Fawn Montanye Is Expanding Access to Tutoring Through Nourishing Minds​

For Fawn Montanye, Director of Strategic Partnerships and Growth at Nourishing Minds Tutoring, education goes far beyond report cards.

She’s focused on helping kids build confidence, form real connections with educators, and find opportunities no matter where they live or what their family’s income might be. In her new role, Montanye is reaching out to nonprofits, schools, and employers throughout the Capital Region and Adirondacks, all with the goal of making tutoring and educational support available to more local children and families.

“I need a position with a purpose,” Montanye said during an interview on Buying Local. Her experience spans corporate, private-sector, and nonprofit work, but she said nonprofit organizations have consistently offered the connection between professional skills and community impact that matters most to her.

Nourishing Minds Tutoring Wants to Reach More Children

Montanye’s work centers on opening up access to the tutoring Nourishing Minds already offers. Instead of focusing just on families who seek out private tutoring, she’s looking for ways to team up with organizations that are already supporting kids across our region.

One idea is to partner with nonprofits and school districts that run after-school or K-12 programs. Nourishing Minds would bring experienced tutors right into these programs, meeting kids where they already are and adding extra educational support to what’s already happening.​

Montanye pointed out that resources can look very different from one school district to the next, even when families live just a few miles apart. By building partnerships, she hopes to help fill those gaps and find ways tutoring can fit into what each community already offers.

She also knows that many nonprofits are stretched thin, both in staff and funding. Montanye wants to help these organizations find grants and private funding that would make more educational services possible.

Montanye plans to spend time meeting with community groups, listening to local leaders, and learning where extra resources would really make a difference. Her goal is to build an approach that fits each community, not just offer a one-size-fits-all solution.

Scholarships and Employer Benefits Could Make Tutoring More Accessible

For many families, the cost of extra educational support can be a real hurdle. To help with that, Nourishing Minds Tutoring is looking into a scholarship fund that would make one-on-one tutoring possible for families who might not otherwise be able to afford it.

​Montanye shared that the organization is hoping to work with a fiscal agent to manage the scholarship funds. This setup would let families or community groups point to a specific educational need and use scholarship support to help cover the cost.

​That might mean help with test prep, building reading skills, or boosting confidence in a tough subject. Montanye emphasized that the goal is to open up the full tutoring experience to more people, not offer a scaled-back version.

​“We have such generous business owners, private community members, and people who really believe what we do,” she said, describing the potential for community support to help make tutoring available to more families.

​Montanye is also looking at employer-sponsored tutoring benefits. Just like some workplaces offer health or dental coverage, she sees a chance for local businesses to help their employees get educational support for their kids.

​She plans to reach out to HR teams and company leaders to see if tutoring could be offered as a benefit for families or through group programs. Larger employers with childcare centers would be great partners for bringing in extra educational support.

​Montanye’s focus covers four main areas: working with nonprofits, offering scholarships, building employer benefits, and supporting independent, homeschool, Catholic, and parochial school communities. Through all of this, she’s aiming to connect tutoring resources with the kids and organizations that need them most.

Building Relationships Beyond the Classroom

For Montanye, making education accessible is personal. She shared her own story of raising her kids as a single mom, working while they attended before- and after-school programs. She saw firsthand how a strong education helped her daughter move from high school to an associate degree, then a bachelor’s, and now plans for graduate school.

That experience shapes how she sees education—not just as grades, but as the relationships kids build with their teachers and tutors. Those connections can make all the difference in whether a child feels safe asking questions, admitting they need help, or trying something new.

“Having the opportunity to build those relationships is instrumental for so many kids that don’t always have that opportunity,” Montanye said.

She believes tutoring gives kids another trusted adult to talk things through with, practice new skills, and build confidence. The results might show up in a grade, but Montanye sees the real impact reaching far beyond the report card.

“It’s so much more than just increasing an 86 to an 89,” she said.

Montanye knows that community organizations are already working hard to meet urgent needs, from food assistance to winter coats and school supplies. She doesn’t see tutoring as competing with those efforts. Instead, she hopes educational support can become part of a bigger, year-round approach to helping local kids and families.

School breaks and summer vacations can be tough for working parents. Montanye believes that planning ahead for full-day programs and ongoing educational opportunities can help families keep some consistency when school’s out.

A Community-Driven Approach to Educational Support​

As Montanye builds partnerships across the Capital District and up through Queensbury and the Adirondacks, she plans to meet with organizations face-to-face, look for grant opportunities, and really listen to what each community says it needs. She pointed to places like Menands and Green Island as examples where local needs and resources shape what kind of support will help most.

​For Montanye, the next step is turning these conversations into real partnerships that make tutoring easier to access. Families who want to learn more about Nourishing Minds Tutoring can visit the website or call or text Montanye directly at 518-466-4466. Nonprofits, schools, and employers are also welcome to reach out and talk about what might work for their community.

The organization’s tagline is “We make learning happen,” a phrase Montanye said reflects the work she is excited to help expand. Her goal is to make that opportunity available to more children throughout the year and across the communities where they live.