policylink.org/our-work/economy .

Social capital- one's network of professional and personal contacts - opens doors to interviews and unadvertised job opportunities. Estimates suggest that 80% or more of all jobs are in the "hidden job market," i.e. not advertised on job search sites and that people who find jobs through contacts have higher salaries than those who find jobs through other means. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/27/how-to-get-a-job-often-comes-down-to-one-elite-personal-asset.html . 

Residents of neighborhoods with higher poverty rates face barriers to building social capital, and these challenges are compounded for African Americans and Hispanics.   Last year, 96% of 3 Cups of Coffee clients earned less than 200% of the federal poverty level, 43% were people of color, 28% identified as black, and 76% were women.

The Urban Institute projects that the national poverty rate for 2020 will be 9.2 %, with the rate for Black people at 15.2% and the rate for Hispanic people at 13.8%. https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/102521/2020-poverty-projections.pdf 

3 Cups of Coffee matches a struggling job seeker with a volunteer corporate mentor working in the job-seeker’s desired career field. The two meet three times, over the course of six weeks.  Prior to COVID-19, they met at a mutually convenient coffee shop or restaurant, but now all meetings are taking place on virtual platforms (which has worked well). The mentor provides career and workplace guidance, opens doors to professional networks, and advocates for her mentee with her talent-seeking peers.

The community college students in our 3 Cups of Coffee-GRAD program are often seeking their first professional position.  Mentors help the graduating student to define a career path, and a series of professional development workshops supplement the mentor meetings.

The short-term nature of the mentorship provides opportunities for busy working professionals to give back in a meaningful way. Our volunteer mentor force has grown to 200 individuals, representing 70 companies, who eagerly await being matched with their next mentee. PA Women Work maintains a large network of local employers who benefit from the access to diverse, qualified job candidates that the 3 Cups programs provide. 

Pennsylvania Women Work is a non-profit workforce development organization with proven programs that help participants build confidence, acquire a professional presence and find suitable employment.  Our clients include adults entering or returning to the workforce (often after a life-changing event like a divorce or job loss), single parents and low-income parents, justice-involved individuals, immigrants and refugees, and community college students. 

We found through our work that these job-seekers often lacked social capital – i.e. the professional networks that open the doors to interviews and unadvertised job opportunities.  Four of five Americans find their jobs through people they know, and those who do have higher salaries than those who find jobs through other means.  PA Women Work created 3 Cups of Coffee in 2014 to respond to this inequity and help the job-seeker to build social capital through their relationship with their mentor. In 2019, we established 3 Cups of Coffee-GRAD to position low-income and first-generation community college students entering their final semester to make a quick and successful transition into family-sustaining employment.

Last year, 96% of 3 Cups clients earned less than 200% of the federal poverty level, 43% were people of color, 28% identified as black and 76% were women.

PA Women Work’s 3 Cups of Coffee program provides a direct connection for job seekers who face a number of barriers to finding suitable employment. By pairing the job seeker with a mentor who is a professional working in their desired field the program improves their professional network and consequently their chances of finding a job. PA Women Work’s extensive employer network includes 70 companies represented by  200 volunteer mentors, and 40 companies represented on our Corporate Advisory Committee, which creates employer connections for our program participants (75% of whom are placed in employment with an average wage of $45,000).  

PA Women Work's 3 Cups of Coffee team consists of four full-time staff members and 200 volunteer mentors. Staff members include the 3 Cups of Coffee Program Manager, the 3 Cups of Coffee-GRAD Program Specialist, the Director of Programs, and the Chief Executive Officer.

Pennsylvania Women Work’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy outlines the organization’s commitment to the principles of equal opportunity in its programs and employment practices regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual preference, age, national origin, disability, political affiliation, veteran or marital status or any other status protected by Federal, State and local legislation.  This includes, but is not limited to, recruitment, selection, compensation, benefits, training, placement, transfer, promotion, termination and leave of absence.

PA Women Work is a nonprofit workforce development organization dedicated to helping individuals find financial stability and by design our programs are geared to helping those with real barriers to employment.  These barriers disproportionately affect low-income people, women, and people of color.  We intentionally partner with organizations throughout our service area to identify and recruit those who could most benefit from our services.

To our knowledge, PA Women Work’s 3 Cups of Coffee is unique in its client base, its program design, the direct connections it provides to industries and businesses and in its potential for replication.  3 Cups of Coffee (including the GRAD program) serves adults who face barriers to employment, whereas most mentorship programs in our area are focused on school-aged populations or traditional college students. The structured, short-term nature of the program (3 meetings in a 6-week period) makes the program accessible and workable for both the mentors and the job seekers, and contributes to our ability to maintain a volunteer mentor force of 200 mentors representing a wide range of businesses.  The program provides placement assistance through mentor connections,  PA Women Work’s Corporate Advisory Committee and a large network of employer connections.  3 Cups of Coffee clients are likely to find a suitable job more quickly than the typical job seeker, and find better jobs with higher compensation because of the program.  PA Women Work is successfully partnering with Philadelphia-based JEVS Human Services on a pilot replication of the 3 Cups programs. 

There is no core technology that powers the 3 Cups of Coffee program, as originally mentors and job-seekers primarily met face-to-face in their mentorship meetings.  However, because of COVID-19, all meetings are now being held virtually, on one of the many platforms available (e.g. Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, etc.)  This has worked surprisingly well, eliminating geographical barriers to in-person meetings.  While we know that the virtual mentor meetings will continue for the next several months, we also anticipate that many mentors and job seekers will prefer to meet virtually even after the pandemic is under control.

The use of virtual platforms will be essential to initiating 3 Cups of Coffee replication projects in cities throughout the United States, especially as travel restrictions between states remain in place.

Currently forms and information for the program are shared with job seekers and mentors through an unsecured website, via e-mail or over the phone. It would be ideal to have a digital application that enables job seekers and mentors to access forms through a cell phone app and a secure website and to have the data from forms feed into a file format that can easily be uploaded into various databases.

Since March 2020, Zoom and other virtual platforms have been widely used by companies and organizations throughout the United States to hold meetings and continue to do business, as so many people are now working from home because of the threat of the coronavirus.

Activity: 

Staff provides program coordination with stakeholders which includes recruitment, mentor matching, orientation, instruction and supervision.

Work-ready job seekers meet with mentors working in their desired field.

Output:  Mentors provide advice, support and professional connections to the job seeker.

Short Term Outcomes:

The job seeker increases employment-related knowledge and skills, and improves vocational identity, confidence and the networking ability.

The mentors increase awareness of issues facing job seekers in transition, and develop their professional communication skills.

Interim Outcomes:

The job seeker accepts employment in their desired field that pays a living wage.

The mentor increases their involvement in helping people in transition to find jobs by partnering with PA Women Work as a donor and volunteer for other programs, or increasing their company’s involvement with the organization through sponsorships and other support.

Long Term Outcomes:

The job seeker maintains and advances in career track jobs, and gives back to other struggling job seekers by becoming a 3 Cups mentor, or donor.

3 Cups of Coffee has been exceptionally successful in the past seven years.  Approximately 300 job seekers enroll in the program annually, 75% of those completing the program are placed into jobs at an average salary of $45,000 a year.  But people tell the story more effectively than numbers, so here is one success story:

LaTionna graduated from a community college with an AS in Accounting at the height of COVID, and was struggling to find stable full-time employment in her field. She enrolled in 3 Cups of Coffee hoping to make new connections, improve her resume, and get advice about local job opportunities. She was matched with the Senior Vice President of Finance and Operations at Highmark Health. LaTionna and her mentor looked at jobs that might be appropriate for her and talked about informational interviews. They reviewed her resume and went over how to network. By the end of three meetings, LaTionna's mentor decided that LaTionna's dedication to her field and wealth of knowledge were a perfect fit for her corporation. The mentor arranged for an interview and LaTionna was hired as a full-time Associate Financial Analyst.

Our goals for the upcoming year for the 3 Cups of Coffee programs include:

• 300 job seekers will be served through the programs based in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
• 80% of those completing the program will be placed into professional employment.
• The average salary of those placed will be $45,000.
• Sustain a volunteer mentor force of 400 mentors (200 in Pittsburgh and 200 in Philadelphia).
• Establish 3 Cups of Coffee programs in community colleges throughout our region (we are working with two community colleges currently).
• If funded through the Reimagining Pathways to Employment program, work with the Workforce Partners to initiate 3 Cups of Coffee programs in the communities where they are located.
• If funded, hire a full-time staff person to oversee 3 Cups replication projects.

Our goals for the next five years:

• Increase the number of job seekers impacted by the program in the Pittsburgh region, and through replication projects throughout the United States.
• 80% or more of those completing the program will be placed.
• Average salary of $55,000 adjusted for inflation and the market.
• Sustain sufficient volunteer mentor force to meet the needs of the market.
• Continue to employ a full-time staff person to oversee 3 Cups replication projects.
• Replicate the 3 Cups of Coffee in additional communities throughout the United States, working with social service and workforce organizations, and community colleges.
• Acquire an app that allows more efficient information sharing among the staff, mentors and clients of the 3 Cups of Coffee program.

1)  While the replication potential for the 3 Cups of Coffee program is immense, widespread replication would require more time and effort than our existing staff can provide.

2)  In each new market, there has to be a non-profit social service or workforce development organization willing and able to fund the program.

3)  Developing a network of mentors and businesses in a new market is a challenge.

4)  Recruitment of potential clients in a new market can be a challenge.

5)  Traditionally, finding a "coffee partner" - a coffee shop willing to host the meetings and provide coffee has been challenging.

6) Traditionally, the program has been more easily established in larger metropolitan areas.

1)  PA Women Work will hire a full-time staff person to oversee the replication projects, which will be necessary to successfully replicate 3 Cups of Coffee throughout the country.

2)  Identify non-profit organizations providing workforce development or social services in target areas, and market the program to them.

3)  Market the program to local businesses and their employees, emphasizing the benefits to them.  For mentors, all busy professionals, that includes the opportunity to give back in a meaningful way for a small investment of time.  For businesses, the program provides a skilled and diverse workforce and is a recruitment tool.

4)  Utilize the non-profit partner's own client base and their relationships with other non-profits in the service area to provide information about the program and its benefits to job seekers.

5)  With COVID-19, all mentor meetings and workshops are being offered only on virtual platforms, so the need for a "coffee partner" is no longer the issue that it had been.  We don't know when we will be able to resume in-person meetings, but we know that virtual meetings will continue to be an option for mentors and job seekers.

6) Again, the introduction of virtual meeting has alleviated the geographical barriers to meetings that existed in the past.

3 Cups of Coffee clients are tracked from point of entry to PA Women Work and at various check-in points throughout the program. All information gathered is entered into and analyzed through Efforts to Outcomes (ETO) Impact performance management and client tracking software. This data is used to assess progress toward program outcomes and improve program-related activities.  Every effort is made to conduct follow-up at the three-month and six-month marks after clients have exited the program, but former clients are not always responsive to these attempts.  It would be ideal to have a larger number of responses so that a more complete evaluation of the long-term outcomes (e.g. job advances and salary increases) for clients who have been through the program could be captured.

Pennsylvania Women Work is a workforce development organization that operates several programs designed to help women (and men) who face barriers during a job search to find professional employment.

Through our work and our experience, we realized that most of our clients lacked social capital and professional networks that are so essential to finding jobs, especially those in the hidden job market.  To address this deficit, in 2014 Julie Marx-Lally, PA Women Work Chief Executive Officer, created the 3 Cups of Coffee mentorship program, which has successfully provided much needed connections to work-ready job seekers for seven years.  The program has been so successful, in fact, that PA Women Work received a special grant to fund its expansion, and the creation of a business plan to make 3 Cups of Coffee available for organizations across the country that are interested in replicating the program. PA Women Work launched an independent website for 3 Cups of Coffee and in 2018 and successfully partnered with Philadelphia-based JEVS Human Service on a pilot replication of the project.  PA Women Work has created a 3 Cups of Coffee playbook to facilitate program replication.

PA Women Work partners with 200 mentors representing 70 companies, 40 + companies represented on our Corporate Advisory Committee, and a large network of employers in our service area to connect work-ready job seekers with appropriate employment opportunities.

PA CareerLinks and social service organizations throughout the region provide referrals to the program.

The Community College of Allegheny County and the Westmoreland County Community College provide referrals, space and resources to the 3 Cups of Coffee-GRAD program.

Travelers Aid provides transportation assistance to clients, and a grant from the Snee-Reinhardt Charitable Foundation funds stipends for clients to purchase professional clothing.

Crazy Mocha has provided space and free coffee to mentors and job seekers during their meetings, prior to all mentorship meetings moving to virtual formats because of the threat of the COVID-19 crisis.

Key Resources – 12 full-time staff members, volunteer mentors, meeting space (including virtual platforms), and 9 contracted instructors.

Partners and Stakeholders- In addition to staff members and volunteers, a network of local businesses looking to hire, PA Career Link and non-profits who provide referrals, local community colleges, coffee shops who provide space and free coffee.

Key Activities  - Outreach (to potential mentors and clients), assessment, program enrollment, advocacy, placement and outreach to local employers, follow-up.

Type of Intervention- Job readiness classes, one-on-one instruction, mentor meetings, professional development workshops, meet and greets, mock interviews.

Channels – Website, email blasts, referrals among PA Women Work programs, social media.

Segments- Program staff match mentors and job seekers, recruit mentors, conduct assessments, facilitate workshops, provide instruction and training to instructors to help the clients to find appropriate employment and follow-up to document results. The staff also provides placement of qualified employees to local businesses (the beneficiaries).

Value Proposition – Local industries are connected with qualified employees, which improves the local economy and reduces the unemployment rate.  Job seekers gain the skills and direction they need to find life-sustaining employment opportunities.

Cost Structure – The cost of personnel is our largest expenditure in all agency programs.

Surplus – Any surplus is put back into supporting agency programs and operations.

Revenue – PA Women Work programs are supported through: grants and contributions from the government, foundations, corporations and individuals; revenue from special events; and in-kind support.

Traditionally, 3 Cups of Coffee has received its most of its funding  through grants, donations and in-kind support from foundations, corporations, community colleges and individuals. We have been working towards a sustainable model that includes an initial fee from partner agencies undertaking replication projects to cover the cost of providing technical and program assistance, and the use of our trademarked program, as well as a modest annual fee. Currently support from businesses and mentors is growing.  We have had mentors who have become donors and advocates, and businesses that sponsor programs and events, and that compensate our organization for the time their employees volunteer as mentors.  We are also exploring the possibility of charging businesses a membership fee or dues as the program acts as a valuable recruitment tool for local industries, providing a skilled and diverse workforce, often mentored by their own employees. 

PA Women Work has received grants from the following funders for support of the 3 Cups of Coffee programs in the past 12 months, some of which provided funding in our 2019-20 fiscal year, and some of which is providing funding in the current fiscal year:

Buhl Foundation $75,000
Elsie H. Hillman Foundation $50,000
Arconic Foundation  $35,000
FedEx Ground  $20,000
J. Jill Compassion Fund  $20,000
Jack Buncher Foundation $15,000
Roy A. Hunt Foundation  $15,000
PNC Charitable Trusts $12,000
Snee-Reinhardt Charitable Foundation $11,500
United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania $20,000

The annual cost of operating the 3 Cups of Coffee program in the Pittsburgh region in the current fiscal year is $286,000.  We have been successful in raising the funds for this program with grants and contributions from foundations, corporations and individuals.  In the current fiscal year, we have raised $205,000 from eight funders, with $80,000 in invited grant requests pending.

This estimate is based on this year's budget for the 3 Cups of Coffee programs, as we expect the expenses for 2021 to be much the same for our core programs offered in the Pittsburgh, PA region:

Personnel - 159,662
Outside Evaluation/Consultant - 20,000 
Instructors - 18,000 
Professional Expenses- 13,417 
Client Support Services (e.g. childcare, transportation, professional attire, etc.) - 50,000 
Outreach/Marketing/Events - 1,250
Supplies and Printing - 4,267
Meeting Expenses - 100
Insurance -139
Telecommunications -150
Travel - 200 
Rent - 19,982 
IT Support  -1,000

If our request is funded,  we know that personnel expenses will increase with the addition of a full-time staff person, and that we will see a substantial increase in expenses for outreach and marketing.  We would also explore the development of an app to streamline information sharing with clients and mentors.

JEVS Human Services, our partner agency in Philadelphia, administers and finances their 3 Cups of Coffee program.

Pennsylvania Women Work is applying for this challenge because the 3 Cups of Coffee program is a unique and successful program which provides a direct path for work-ready job seekers lacking social capital and connections to find a decent job at a respectable salary with a chance for advancement.  We have demonstrated that it is a program that is easily replicated through our pilot program in Philadelphia.

We have the expertise and the playbook for putting together a 3 Cups of Coffee program in any community, but large-scale replication of the program takes time and resources that go beyond our organizational capacity.

The Challenge Partners will be able to provide us with the financial resources to hire a full-time staff person to oversee the replication projects and to underwrite and assist with the marketing materials that will be required to effectively sell the program in new communities throughout the United States, and possibly in the development of a program app than can be utilized in sharing information more efficiently with clients and mentors.

The partnerships with the Workforce Partners will provide much needed access and insights into new communities where we might establish 3 Cups programs and help us to identify potential program partners.

Our partnership goals are simple.  We want to find partners to facilitate the expansion of the 3 Cups of Coffee mentorship program to locations throughout the United States, providing a way for disenfranchised job seekers to establish the social capital and professional connections they so often lack.  Most important is partnering with organizations that are willing and able to finance the program in their communities.

To accomplish this, we need to have a strong and targeted marketing effort in communities we identify for a replication project. 

To improve the efficiency of program operations we hope to acquire a program app to facilitate communications between program staff, clients, and mentors.

We hope to effectively partner with the Workforce Partners and other non-profit organizations throughout the country who are committed to social change and establishing a 3 Cups of Coffee program in their region. PA Women Work can provide the technical assistance and advice in establishing and operating a 3 Cups program in their community.

Partnerships with mentors, businesses, job seekers and non-profits are absolutely essential to the success of this mentorship program, and to develop those relationships we hope to partner with organizations or individuals who can assist us in developing effective and innovative marketing methods to effectively engage all the potential stakeholders in a given community.