The Uncommon Individual Foundation, established in 1986, is a nonprofit foundation exclusively devoted to the implementation of protégé-driven, Open-System Mentoring™. Our goal is to enable each protégé to recognize the benefits of mentoring and to learn how to use it to achieve success. Through training, protégés are encouraged toward independence and self-reliance in planning and pursuing objectives. Both mentors and protégés learn specific mentoring skills, engage one or more mentoring relationships and resources, and learn how to use the power of mentoring to discover and use their talents to reach their goals.

UIF's services are based on our unique philosophy of protégé-driven, Open-System Mentoring™. That is, to be successful, a protégé will initiate and develop several productive mentoring relationships and resources over, or even, at the same time. Also, with this model protégés learn the skills needed to turn others into mentors, and mentors learn how their careers and personal satisfaction can be enhanced. Our philosophy and methods are different from more traditional approaches, in which the protégé only works with an assigned mentor in a formal program.

Historically, we have worked with organizational clients providing both training and implementation of protégé-driven, Open-System Mentoring™ programs. We assisted our clients in identifying their unique needs then, based on this assessment, designed training programs and provided implementation to meet those needs.

Currently, with the use of contemporary Internet technologies, we are making our mentoring philosophy and resources available to every individual who chooses to engage them. These new use applications are explained in UIF Virtual Mentor™, Venture Mentoring™ and in Getting Involved. Notwithstanding our major thrust to utilize new technologies as a means of fulfilling our Mission, we also intend to continue our hands on approach, with the use of our new technologies, to continue to service our organizational clients with training and implementation of our philosophy of mentoring.

Historically, our organizational training and implementation programs will continue to be available to clients who desire them. With these programs, we evaluate a client's organizational needs then, consistent with the needs of the clients' associates, design and implement a mentoring program. Through regular evaluation, we keep our clients informed about the progress of mentoring efforts and, at the completion of our involvement, about the success of the program as a whole. This information provides a measurement of the changes that take place as a result of program implementation and demonstrates the benefits of a 'mentor-rich environment' for protégés, mentors, and the organization. Our programs and materials are based on this extensive ongoing field experience, as well as on academic research.

UIF's historical clients include a number of America's largest corporations, as well as city, state and federal agencies, faith-based organizations, colleges, universities, public and private schools, youth organizations, and social service agencies. Specialized in working with various socio-economic groups, including entry-level workers, young professionals, minorities and at-risk students, UIF has developed special training curriculum for building successful mentoring partnerships across culture, race, generation, gender, and disabilities.

Our methods for our organizational programs are simple, do not require extensive time to implement, and yet significantly increase the effectiveness of mentor↔protégés relationships. We believe that because the relationship is protégé-driven, there frequently needs to be training for protégés, as well as mentors, on how to use this powerful tool for success. Participants are consistently enthusiastic about the mutual benefits received by both mentors and protégés. It is, in fact, this mutuality that brings success.

Historically UIF has provided the following selected list of organizations with individually-designed, client-specific programs within one of three categories of Open-System Mentoring™ Programs:

1. Working with the organization to design its mentoring program, producing training materials, presenting orientation and training sessions, and monitoring the entire program, including extensive evaluations and final reports.
   
   
2. Working with the organization to design its mentoring program, supplying training materials, and delivering initial orientation training for mentors and protégés within the organization.
   
   
3. Developing educational materials or presenting a program, lecture or keynote address on the power and application of mentoring as an effective tool for success.

Adults Mentoring Adults

Alpha Phi Alpha - African American professional fraternity (USA)

American Association for Affirmative Action, Region III, and Philadelphia Liberty Industry Liaison Group 2005 Fall Conference (Philadelphia, PA)

ASARCO - Fortune 500 mining company (Salt Lake City, UT)

The BOC Group (Murray Hill, NJ)
*formerly British Oxygen Company

Bowater Incorporated (Greenville, SC)

Baxter Healthcare (McGaw Park, IL)

Chester County Chamber Welfare-to-Work Mentoring Program (Malvern, PA)

CoreStates Financial Corporation - Wachovia (Philadelphia, PA)

• Credit Review Group
• Transaction Service Group
• Financial Institutions
• Women's Network (West Chester, PA)

Dow Chemical Company

• Research & Development (Midland, MI)
• Research & Development (Plaquemine, LA)
• Fabricated Products: R&D (Granville, OH)

Du Pont Company (Wilmington, DE)

• Agricultural Products
• Marketing & Business Research
• Central R&D
• OZ Group Planning
• CR&D Women's Group
• Spruance Plant (Richmond, VA)
• Cultural Diversity Council
• Nylon & Fibers (Chattanooga, TN)

Eli Lilly and Company (Indianapolis, IN)

• Research & Development
• Quality Control Labratories
• Medical Division
• African American Associates Forum
• Animal Science & Toxicology Divisions (Greenfield, IN)

Executive Services Corps of Indiana (Indianapolis, IN)

Free Library of Philadelphia (Philadelphia, PA)

IBM Corporation (Armonk, NY)

• Almaden Research Center (San Jose, CA)
• Server Group (Austin, TX)
• Intellectual Property & Licensing (Thornwood, NY)
• Server Group (Rochester, MN)
• Software Re-Engineering (Research Triangle Park, NC)
• Server Group (Poughkeepsie, NY)
• Somerset Design Center (Austin, TX)
• Server Group (Somers, NY)
• T. J. Watson Research Center (Yorktown Heights, NY)

Insurance Women of the Main Line (Bryn Mawr, PA)

Kiwanis Club of the Main Line (Bryn Mawr, PA)

Latino Mentoring Program (Reading, PA)

Los Alamos National Laboratory (Los Alamos, NM)

Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN)

Magee Rehabilitation (Philadelphia, PA)

MAST International Organisation plc (United Kingdom)

Motorola, Inc. (Schaumburg, IL)

Narberth Presbyterian Church (Narberth, PA)

New York State: Monroe County Social Services Association (Rochester, NY)

National Association of Female Executives (Philadelphia Chapter)

National Institute of Standards and Technology (Gaithersburg, MD; Boulder, CO)
*formerly National Bureau of Standards

Oklahoma Foundation for Digestive Research (Oklahoma City, OK)

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe llp (San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York)

Prudential Insurance Company (Roseland, NJ; Ft. Washington, PA)

Rotary Club of Chesterbrook (Wayne, PA)

SAS Airways (Sweden)

Spanish Speaking Council of Reading and Berks County (Reading, PA)

State of Delaware (Wilmington, DE)

• Management Fellows Program
• Division of Social Services (Dover, DE)
• State Personnel Office
• Division of Medicaid & Medical Assistance (Dover, DE)

St. Mark's United Methodist Church (Indialantic, FL)

United Way of America Regional Meetings

• Alexandria, VA
• Boston, MA
• Little Rock, AR
• San Francisco, CA
• Atlanta, GA
• Dallas, TX
• Los Angeles, CA
• South Bend, IN

USDA Forest Service

• Northeastern Forest Experiment Station (Radnor, PA)
• Southeastern Forest Experiment Station (Asheville, NC)

Wayne Presbyterian Church (Wayne, PA)

Wilmington News Journal (Wilmington, DE)

Women's Initiative for Technology Leadership (Concord, MA)

Women's Opportunity Link of Delaware, Inc. (Wilmington, DE)

Women's Resource Center (Wayne, PA)

Adults Mentoring Youth

American Jewish Congress (Philadelphia Chapter)

Baltimore Mentoring Resource Center(Baltimore, MD)

Bridges Program - Linking School to Career (Philadelphia, PA)

Black Engineer-of-the-Year Awards Conference (Baltimore, MD)

Chesapeake Bay Girl Scout Council (Newark, DE)

Chester County Futures (Coatesville, PA)

Concerned Black Men of Philadelphia (Philadelphia, PA)

Cradle of Liberty Boy Scout Council (Valley Forge, PA)

Executive Services Corps of Indiana (Indianapolis, IN)

First African Baptist Church(Philadelphia, PA)

Meadow Wood Hospital for Children and Adolescents (New Castle, DE)

Meridian Bank(Reading, PA)

National School & Community Corps/AmeriCorps(Philadelphia, PA)

• Corpsmembers mentoring students in Philadelphia public schools

The Navigators (Colorado Springs, CO)

Optimist Club of Valley Forge (Valley Forge, PA)

Philadelphia Futures - private organization dedicated to aiding youth of Philadelphia, with partners:

• ARCO Chemical Company
• Merck, Sharp & Dohme
• CIGNA Insurance Company
• Rohm & Haas
• Coopers & Lybrand LLP
• Rorer Group
• Dechert, Price & Rhodes LLP
• IBM Corporation
• Judge Nelson A. Diaz's School Adoption Program (for Hispanic youth)
• Lt. Jose Menendez's School Adoption Program (for Hispanic youth)
• Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants
• Philadelphia Mayor's Office of Community Affairs
• Wolf, Block, Schorr & Solis-Cohen LLP

Philadelphia Youth Service Corps (Philadelphia, PA)

Reading City Mentoring Program (Reading, PA)

Siemens Medical Solutions Health Services Corporation (Malvern, PA)

State Bar of Texas (Dallas, TX)

• Lawyers mentoring minority high school students in Austin and Dallas

Tell Them We Are Rising (Philadelphia, PA)

• 'I Have A Dream Foundation' prototype

White-Williams Foundation (Philadelphia, PA)

YWCA of New Castle County (New Castle, DE)

Schools & Educational Organizations

Association of Independent Schools in New England (Braintree, MA)

Connecticut Association of Independent Schools in New England (CT)

Intermediate Unit1-Fayette/Greene/Washington Counties (Coal Center, PA)

New Jersey Superintendents School Study Council, The Center for School Study Councils, Penn Graduate School of Education (Philadelphia, PA)

Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators (Harrisburg, PA)

• Pennsylvania Superintendents and Other School Administrators
• Women's Caucus of PASA

Penn Literacy Network, University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA)

Philadelphia School District (Philadelphia, PA)

• Philadelphia Elementary Principal Intern Program

Public and Private Schools

• Boyertown Area School District (PA)
• Central Dauphin School District (PA)
• Chester-Upland School District (PA)
• Harrisburg School District (PA)
• Knoxville City and County School System (TN)
• Matanuska-Susitna School District (AK)
• Mother of Sorrows Schools (PA)
• Oak Ridge School District (TN)
• Peters Township School District (PA)
• Phoenixville Area Middle School/Phoenixville Hospital (PA)
• Pottstown School District (PA)
• Radnor Township School District (PA)
• Roane County Depar™ent of Education (TN)
• Rocky Hill School (RI)
• Samuel Gompers Technical High School (NY)
• School District of Upper Moreland Township (PA)
• South Middletown School District (PA)
• Springfield School District (IL)
• West Chester Area School District (PA)

Seventh Day Adventist Church

• North Pacific Union Teachers Conference (Portland, OR)
• Upper Columbia Teachers Conference (Spokane, WA)

Colleges, Universities & Graduate Schools

The College Fund/UNCF (Fairfax, VA)

Cornell University (Ithica, NY

• School of Industrial & Labor Relations Alumni Association

Delaware State College (Dover, DE)

Denver Seminary (Denver, CO)

Dillard University (New Orleans, LA)

Duquesne University, School of Education (Pittsburgh, PA)

• Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program for Educational Leaders

Iowa State University (Ames, IA)

• Women in Science and Engineering

Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN)

• Minority Programs for the Graduate School

Seminary of the East

• Three Campuses (Dresher, PA; New York, NY; Worcester, MA)

Spelman College (Atlanta, GA)

UCLA Medical School, Division of Gastroenterology (Los Angeles, CA)

University of California - Davis (Davis, CA)

• Chemistry Career Planning Workshop for Underrepresented Minority Students

University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA)

• Say Yes to Education - 'I Have A Dream Foundation' prototype
• The School of Nursing
• Young Entrepreneurs at Wharton, The Wharton School

University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA)

• The School of Engineering

University of Virginia, School of Medicine (Charlottesville, NC)

Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo, MI)

• The International Mentoring Association Institute Annual Conference