Connecting citizens to strengthen communities /
SCI AmeriCorps Host Site Application for 2013/2014
SCI AmeriCorps Program
Application & Agreement for Host Site Partners
2013/14 Program Year
The mission of Social Capital Inc. (SCI) is to strengthen communities by connecting diverse individuals and organizations through civic engagement initiatives. We envision a nation where individuals are strongly connected to their neighbors and play an active role in shaping the destiny of their communities. This increase in ‘social capital’ will result in communities that are safer, healthier and more vital.
SCI has applied for 24 full-time AmeriCorps members across the communities in which we are currently operating. These members are divided into two teams, 1) Youth Leadership Coordinators (YLC) and 2) Volunteer Outreach Coordinators (VOC). Priority communities for the SCI AmeriCorps program are Boston (especially Dorchester, Roxbury & Mattapan), Fall River, Lynn and Woburn,
SCI has updated its AmeriCorps proposal goals and objectives to align with new federal AmeriCorps national priorities. The SCI AmeriCorps renewal proposal has an increased focus on education; in particular, helping agencies increase their capacity to recruit and manage volunteers in order to support young people’s success. This includes several aspects of social capital building for youth: recruiting volunteers to serve young people; engaging youth in serving the community; and increasing parental involvement in educational activities. Another new concept in the grant is that some volunteers recruited by members would help young people develop a “life success plan”.
SCI AmeriCorps members will be placed at partner agencies that can demonstrate strong alignment with SCI’s mission and the goals of the SCI AmeriCorps program. The following summarizes the benefits and responsibilities of serving as a host agency for one or more SCI AmeriCorps member.
Benefits:
● A full-time AmeriCorps member serving at your agency from Sept. 9, 2013-June 27, 2014.
● SCI provides the AmeriCorps members with initial training and ongoing professional development and support opportunities. This training and professional development is guided by the SCI Social Capitalist Curriculum which serves as a guide for members’ service. The training for the coming year will place an increased emphasis on increasing agency capacity to recruit and manage volunteers.
● SCI administers the members’ stipends and other benefits and the federal grant that supports the program.
Responsibilities
● Conduct an interview with potential members, recording and submitting interview notes on form provided by SCI. Potential members should be contacted for an interview within 2 business days of receiving their contact information from SCI.
● Provide a $4,900 match per AmeriCorps member to defray the cost of the program. The matching may be paid in full upon initial invoice or in 3 equal installments, with the final payment to be made by 3/1/14 Should the member not complete his or her service year, the matching fee will be prorated based on the amount of weeks served.
● Designate a supervisor for the member. This supervisor should attend an initial SCI AmeriCorps training in September.
● Provide on-site orientation to familiarize member with your agency and the member’s duties. SCI will provide some guidance & tools to help develop your local member training.
● Complete agency Social Capital & Volunteer Capacity self-assessment at program start and end, for outcome measure reporting.
● Supervisors should conduct weekly check-ins with the member to provide support and guidance when necessary.
● Ensure that the member’s service is contributing to the program objectives, and support the member’s efforts to collect required program reporting data, particularly information on volunteers recruited and managed, and the number of youth served by members and the volunteers they recruit.
● Ensure the accuracy and timely submission of member timesheets.
● Review and ensure the accuracy of member program reporting.
● Conduct a mid-year and end of year performance review for the member, following the template provided by SCI.
● Maintain regular communication with SCI program staff, including regular check-ins and prompt reporting of any member performance issues.
● Follow AmeriCorps regulations and observe prohibited AmeriCorps member activities. Prohibited activities include lobbying and other partisan political activities, clerical work, and proselytization. See here for more details: http://www.nationalserviceresources.org/files/rr2-ac-prohibited-activities-ho1-4-13-12.pdf
Other Details:
● Members will participate in SCI AmeriCorps monthly professional development sessions, other occasional SCI sponsored events, and perform an average of 10 hours a month of learning and sharing activities.
● To serve as a host agency for one or more AmeriCorps member, fill out the information below and return to Dan McConvey, SCI AmeriCorps Program Manager as follows by Monday 2/26/2013.
● In addition to completing this application/agreement, you should also carefully review the position descriptions. You can add additional responsibility and/or qualification bullet points provided they are consistent with the overall position goals and AmeriCorps regulations. You should also indicate what the regular service hours will be for the member you host (they serve an average of 40+ hours per week but the schedule of those hours is up to you).
Social Capital Inc.
165M New Boston St., Suite 233
Woburn, MA 01801
We anticipate having more demand for positions than we can accommodate so timely submission of an application and timely cooperation in the recruiting process will be necessary to host a member.
Host Agency Name:
Number of AmeriCorps Positions you wish to host
Note: 2 is the recommended maximum for a host site, but if you are applying for more than 2, be sure to fully describe your host site’s capacity to reach all of the goals for each of the positions:
____ Youth Leadership Coordinator
____ Volunteer Outreach Coordinator
Host Site Supervisor (Name, Title, Contact Info):
Objectives and Service Activities: SCI has submitted a grant application that specifies overall objectives and general service activities for each of the 2 SCI AmeriCorps service areas. These overall objectives are included below.
Host organizations should review these objectives and certify that the service activities that you will have performed by an SCI AmeriCorps member will contribute to the accomplishment of at least one of these objectives. Briefly describe your proposed service activities in the space provided for the member(s) you are requesting.
Volunteer Capacity Building Objective (all positions): Each SCI AmeriCorps host site agency will identify volunteer managerment capacity building needs, and seek to implement at least 3 volunteer management best practices with the assistance of the SCI AmeriCorps member(s). Please summarize how your agency could benefit from increased capacity to recruit & manage volunteers, and any initial capacity building needs you’d like them to address.
Youth Leadership Coordinator Objective: Each member will provide leadership training to a core group of 20 youth, including a Youth Council in each SCI community, who will organize projects that engage 100 of their peers in community service-learning (CSL) and 200 youth in other civic activities. Members will also seek to identify ways adult volunteers can support the success of young people served by the agency. NOTE: CSL projects engage youth in meeting a community need and participate in structured learning activities related to the service. “Other civic activities” would be other (i.e. not CSL) positive youth activities organized by the “core” youth that provide positive, safe activities for their peers—e.g. a youth forum, a peer education workshop, an arts/cultural activity, etc. 75% of core participants will demonstrate civic leadership skills as measured by self-evaluation and civic leadership skills checklist; and 80% will express a commitment to future civic participation.
Please provide a brief description of Youth Leadership Coordinator activities at host agency. Be sure to address how the member will have the opportunity to develop the leadership skills of at least 20 youth on an ongoing basis; and meet the goals for CSL and other civic participation.
Volunteer Outreach Coordinators: Members will increase the capacity of host agencies to recruit and manage volunteers, particularly to meet the needs of young people. Members will use technology and in-person outreach to recruit residents to volunteer and participate in other civic activities. VOC members will also coordinate community events that increase the social capital of youth and their families; with a priority on parental involvement in educational activities. Some VOC members will manage SCI community portals that connect residents to opportunities to participate in the community (complete additional question if you are applying for a VOC to do this). Each VOC will recruit and coordinate at least 75 volunteers and document at least 200 additional individuals participated in community activities as a result of the member’s service. They will help increase traffic by 10% for the SCI community web tools and social media accounts and host partner website and social media accounts (if applicable).
Please provide a brief description of Volunteer Outreach Coordinator activities at host agency. Discuss what the member(s) will do to increase your agencies capacity to recruit and manage volunteers to better serve young people. Include examples of the kind of volunteer roles for which members will recruit. Be sure to indicate how they will achieve the volunteer and community program participation targets. Describe how they will use technology in the recruiting process, and explain what role they will play, if applicable, updating your agency website and/or social media accounts. (complete the following question if they will help maintain the local SCI community portal).
For VOCs maintaining community portals: How will the portal be used to recruit volunteers? What kinds of educational resource information will be shared on the site? (the new grant focus requires that the portals include educational information for parents and volunteer opportunities)
Certification: Our agency is interested in hosting an AmeriCorps member(s) to provide direct service in one or more of the above service areas between September 2013 and June 2014. If selected to host an AmeriCorps member, we agree to follow program regulations and other requirements. This includes providing a cash match of $4,900 for each AmeriCorps member we host.
______
Authorized Signature date
(host agency)
Printed Name:
Title:
Reviewed and Approved by Social Capital Inc.:
______
David Crowley, President
Social Capital Inc.
Email this document once completed & mail 2 original signed copies to Dan McConvey, Social Capital Inc., 165M New Boston St., Suite 233, Woburn, MA 01801. One executed original will be returned to you, if you are chosen to host a member.