$10 Million in Training Funds Will Help Projects Achieve Excellence

(Washington, DC)—The Corporation for National and Community Service today announced the selection of 18 national training and technical assistance providers to help volunteer and national service programs increase their reach and effectiveness in improving lives, strengthening communities, and fostering civic engagement.

The organizations will provide a wide range of training services, from recruitment and fundraising to evaluation and volunteer mobilization. The providers will work with an additional 13 partner organizations to provide training.

• Click here fora chartdetailing the organizations and grant amounts.

The Corporation is investing nearly $10 million in these training providers in the first year, which begins in January 2006. Funding for the training providers is expected to be renewed for an additional two years pending satisfactory performance and Congressional approval of funds.

While primarily geared to grantees in the Corporation’s Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America programs, most of the tools and resources are available for free to any volunteer or community service organization at the Corporation’s Resource Center at www.nationalservice.gov/resources.

“Providing high quality training to our thousands of grantees is a vital part of the way we support America’s nonprofit and volunteer sector,” said David Eisner, CEO of the Corporation. “These providers are the strongest and best of their type in the country, and they have a key role to play in helping our programs achieve higher levels of success. I’m especially pleased that we have so many state commissions and program grantees in the mix – another sign of how far our field has evolved.”

The providers were selected out of a pool of 108 applicants in a rigorous competition that began last April. The training categories were developed out of a lengthy collaborative process including meetings and conference calls with the Corporation’s grantees, staff, and other stakeholders. Among the key goals of the competition were to find training providers to help advance the strategic goals of the Corporation, tap the expertise that exists among the Corporation’s current grantees, ensure a fair and equitable process, and to seek customer input.

“Helping our grantees overcome their challenges and achieve their best has always been a priority for the Corporation, and these outstanding providers will continue and improve on that tradition,” said Gretchen Van der Veer, Director of the Corporation’s Office of Leadership Development and Training. “Our philosophy for this competition was to seek out the best expertise wherever it exists – universities, think tanks, consultants, or our own network of grantees. We’re very pleased with the outcome, and look forward to providing top-notch training to advance our national service mission.”

The training providers will provide direct and indirect support towards the Corporation’s four strategic goals for 2005-2010: providing more opportunities for citizens to serve and volunteer, harnessing experience of baby boomer to meet 21st century challenges, engaging students in their communities, and ensuring a brighter future for all of America’s youth. The training providers fall into three categories:

• Competencies: The first 10 providers will offer training in core competencies of any national service or volunteer program. They include participant recruitment and development; leveraging additional volunteers; community engagement and strengthening; resource and fund development; performance measurement and evaluation; financial and grants management; disability inclusion; and eGrants training and technical assistance.
  
• Capacities: The next 4 awardees will help the Corporation better deliver training services by providing online resources and tools and direct focused support to strengthen the national service infrastructure. Included in this category is the Resource Center; the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse; technical assistance to state commissions and technical assistance for specific learning communities.
  
• Special Initiatives: The final 4 providers have expertise in particular areas that are priorities for the Corporation -- education success in educational success and mentoring, coordinating service-learning programs, and support for technical assistance for faith-based and community initiatives.

The Corporation for National and Community Service provides opportunities for Americans of all ages and backgrounds to serve their communities and country through three programs: Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America. Together with the USA Freedom Corps, the Corporation is working to build a culture of citizenship, service, and responsibility in America. For more information, visit http://www.nationalservice.gov.

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