Some nice coverage for ServeNext

ServeNext’s successful strategy in the Pepsi Refresh Project just got some great coverage — and that coverage earned us some more props in the Refresh Newsletter.  Thanks for all the voters who helped us win!  In fact, we just kicked off our project this past weekend when our 10 community organizers gathered in DC for 2.5 days of intense training about raising the voice and visibility of the service movement.  Pictures coming soon. Links below…

How to Win an Online Grant Contest

Association Bisnow interviewed 3 Pepsi Refresh winners for a recent article for their readers. Scott Beale of Atlas Corps, Zach Maurin of ServeNext.org, and Alison Malmon of Active Minds, have together raised more than $500,000 from Pepsi Refresh and other online giving contests.

With many of our grantees now competing for a Refresh grant for the second and third times, it’s helpful to see what’s worked for some groups time and again. They mobilized a network of voting captains, set up voting booths amongst their college chapters, and even had a volunteer bike through downtown DC in his undies. From the conventional to the game-changing, see what it takes to win an online grant.

Click here to read the complete article.

And congrats to Scott, Zach, and Alison on the great coverage! Have a campaign story you’d like to share? Let us know!

Senate’s Funding Recommendations for Service

The diligent and quick folks at Voices for National Service just emailed the info below.  For the Corporation for National and Community Service FY2011 budget, the Senate recommended $60 million more than the House, but $60 million lass than the President’s request.  In the context of AmeriCorps, the Senate’s budget would add 10,000 positions next year for 97,000 total.

It’s still a solid increase from last year’s budget, but we need both the House and Senate to meet the President’s request.  Service is an answer to rising social needs across a host of issues and unemployment.  We need people more engaged during tough times — and that takes resources, but service is a very cost-effective option.  More details below from Voices:

Senate LHHS Subcommittee Recommends $1.366B for CNCS in FY11
Mark is $215.9M above FY10 enacted, would fund additional 10,000 AmeriCorps slots

On July 27, the Senate Labor-Health and Human Services-Education Appropriations Subcommittee approved a draft spending bill that includes $1.366 billion for the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). This would be an increase of $215.9 million (18.8%) above the FY 2010 enacted level. Earlier this month, the House LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee approved a budget for CNCS of $1.305 billion, approximately $60 million below the Senate subcommittee mark. Both the House and Senate subcommittees are recommending funding levels below the President’s requested level of $1.416 billion.

According to the bill summary, the Senate’s appropriation would increase AmeriCorps participation from 87,000 members in 2010 to 97,000 in 2011. Further details, including the funding breakdown by program, will be available this week after the full Senate Appropriations Committee considers the LHHS bill on Thursday, July 29.

	Click here for the FY 2011 bill summary approved by the Senate LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee (from the Senate LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee).
	The House subcommittee approved $1.305 billion for the Corporation for National and Community Service on July 15. Click here for more information.

There are many steps left in the appropriations process before final funding levels are enacted. Voices for National Service will continue to monitor the appropriations process and keep the field updated as details emerge. Congress will have to make tough decisions on national funding priorities, while they try to impose discipline on spending and reduce the deficit. Legislators must hear from constituents who are closely watching the levels appropriated to CNCS.

News Round-Up: Cities of Service, TFA, and Service-Learning

A weekly round-up of news about service, social innovation, and social change.

Cities of Service

As  ServeNext continues to move forward with its own plans to extend field corps members into ten cities, Cities of Service announced recently that $200,000 would be provided to ten more cities across the country, an initiative headed by mayors Michael Bloomberg and Karl Dean of New York and Nashville but including 100 mayors across the country. This is the second set of ten cities to undertake this effort. The Chronicle of Philanthropy wrote a story detailing a project that will be “sustained opportunities to bring systematic change and greater impact to the way communities support each other,” according to spokesman, Judith Rodin from the Rockefeller Center.

Teach for America

According to the The Sun News, in 2009, Teach for America applications rose more than 40 percent over 2008. Young people are realizing the value of completing terms of service. There are several draws to doing service related employment or taking nonprofit jobs. Recent graduates are noticing the expansion of the service community and taking advantage of the new openings and opportunities to do a wide range of activities.

Millions in Service Grants

The Corporation for National and Community Service recently awarded $9 million in “Learn and Serve America Higher Education grants to support teacher training and increase student interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math disciplines.”  There was another $20 million devoted to schools nation wide to engage in service-learning.

The Future of Non-Profits

The non-profit community is nearing the verge of another ground-breaking piece of legislation this summer. Last week on June 16th, Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN) introduced a bill aimed at strengthening the non-profit sector and its relationship with government. In the wake of the Serve America Act and on the heels of sweeping regulatory legislation concerning for-profit business is the movement for more attention to organizations under tax code 501(c) (3).

Our friends at Independent Sector summed up the proposed bill nicely. The four intents highlighted are:

1. Create a US Council on the Non-profit Sector and Community Solutions that advises the President and Congress on working more effectively to “address challenges” and “maximize opportunities.” This council would present an annual report detailing its studies on the roles and relationships between non-profits and government, and the benefits, barriers and other problems concerning non-profit endeavors.
2. Create an Interagency Working Group including members of several cabinets coordinating policies concerning relationships with non-profits.
3. Charge another agency to collect data from other federal agencies concerning several aspects of the financial health of the non-profit sector and its community members. Charge the Bureau of Economic Analysis at the Department of Commerce with determining a system to measure the economic impact of non-profits.
4. Create a Non-profit Research Fund to further facilitate broad basic and applied research and training concerning the sector.

This past Friday I had the opportunity to listen on a conference policy briefing hosted by Independent Sector concerning this new legislation. Tens of other organizations from across the US joined the informative conversation led by Peter Frosch, McCollum’s Legislative Director.

He began by chronicling the inspirations behind Rep. McCollum’s interest in non-profits. Two years ago, a routine inquiry into the Congressional Research Service’s Report on non-profit businesses yielded exactly zero results. Betty McCollum and her staff thought it strange the reality that the government had fundamentally no organizational bodies concerning non-profits and their work. Not even the CRS had compiled an annual report on non-profits. Determining that this trend was indeed troubling, Betty McCollum and her staff embarked on the process to create this legislation.

For about the past 24 months, McCollum and her colleagues have been pounding the pavement and the parchment. They have gotten in contact with several important leaders and have put those efforts in writing. The text may be complete as soon as this week, and introduced as soon as next week. McCollum will introduce perhaps the most important measure concerning non-profits in our history.

Peter Frosch asserts that, distinct from more contentious political issues, this legislation carries a connotation of being a “smart government initiative” and should receive support from both sides. This whole sector was in the “blind spot” of Congress according to Mr. Frosch. Certainly the non-profit world carries a unique set of challenges compared to other sectors.

The non-profit world lacks the resources of big, for-profit businesses.  However, non-profits are tasked with tackling many of our nation’s most pressing social challenges that large corporations are not setup to address. This societal and economic impact is yet to be measured by our government. It is crucial to establish metrics to determine just what those impacts are.

Essentially this bill will help create the governmental infrastructure to analyze and address the growing importance of the non-profit community. Currently our bureaucracy lacks the capacity to understand the dynamics of this sector.

Mr. Frosch said that this bill will help “government understand what kinds of questions it should be asking” us in the non-profit arena. We keenly await the passing of such monumental legislation. Certainly, ServeNext is eager to volunteer answers to those questions and help however we can to advance this legislation.

What’s the deal? Benefits of our Field Corps positions

We’re in the final stretch of recruiting applicants for our  community organizing program, Field Corps (online app closes on Tuesday, June 15 at 11:59 EST).

We’ve spent time promoting the position details, but I wanted to share a bit more about the benefits.  Doing something important for the community and personal benefit are certainly not mutually exclusive (in fact it’s better for the community when they aren’t!).

Here’s the quick recap of the position:

Organizers will help create and lead grassroots networks in their communities to build support for the service movement among key leaders (politicians, business folks, media, etc.) and raise the visibility so more people do service.

The position requires about 10 hours/week between late August and January, and designed to accommodate the schedule of other full-time commitments (jobs, kids, etc.).  It is open to anyone across the country and we’re looking for people passionate about service who share the belief that collective grassroots action can help advance social change.

Okay, so here’s a rundown of some benefits:

Training Retreat

The 10 folks selected to be Field Corps organizers are going to be all over the country and the Program Director managing them will be in DC.  So to start things off, we want everyone to get to know each other and doing some really great training.  ServeNext will cover the expenses to bring everyone together in DC from August 20-22.

We’ll hear from experts in areas like strategic planning, grassroots organizing, social media, working with the media, and more.  During the retreat everyone will work on his/her local strategic plan that will be put to work through January.  It will be  an exciting few days of learning, making new friends, and a great time in Washington, DC.

Ongoing Support

If you like the skills development during the retreat in DC, then you’ll also like this: throughout the six month program ServeNext will provide ongoing support and training. It will be both group and individual based on the needs of each organizer.  New to social media?  We’ll work with you on that.  Never met with the staff from a political office?  We got you.  Need help learning how to engage the local media?  We’ll help.

In other words, we’ll be supporting our organizers throughout the program to advance their own skills both for the Field Corps position and beyond.

Incredible Networking

How does that saying go?  “Who you know is more important than what you know.”  Okay, so maybe that’s not always true, but relationships really matter.  And whether you’re looking for connections for jobs, know more leaders in the community, or just make new friends, Field Corps is an amazing opportunity.  After all, a huge component to the position is building a network comprised of community leaders and active members.  And then you lead the network to engage even more leaders across various sectors and other organizations.  These relationships will be a huge boost to Organizers for the future.

Excellent hands-on leadership experience

Whether you’re looking to put a variety of skills to work, boost your resume, or meet new people Field Corps positions offer authentic and substantive leadership experience.  It will be a great way to really walk away confident about a variety of skills and how to actually implement them.  Or, if you’re already a seasoned leader, this is an opportunity to hone your leadership by applying them in a new context.  Nothing is more educational than leadership.

Tom Cruise in the movie Jerry Mcguire, shouting his famous line.

Show me the money!

“Show me the stipend” doesn’t have the same ring, but you get the idea.  Field Corps positions come with a $1,500 stipend for the six months.  And frankly, we expect this to be the smallest of benefits, but we know it helps.  We’ll also provide each Field Corps organizer with $250 or so for local expenses — food for an event, gas for a longer drive, etc.

What do you think?

If you want more details, check out the full description and apply here.  Or  know someone who is great?  Nominate him/her/them here (some small prizes if your nominee applies and a bigger prize if accepted).  Finally, feel free to send us an email at info @servenext.org if you can’t find the answer to your question.  We’re here to help.

Look forward to reading great applications and working to build a robust grassroots voice to advance the service and social innovation fields!

jouleskettles.com

The search is on!

This week, we rolled out the first stages of our inaugural year of Field Corps, our community organizing program dedicated to building local, powerful grassroots networks in 10 areas around the country to advance service, Americorps, and social innovation.  We’re incredibly excited about the potential for this program, but we also need your help.

We’re looking for 10 exceptional leaders around the country.   These folks don’t need to have traditional organizing experience, but they do need to:

• possess a strong background in the service field OR a genuine passion for the role service can play in addressing social challenges and improving democracy
• be able to demonstrate a previous commitment to improving and serving their current communities
• have experience organizing and motivating a group of people towards a common goal
• plan to remain in their current community for the foreseeable future

Does this sound like someone you know?  If it does, nominate them at servenext.org/nominatefieldcorps.

We want to make sure that we’re hearing about truly amazing people.  To show our appreciation for nominations, we’re offering some prizes:

• If you nominate someone who applies, we’ll send you a ServeNext t-shirt.
• If you nominate someone who is eventually selected as one of the 10 organizers, we’ll send you a ServeNext t-shirt and a $50 gift card to your choice of iTunes store or Amazon.com.

Applications close on June 15, so make sure to get those recommendations in soon!

You can also help us spread the word on Facebook here and if you’re on Twitter, here.

Field Corps applications now up!

Today, ServeNext is proud to announce that we are rolling out applications for our Field Corps Community Organizing program – the inaugural year of our new program that will recruit, train, and support an annual cohort of organizers.  These organizers will harness the power of grassroots action to advance service, AmeriCorps, and social innovation in their communities.

In June of 2010 we will select 10 exceptional people for the inaugural year of the program.  Traditional organizing experience isn’t required, but we are looking for people who are active in their communities and plan to remain there.  Field Corps is a six month program, running from August to January, and requires a commitment of 10 hours/week.  Field Corps organizers will receive extensive training in organizing grassroots campaigns, communication and social media, legislative advocacy, strategic planning and more.

Our search is nationwide as we look for the 10 best people to build and lead local grassroots networks and weigh that against various strategic opportunities in different areas. More details about the program is at servenext.org/fieldcorps and the application is at servenext.org/field_corps/application (last day to apply is June 15).

In ServeNext’s three year history, this is our most ambitious effort yet.  Help us by spreading the word – click here to Tweet it and here to share on Facebook.  Our vision is to build networks that will be permanent, vibrant constituencies that will form a powerful grassroots voice.  We are excited to get the first year going to help build this momentous period for service and social innovation into long-term public and political will.  We believe that this grassroots organizing is a critical component.

Guest Post: Reflections on last week’s service events

The following is a guest blog post by Mary Bruce (AmeriCorps 99-00; Peace Corps 04-06):

I had the opportunity to attend the ServiceNation Coalition Meeting last week and was – as always – honored to participate. ServiceNation leveraged the anniversary of the signing of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act not just as a time to pat the collective service community on the back (though there was some of that, which is well-deserved), but as an opportunity to challenge complacency head on and call for a bigger, bolder everything.

Highlights for me included: an overview of  Cities of Service initiative, where mayors across the country “engage citizens to address the great challenges of our time.” Glad to hear Kim Simon of New Profit describe states as “the next frontier.” While Deval Patrick’s recently signed Innovation Compact is a great step forward, there’s a lot more to be done when rural districts are largely left out of the conversation. Hopefully Khazei’s new roll-out, Opportunity Nation, will address some of this – but state policies matter and – as of yet – ServiceNation hasn’t moved much on this front.  Ross Cohen also gave a great overview of their work with civilian military partnerships. Would love to see how some of this work could also tap into civilians who have served abroad.

The organizers also built about 45 minutes of brainstorming into the session, where attendees could share their ideas for “what’s next.” Was great to hear the grass tops perspective.  As a Returned Peace Corps volunteer, I was especially glad to hear ServiceWorld and the team at the Building Bridges Coalition give voice to the international component. MorePeaceCorps is doing what it can to secure and (dare I say it) increase funding for the Peace Corps, but a coordinated agenda is needed on the international scene as well. Simply stated, soft diplomacy works.

Many thanks to the organizers. It’s been a big year for service. Hopefully the grasstops – and the grassroots – can keep the momentum going.

Mary can be reached at mary.elizabeth.bruce [at] gmail.com

Round-up: Serve America Act Anniversary and National Volunteer Week

April 18 through the 24^th 2010 was an exciting week in the service world. It marked the one-year anniversary of the signing of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act; it was also National Volunteer Week.

To get the week started President Obama made a statement highlighting the importance of national service:

Whether through the workplace or a house of worship, in our own neighborhoods or in another state or country, service binds us together as Americans in a way nothing else can. It defines us as a people, and it is essential to achieving our national priorities. Together, let us answer the call, take hold of our shared future, and meet the challenges of our new century.

The House of Representatives also recognized this monumental occasion by issuing a statement regarding the innovation and expansion of service in America:

Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act promotes social innovation by supporting and expanding proven programs and builds capacity of individuals, non- profits, and communities to volunteer.

On Tuesday April 20^th ServiceNation, America Forward and Voices for National Service hosted a luncheon on at the Newseum in honor of the first anniversary of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. The event included a video tribute introduced by the wife of the late Senator Kennedy, remarks about service and citizenship by Cokie Roberts, and a keynote by Patrick Corvington, CEO of the Corporation for National Community Service.

Also on Tuesday, the Points of Light Institute and HandsOn Network held the first-ever LEAD Summit. It convened media innovators, nonprofit experts, and more than 300 volunteer leaders to discuss new-media ways to engage and mobilize volunteers.  The Summit explored the power of new social media platforms and reflected upon how volunteer leaders are creating new pathways of self-organizing for change.

On Wednesday, April 21^st Shirley Sagawa launched her book, The American Way to Change: How National Service and Volunteers are Transforming America at the American Center for Progress. Ms. Sagawa gave a brief speech and was then joined in a panel by Lester Strong, CEO of Experience Corps, and Jason Patnosh, National Director of Community HealthCorps, where the future of national service in America was discussed.

National Volunteer Week went off with a bang. The week was not only inspiring but it did a great job of promoting volunteerism and service in America.

Links to think about

If there’s been one thing on my mind lately, it’s been human connectedness. A recent trip to Guatemala, which I’ve written about in previous posts, showed me just how much the developed, consumer-ridden world is tied to the developing manufacturing one. Coffee is a perfect example of this—as a crop, it is touched by human hands more than any other before it gets slurped down at Starbucks.

In the spirit of connectedness, here are some links to think about:

• Beverly Bell’s article in the Huffington Post, “Haiti: Where Solidarity Means Survival,” which celebrates the spirit of collectivity that has taken a cultural hold on Haiti;
• “The Power of a Single Volunteer,” a post about Tiffany, a UC student taking action in her community by volunteering at a shelter for homeless and underserved populations;
• Alison Leithner’s article, “Education Benefits from Corporate Social Responsibility Programs,” which talks about how two companies are embracing collectivity and corporate social responsibility;

Post your thoughts on any one of these below.