AmeriCorps - Good Investment?

Despite the fact that I am an AmeriCorps and VISTA alum, I kind of agree with Lori's logic in her latest blog post - Should MA fund Americorps? My unpopular view - that funding more AmeriCorps positions may not be the best use of funds.

Direct philanthropic investment in experienced volunteer recruiters and volunteer managers paid to serve on charity staffs may be a better route to increase volunteer engagement, versus “hiring” inexperienced people with limited training and resources for short stints without long-term vision and commitment to volunteerism from charity leaders.

Putting money in volunteer program infrastructure (yes, actually paying people to run volunteer programs!) for either actual charities who utilize volunteers or for organizations like PMD who organize volunteer projects for charities (best service ever!) is probably a better long-term investment.

However, I can't ignore the fact that upon graduating from college I had no direction. Not a clue what I wanted to do with my life. So I joined AmeriCorps and volunteered with the Greater Dallas Habitat for Humanity. I honestly have no idea where I would be - most likely I never would have come to Massachusetts or met my husband. And Habitat for Humanity is an organization that actually knows how to use AmeriCorps effectively and has the capacity to do so.

Even so, I must admit that I could not have survived my two years with AmeriCorps and the VISTA program if I didn't have the support of my parents. They helped me with rent and my car payments (Dallas is not a pedestrian-friendly city), not to mention other small emergencies that came up from time to time. It's not really fair to only partially fund the work AmeriCorps volunteers do. Especially as more and more people view it as something to do after college and not before which means they aren't (or not interested in) living at home with their parents. And a lot of people use it they way I did, as a way to move to a new part of the country (there actually weren't many AmeriCorps options I was interested in, in my home state).

Then again, most AmeriCorps alumni I know continue to work in the nonprofit/social services world. The few I know who switched over to the for-profit world continue to be heavily involved in community work (including urging coworkers and the companies they work for). So in that sense, funding AmeriCorps does provide a good return on investment as alumni continue to meaningfully contribute.

But who knows, maybe I'm just dwelling in my nonprofit bubble. There could be a ton of AmeriCorps alumni who stop volunteering or who choose to become investment bankers or are behind the million credit card offers I get each week (if there's no credit to be had in the current economy, why are credit card companies so eager to give me credit?).

My conclusion? The answer to the AmeriCorps investment question lies somewhere in the middle, as most answers do. Yes, the AmeriCorps program and its many parts (VISTA, City Year, SeniorCorps, etc) play an important role, though we should reevaluate the goals and structure (like focusing more on having local people work on local issues; I admit that given my own history with AmeriCorps, that can seem like a hypocritical stance for me to take). And yes, investing in lasting volunteer support infrastructure is necessary and overdue in order to fully take advantage of the very American, pioneering, can-do spirit.

So if there are any philanthopists out there looking for something "new" to support, how about supporting volunteer coordination programs?

A little can go a long way

There's an interesting article on the NY Times website posted on May 20th: How to Make Smart Gifts to Charities.

Working in fundraising, I know that a lot of people are pulling back on their donations. I'm doing it myself. There key to reducing your charitable giving, as the article says, is to adopt a sensible strategy. Look at the charities you give to and think about which organizations:

1) need more help at this time - like social services organizations (food banks, affordable housing, shelters, etc) and the other organizations that support them (like People Making a Difference, for example)

2) can make your donation dollar go the farthest - hint: larger organizations are not necessarily better at this than smaller ones.

PMD falls into both these categories. There are more individuals and groups looking to volunteer, but many nonprofits - especially small ones - don't have the infrastructure to handle the load (believe me, sometimes that's what it feels like: a heavy load of eager would-be volunteers).

Not only does PMD provide a tremendous service to charities by organizing groups and projects (a cook-out at Hearth, packaging books at the Prison Book Program, serving meals at Rosie's Place, landscaping at the Franklin Park Zoo, etc...), but PMD is also extremely cost-effective:

In 2008, PMD organized 642 volunteers and completed 63 high-quality projects which helped 40 different charities - with a budget of less than $100,000.

With a budget that lean, any pull-back from funders hurts PMD - and that ripples out to organizations throughout Boston (and a few beyond).

So, if you're wondering how to make your donation bucks go farther: PMD is a pretty good answer.