Mentorship programs that connect the right people

Structured mentorship from registration to completion

A high-value benefit that deserves real tooling. Mentorship programs are one of the most valuable services an association can offer. They help early-career professionals grow, give experienced members a meaningful way to contribute, and strengthen the professional community as a whole. But running a mentorship program with spreadsheets and manual emails is time-consuming and error-prone -- especially when you are matching dozens or hundreds of participants.

Manage the full mentorship lifecycle. Upside AMS provides a structured mentorship management system that handles the entire lifecycle: creating program cycles, collecting registrations with detailed preferences, matching mentors to mentees based on professional category and venue preference, and notifying everyone when groups are finalized. Staff stay in control while the software handles the logistics.

Capture preferences that drive great matches. Registration captures the information that matters for good matches. Participants choose whether they want to be a mentor, a mentee, or both. They specify their professional category, whether they prefer virtual or in-person meetings, and their location. Mentors indicate how many mentees they can support -- from one to five -- so the matching process respects everyone's availability.

Match automatically or manually. Matching can be done automatically in bulk or manually by staff. The automated matching uses participant preferences to suggest optimal pairings, while manual matching gives administrators full flexibility to consider factors the system might not capture. Either way, you can review and adjust groups before publishing them to participants.

Duplicate cycles for annual programs. And because mentorship programs often run annually, Upside AMS lets you duplicate an entire cycle -- copying the program structure and settings into a new one. Update the dates, open registration, and your next cohort is ready to go.

Key capabilities

• ✓ Structured program cycles -- define mentorship cycles with registration windows, matching periods, and program dates.
• ✓ Preference-based registration -- participants select their role, professional category, venue preference, and location during sign-up.
• ✓ Mentor capacity controls -- mentors set how many mentees they can take on (one to five), and the system respects those limits during matching.
• ✓ Manual and automated matching -- use bulk matching to pair participants by preferences, or match manually when you need more control.
• ✓ Group publishing and notifications -- finalize groups and notify all participants automatically when pairings are ready.
• ✓ Cycle duplication -- duplicate a completed cycle to set up next year's program in minutes, with all settings carried over.

How it works for members

Register with role and preference details. When a mentorship cycle opens for registration, eligible members are invited to sign up through their member portal. The registration form guides them through selecting their role -- mentor, mentee, or both -- and capturing their preferences: professional category, venue preference (virtual, in-person, or either), and location.

Set capacity for manageable pairings. Mentors also specify their capacity, indicating how many mentees they are able to work with during the cycle. This information feeds directly into the matching process, ensuring that pairings are relevant and manageable for everyone involved.

Get notified when groups are finalized. Once groups are published, participants receive a notification with the details of their pairing. From there, mentors and mentees can connect and begin their work together. The process is clear, guided, and respectful of everyone's time.

How it works for staff

Create cycles and review registrations. Administrators create a mentorship cycle by defining the registration window and program details. Once registration closes, staff can review all participants and their preferences in the admin dashboard -- seeing at a glance how many mentors and mentees have signed up, what categories and venues they prefer, and where capacity gaps might exist.

Match in bulk or by hand. Matching can be done with a single bulk action that pairs participants based on their stated preferences, or staff can manually assign pairings to account for nuances the system cannot see. Groups can be adjusted as many times as needed before publishing.

Publish and notify with one click. When you are satisfied with the groups, publishing them triggers automatic notifications to all participants. For associations that run the same program each year, duplicating an existing cycle copies all the configuration forward so you can have next year's program set up in minutes.