Partnership Agreement Templates

Every active match in MentorNeko comes with a partnership agreement: a shared document that sets expectations and ground rules for the mentoring relationship. Agreements are generated automatically when a match is approved, using a template you control. This article explains how templates work, how to edit them, and how to enforce signing before sessions begin.

Template Hierarchy

MentorNeko resolves which template to use for a new match by working through a three-level hierarchy:

1. Program-specific template: If the program the match belongs to has a custom template, that template is used.
2. Org default template: If no program template exists, the system uses the template you have set as your organization's default.
3. System default: If neither custom template is configured, MentorNeko's built-in template is used.

This hierarchy means you can set a sensible default for your entire organization and then override it for specific programs that have different expectations or goals.

Editing the Org Default Template

To set or update your organization's default agreement template:

1. Navigate to Admin > Settings > Agreement Template.
2. The editor shows your current org default. If you have not customized it, the system default text is shown as a starting point.
3. Edit the content using the rich-text editor. You can format text with headings, lists, bold, italic, and hyperlinks.
4. Click Save to apply the new default.

The new template applies to all future matches that do not have a program-specific template. Existing agreements that have already been created for active matches are not changed.

Tips for Writing a Good Org Default Template

Your org default template should cover the commitments and expectations that apply across all of your programs. Good content to include:

• Meeting frequency expectations (such as "at least once per month")
• Confidentiality and trust commitments
• Communication channel preferences and response time expectations
• Ground rules for giving and receiving feedback
• How to handle scheduling conflicts or cancellations

Keep the language warm and collaborative rather than legalistic. The agreement should feel like a shared commitment between partners, not a contract.

Editing Per-Program Templates

For programs with specific requirements, you can set a template that overrides the org default for all matches in that program.

1. Navigate to Admin > Programs, open the program, and click the Settings tab.
2. Scroll to the Partnership Agreement section and click Edit Template.
3. Write or edit the template content using the rich-text editor.
4. Click Save.

If you later want to remove the program-specific template and fall back to the org default, click Remove Program Template in the same section.

The Agreement Gate

By default, members can complete sessions and log their meeting outcomes whether or not they have signed the partnership agreement. The agreement gate toggle changes this behavior.

When the agreement gate is enabled for a program:

• Members cannot mark a session as complete until both partners have signed the partnership agreement.
• Attempts to complete a session without a signed agreement return an error with a clear message directing them to sign first.
• Admins can see which matches have unsigned agreements in the match list.

To enable the gate for a program:

1. Open the program's Settings tab.
2. Find the Partnership Agreement section.
3. Toggle Require agreement signing before session completion to on.

When to Use the Agreement Gate

The agreement gate is most useful for programs where the first-meeting commitment matters: leadership programs, formal mentoring programs, or programs where you want to ensure participants have explicitly agreed to expectations before sessions are logged.

For lighter-touch programs like peer networking, the gate may add friction that outweighs the benefit.

Monitoring Signing Status

You can track agreement signing status from the match list. The match list includes a column showing whether the agreement for each match is unsigned, partially signed (one partner has signed), or fully signed.

Matches with an unsigned agreement show as a flag in the agreement column. Use the column filter to isolate matches where the agreement is not yet fully signed, then reach out to those pairs directly or trigger a reminder.

The signing status also feeds into the engagement score's agreement component, which accounts for 10% of the overall score. Unsigned agreements in established matches will drag the score toward at-risk territory over time.