Commonwealth Corps

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Commonwealth Corps

• Orientation for
• Site Partners

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Service Timeline

• 1933-1942 Franklin D. Roosevelt creates the
  Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
• 1961 President John F. Kennedy establishes the
  Peace Corps
• 1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson and Congress
  create VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America),
  a National Teacher Corps, the Job Corps, and
  University Year of Action
• 1960s The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program
  (RSVP), the Foster Grandparent Program, and the
  Senior Companion Program (which today comprise
  National Senior Service Corps) are developed

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Service Timeline Continued

• 1990 The National Service Act signed by
  President George H.W. Bush formally launches
  AmeriCorps
• September 1993 President Bill Clinton signs the
  National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993,
  creating AmeriCorps and the Corporation for
  National Service to expand opportunities for
  Americans to serve their communities VISTA and
  the Senior Corps become part of the new
  Corporation.
• November 2007 Governor Deval Patrick signs state
  legislation creating the Commonwealth Corps
• April 2009 President Barack Obama signs the
  Serve America Act

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What is Commonwealth Corps?

• The mission of the Commonwealth Corps is to
  engage Massachusetts residents of all ages
  and backgrounds in direct service to rebuild
  communities, address unmet community needs, and
  increase volunteerism.

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In 2007, Governor Patrick and his partners in the
legislature established the Commonwealth Corps.
Commonwealth Corps members will work to
strengthen the bonds of common purpose and unite
people in service for the common good.
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Where do they serve?

• In the 2009-2010 program year, over 260 members
  will serve with 33 nonprofit organizations or
  universities across the Commonwealth.
• Programs focus on
• Community need
• Volunteer generation
• Member civic engagement

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Commonwealth Corps Programs Across the State
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Addressing a Community Need

• Commonwealth Corps members address critical needs
  in communities throughout Massachusetts, in the
  areas of
• Health and elder services
• Literacy and tutoring
• Community development and strengthening
• Environmental education and services
• Nonprofit capacity building
• Volunteer generation
• Youth leadership development
• Workforce development
• Fine arts education

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Volunteer Generation

• Members are responsible for engaging additional
  community members in quality volunteer
  opportunities.
• Members can perform volunteer generation by
• Creating volunteer projects
• Recruiting volunteers
• Supporting/retaining volunteers
• Volunteer recognition

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Member Civic Engagement

• Commonwealth Corps members will have
  opportunities to reflect on the service they are
  providing to the community.
• Members will gain valuable life/career skills
  through trainings, professional development
  opportunities, and their direct service.
• The Commonwealth Corps experience will instill a
  lifetime ethic of service in members.

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What is Civic Engagement?

• Civic engagement has been defined as individual
  and collective actions designed to identify and
  address issues of public concern.

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Civic Engagement

• Civic engagement can take many forms from
  individual volunteerism to organizational
  involvement to electoral participation.
• It can include efforts to directly address an
  issue, work with others in a community to solve a
  problem, or interact with the institutions of
  representative democracy.

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Civic Engagement

• Civic Engagement is highly effective when it
  capitalizes on citizens' energy to gather
  together representatives of all different
  segments of the community.

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Member Roles

• Full-time
• 1600 hours
• Part-time
• 800 hours
• Flex-time
• 400 hours
• Alternative Flex-time
• 300 hours

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Member Roles Continued

• Members will serve for a term of service up to 12
  months
• Members are only eligible to serve one term of
  service as a Commonwealth Corps member
• Members can perform direct service and/or serve
  in a capacity-building role

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Prohibited Activities

• Members should not
• Serve in a position that is normally filled by a
  staff person
• Provide religious instruction, conduct worship
  services, or engage in any form of
  proselytization
• Assist, promote, or deter union organizing
• Finance, directly or indirectly, any activity
  designed to influence the outcome of an election
  to any public office or
• Impair existing contracts for services or
  collective bargaining agreements.

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Benefits

• Living Stipend
• Paid out on a weekly, biweekly, or semi-monthly
  basis (depending on the organization)
• Members will receive stipends for the period of
  time they are serving
• Stipends are not tied to number of hours served
  not an hourly amount
• If a member does not serve any hours during a pay
  period they will not receive a stipend for that
  time
• Stipends will not be paid in a lump sum or be
  modified if members leave service early or start
  late

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Benefits

• Completion Bonus
• Full-time 1,800
• Part-time 900
• Flex-time 450
• Alternative Flex-time 338
• Completion bonuses will be awarded to those
  members who complete their total number of
  required hours and all other service requirements
• Members must serve until the end of their
  contracted service term in order to receive a
  completion bonus

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Other Benefits

• Health Insurance for full-time members
• Training opportunities
• Personal and professional development
• Networking with other members/service leaders

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MSAs Role

• The Massachusetts Service Alliance (MSA) is a
  nonprofit organization that serves as the state
  commission on community service and volunteerism.
• MSA administers the state funds to Commonwealth
  Corps programs.
• MSA oversees the management of all Commonwealth
  Corps programs.

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Governors Office

• The Office of Civic Engagement carries out
  Governor Patricks commitment to active civic
  engagement by taking the lead on community-based
  participation, citizen voice and public service
  in the Executive office.  

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Office of Civic Engagement

• This office facilitates and promotes engagement
  by increasing civic awareness, developing forums
  for policy discussion and valuing citizens
  opinions when they are shared.
• They are committed to maintaining open
  communication between citizens and state
  government, while providing opportunities for
  residents to take action in shaping their
  government.

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Corps Sponsors

• Corps Sponsors were selected through a
  competitive community review process.
• Corps Sponsors are agencies MSA contracts with to
  run Commonwealth Corps programs and manage
  members.
• Corps sponsors recruit, orient, train, support,
  and supervise members.

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Corps Sponsors

• Corps Sponsors are responsible for reporting all
  programmatic and fiscal information to MSA,
  including progress reports and grant
  reimbursement requests.
• Corps Sponsors are ultimately responsible for
  ensuring compliance with grant provisions.

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Site Partner Roles

• Site Partners are agencies that are different
  from the Corps Sponsor and have a project/program
  where a member serves. This agency agrees to
  supervise and support members through their
  service in addition to the support provided by
  the Corps Sponsor.
• The Corps Sponsor must clearly outline
  relationships with Site Partners through formal
  agreements and manage those partnerships.

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Site Partner Responsibilities

• Site Partners are responsible for on-site
  supervision and support to members.
• Along with Corps Sponsors, Site Partners should
  be aware of and follow all grant requirements as
  stated in the provisions.
• Site Partners should collect program data and
  relay it to Corps Sponsors for reporting
  purposes.

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Questions?

• Contact your Corps Sponsor Agency at
• (INSERT CORPS SPONSOR CONTACT INFO HERE)