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State Service Gains Traction Among New Governors
Earlier this year, new and re-elected governors took office in 36 states, two territories, and one commonwealth, including 22 brand new governors. America's Service Commissions (ASC) is excited to work with these new state leaders, alongside state service commissions, to develop ways of using service as a strategy to solve local challenges. We are already excited to see new governors take bold actions in support of national and community service, such as:
Meet the new Governors >>
Public Policy Corner: House Recommends $55 Million Increase for National Service
On June 19th, the House of Representatives officially passed its first batch of FY 2020 appropriations bills, a $985 billion package (HR 2740) that combines four of the 12 annual appropriations bills: Defense (HR 2968); State-Foreign Operations (HR 2839); Energy-Water (HR 2960), and Labor-HHS-Education, which includes national service programming.
This bill also includes $1.14 billion in funding for the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) and its programs. This represents a $55 million increase over FY 2019, including a $25 million increase for AmeriCorps State and National, a $13 million increase for Senior Corps, a $12 million increase for the National Service Trust, and $1 million for the Volunteer Generation Fund (VGF).
It is now the Senate’s turn to approve appropriations legislation so that the two chambers can work to enact and finalize FY 2020 funding. The Senate Labor HHS appropriations subcommittee is expected to markup its bill when the Senate returns after the July 4th break.
Read more and view the detailed FY20 funding chart >>
Regional Conferences 'Break Down Barriers' in Saint Paul, Boise, and Pittsburgh Thank you to the 1,155 of you who attended the 2019 National Service Regional Training Conferences in Saint Paul, MN; Boise, ID; and Pittsburgh, PA this spring! We hope you enjoyed the trainings and left with new information you can apply to improve and support your work - and that you've started to think of ideas you can use to take bold action to break down barriers in your own organizations and communities.
If you haven't already, make sure to check out:
Stay tuned for updates on the 2020 regional conference locations next fall!
Nominations Now Open for the 2019 ASC Innovation & Leadership Awards
 America's Service Commissions (ASC) is now seeking nominations for the sixth annual ASC Innovation & Leadership Awards recognizing the tremendous talent and impact within the state service commission and national service network. We invite current ASC members to nominate an outstanding individual or program. Award nominees are individuals and programs who demonstrate commitment to national service and volunteering at the state level.
Award winners will be recognized at the ASC Annual Awards Reception in the Washington, D.C. area during the evening of September 19, 2019.
Submit nominations online by midnight Eastern Time on Wednesday, July 10 in one or more of the following categories:
- Outstanding Commissioner
- Outstanding Commission Staff Member
- Outstanding Commission Executive Director
- Outstanding Service Program
- Outstanding Service Program Staff Member (new category)
Learn more about the nominations process here >>
Interested in becoming a Reception Sponsor? Click here for details and to complete the sponsor sign-up form >>
Member Assistance Program (MAP) Enrollment Grows to 10,000+
Now in its second year of operations, ASC's Member Assistance Program (MAP) was designed to support AmeriCorps State programs in providing accessible and quality mental health services and professional counseling to AmeriCorps members during their term of service. We are proud to announce that there has been such an interest in these services, that the program has now grown to serve more than 10,000+ AmeriCorps members enrolled in the program nationwide.
If you are interested in providing MAP services to your members in 2019-2020, you must complete the enrollment form by the following dates:
- July 1, 2019 Start Date. You must enroll by June 20.
- August 1, 2019 Start Date. You must enroll by July 24.
- September 1, 2019 Start Date. You must enroll by August 22.
A Legacy of Service
America's Service Commissions is saddened by the passing of two lifelong champions of service and volunteerism in 2019 -- U.S. Senator and first CEO of CNCS Harris Wofford of Pennsylvania (April 9, 1926 – January 21, 2019) and U.S. Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi (December 7, 1937 – May 30, 2019).
Both men leave behind a tremendous legacy of investing in and supporting volunteerism in its many forms - from Wofford helping to launch national service as we know it today, to Cochran overseeing federal appropriations that brought AmeriCorps, CNCS, and state service commissions to their highest funding levels in history - including the creation of the Commission Investment Fund (CIF). We salute these two incredible leaders and public servants for giving their time and talent to make our nation and national service sector better. They will be genuinely missed by state service commissions and our network nationwide.
ASC CEO Testifies on Creating More National Service Opportunities at Texas A&M University
On March 28, America's Service Commissions' CEO Kaira Esgate attended and gave formal testimony at a Public Hearing held by the National Commission on Military, National & Public Service at Texas A&M University in College Station, TX. The panel was convened to give testimony and input on the topic of "Creating and Expanding Service Opportunities" and included prominent national leaders in the field of volunteering and service, including:
- Kaira Esgate, CEO, America’s Service Commissions
- Brian Larkin, Program Officer of Flint, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
- Natalye Paquin, Esq., President and CEO, Points of Light
- Shirley Sagawa, CEO and Founder, Service Year Alliance
- Jaime Uteza, CEO, Public Allies
Kaira's testimony touched on many facets of what it would take to expand service opportunities, including reducing administrative and other policy barriers and how federal government can better partner with governors, state legislatures, state service commissions, and local service programs to grow service "from the ground up" through innovative collaborations and state-federal partnerships.
Read our testimony on creating more service opportunities >>
Volunteer Generation Fund Convening Brings Together 16 States, Experts to Further Statewide Volunteer Initiatives
On June 17, America's Service Commissions hosted 16 state commissions for the annual Volunteer Generation Fund (VGF) Convening at the Points of Light Conference in Saint Paul, MN. We were also privileged to have special guests and volunteer experts with us, including Phyllis Segal of Encore.org and Marjie Bland of Common Impact to talk trends & best practices in managing statewide volunteer engagement initiatives. Topics ranged from updates on the new National Alliance on Volunteer Engagement (NAVE), promoting inter-generational volunteering, leveraging skill-based volunteers, and developing Service Enterprise Initiatives in states for ongoing capacity building. Thank you to the 16 state commissions who attended and to our guest presenters and experts! We look forward to continuing this important work in the coming year.
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In This Issue...
- Looking Ahead: Key Dates
- Service Job Board
- State Service Gains Traction Among New Governors
- Public Policy Corner
- Regional Conferences Break Down Barriers
- Nominations Now Open for the Innovation & Leadership Awards
- Member Assistance Program Grows to 10,000+
- A Legacy of Service
- ASC CEO Testifies on Creating More Service Opportunities
- Apply to Join the ASC Board
- Now Seeking Evaluation Proposals
- 2019 TTA Directory
- Join the States for Service Coalition
Looking Ahead: Key Dates
June 24-28: Leadership Forum for National Service Executives (University of Washington)
June 28: ASC Board Application Deadline
July 1: Excellence in AmeriCorps Awards Nomination Deadline
July 10: ASC Innovation & Leadership Awards Nomination Deadline
July 12: ASC Evaluation RFP Deadline
July 24: Member Assistance Program (MAP) Open Enrollment Deadline for August Start Date Programs
August 22: Member Assistance Program (MAP) Open Enrollment Deadline for September Start Date Programs
September 11: 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance
September 17: ASC Annual Membership Assembly (Washington, DC area) - details forthcoming
September 18: Voices for National Service Capitol Hill Day and CNCS AmeriCorps 25th Anniversary Celebration (Washington, DC) - details forthcoming
September 19: ASC Annual Awards Reception (Washington, DC area) - details forthcoming
September 18-20: CNCS AmeriCorps State/National Symposium (Washington, DC area) - details forthcoming
Service Job Board
Looking for new opportunities in the service sector? Check out the ASC Service Job Board, including recent listings such as the following:
Finance Director, Volunteer Florida (Tallahassee, FL)
AmeriCorps Program Administrator, Arizona Governor’s Office of Youth, Faith and Family (Phoenix, AZ)
Program Officer, Serve Colorado (Denver, CO)
Field Operations Manager, National Health Corps, Health Federation of Philadelphia (Philadephia, PA)
Upper Rio Grande Conservation Program Manager, Rocky Mountain Conservation Corps (Taos, NM)
RARE Program Director, University of Oregon (Eugene, OR)
Communications & Operations Associate, Massachusetts Service Alliance (Boston, MA)
Program Specialist, CAC AmeriCorps (Knoxville, TN)
Search job openings at the Corporation for National & Community Service
Apply to Join the ASC Board!
America's Service Commissions is now seeking up to six (6) new board members for the 2019-2020 ASC Board of Directors in the following categories:
- Commissioners
- Youth Commissioners
- Commission Staff Members
- At-Large Members
The ASC Board of Directors provides oversight and counsel on planning
and policy development, financial oversight and resource development, as well as associated
member services.
This year, we are especially looking for Board members from the following geographic regions:
- North Central Cluster (IA, IL, IN, MI, MN, ND, NE, OH, WI)
- Pacific Cluster (AK, CA, GU, HI, ID, MT, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY)
- Southern Cluster (AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV)
In addition, up to five members of the Board may be filled by At-Large Board members – individuals who represent organizations or networks that work closely with state service commissions around the country.
Applications are due by 5:00 p.m. ET on Friday, June 28.
Learn more and apply >>
Now Seeking Evaluation Proposals
Did you hear? We are seeking Evaluation Proposals through July 12 to help us design and implement an evaluation for up to five state service commissions, focused on one of the following three topics: ROI value, effective strategies for AmeriCorps program development, or the role of commissions on AmeriCorps member development.
Learn more and submit a proposal by July 12 >>
Announcing the 2019 TTA Directory
We are pleased to announce the latest edition of our Training & Technical Assistance (TTA) Directory for 2019. The directory is a publicly available resource for state service commissions and national service programs to identify quality trainers and consultants that have prior experience working within the national service field.
You can search the document to find trainers and consultants on a variety of organizational, programmatic, and grants related topics, along with references.
View or download the 2019 Training and Technical Assistance Directory now >>
Join the States for Service Coalition
Are you interested in working on national service public policy at the state and local level? Do you want to protect national and community service in 2019 and beyond?
Join States for Service (S4S), the public policy arm of ASC, which focuses on mobilizing for service at the state and local level. Leadership opportunities available.
Join S4S now >>
Happy summer from all of us at ASC!
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