Volume 2   Issue 1   Fall 2004

In This Issue:
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE

WACC HIGHLIGHTS

STUDENT / CAMPUS PROJECTS

BEST PRACTICES

DATES / ANNOUNCEMENTS

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE

SOLID GATHERINGS CONTRIBUTE TO MEMBERSHIP VALUE; 25^th MEMBER JOINS
Jennifer Dorr, Executive Director, Washington Campus Compact

Membership Meetings
It has been a busy fall! In addition to managing our three AmeriCorps-based programs, Washington Campus Compact (WACC) hosted three meetings to serve our membership on
Nov. 1-2 at the University of Washington, Seattle: the annual Members’ Meeting, the annual executive board meeting and a first-time Presidents’ Meeting. (See related article in this issue.)

The two-day Members’ Meeting drew more than 60 participants, with 22 of our 25 member institutions sending representatives. This encouraging turnout is more than three times the attendance of our first Members’ Meeting in 2002. A promising 17 presidents (or their designates) attended the Presidents’ Meeting, along with several state government representatives and community partners.

This year’s theme focused on sustainability. The meetings’ overlapping schedules offered presidents and other member constituents the chance to come together to learn about and address the compelling issue of sustainability in a unique setting and from a multi-level approach.

At the Presidents’ Meeting, a diverse panel representing our member institutions, state government and a private foundation addressed the combined meeting attendees. Presidents Jerilyn McIntyre (Central Washington University), Bob Spitzer (Gonzaga University) and Mark Palek (Spokane Falls Community College) shared ways of integrating service-learning/civic engagement initiatives into existing campus infrastructure, culture and systems. State Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles shared that it is important to inform policy makers about how higher education is impacting communities. President Colleen Willoughby (Washington Women’s Foundation) and Eric Godfrey (Office of Development and Alumni Relations at the University of Washington) both emphasized the importance of teaching students philanthropic behaviors. Diverse perspectives on sustainability were discussed.

Continuums of Service Conference
As we wrap up the details of November’s statewide meetings, we are gearing up for our annual service-learning conference: the eighth annual Continuums of Service Conference on
April 11-13, 2005 in Portland, Ore.

Members will receive our emailed call for proposals in early December; check your mailboxes or our conference website. And, I will soon ask presidents to sponsor conference registrations (discounted for Campus Compact members!) for their faculty, students and administrators.

This is truly a high-quality conference that deserves its national reputation. The conference provides service-learning practitioners the opportunity to publicly present their work and network with colleagues from throughout the Campus Compact western region.

Membership Value
In an effort to assess our organization’s value to our membership, we are in the process of compiling detailed utilization reports for each member institution showing the cost/benefit analysis of their individual memberships. Preliminary data shows that the average value of services WACC members received in 2003-2004 was just over $40,000! With the receipt of
$2.7 million in student scholarships for the Students in Service program and the doubled size of the Campus Connections program, 2004-2005 promises to yield an even greater return on investment value to our members.

New Members
We welcome six new members who have joined WACC since August: Cascadia Community College, Everett Community College, North Seattle Community College, Northwest Indian College, Seattle Pacific University and Walla Walla Community College. This is a 32 percent increase and brings our growing membership to 25. Thank you all, new and returning members alike, for your commitment to Washington Campus Compact!

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WACC HIGHLIGHTS

WASHINGTON CAMPUS COMPACT’S AMERICORPS PROGRAMS THRIVE STATEWIDE

Campus Connections Program Update
Moonwater, Director of Student Engagement, Washington Campus Compact

Washington Campus Compact’s Campus Connections program has 35 AmeriCorps members on 13 campuses coordinating 28 different service programs. As a result, higher education students across the state are engaging in a variety of service-learning and community service efforts. Entering the fourth month of the 2004-2005 program year, Campus Connections is dedicated to civically engaging higher education students and fostering within them an ethic of civic responsibility.

A notable component of Campus Connections is service advising. The AmeriCorps members create opportunities for students to reflect upon their service experience, develop their skills and abilities, and deepen their commitment to their communities. This is accomplished through deliberate reflection opportunities, newsletters, training, and one-on-one and small-group meetings.

In addition to this critical role, the AmeriCorps members have a direct impact on the community at large as well. On Oct. 22, all members across the state provided valuable service for Make a Difference Day. (See details in this issue’s Student/Campus Projects article.)

All across the state these amazing AmeriCorps members are dedicating a year of service to your campuses and your communities. It is an honor to have them serve with us.

Students in Service Program Update
Lee Wiles, Student Engagement Coordinator, Washington Campus Compact

Higher education students all over Washington are joining the Students in Service (formerly HELP) AmeriCorps program. Students in Service is active in seven western states, with more than 2,000 AmeriCorps positions available for students in the 2004-2005 program year. More than 800 of these positions are reserved for students in Washington, which represents a huge expansion of the program compared to last year. Participating colleges and universities have reported great interest among their students; in fact, the program has enrolled more than
25 percent of the 800-plus Washington positions to date. The Washington Campus Compact (WACC) office receives stacks of enrollments daily.

Each Students in Service member pledges to complete hundreds of community service hours during his or her term. Members’ activities range from coordinating service-learning courses to restoring heavily forested areas to tutoring students at elementary schools. Many Students in Service members also recruit other volunteers who, in turn, contribute thousands of additional hours to community service. In return for the time and effort, a Students in Service AmeriCorps member receives an education award, a scholarship he or she can use to pay for education costs at colleges and universities across the country.

Many students have reported that they can see the difference their service is making in their own lives and the lives of others. Brian Stafki, a member serving at the North Cascades Institute, writes, “The experience has been rewarding for me as I experienced many aspects of the environmental education field, nonprofit administration, and have been able to contribute to creating a more ecologically literate citizen base in the Pacific Northwest.” Brian also says he will enroll in another term of service after he completes his first 900 hours.

With the name change (from HELP to Students in Service) came a new coordinator for the program in Washington and Idaho. Lee Wiles joined the WACC staff in August and has spent his first few months traveling around the state to prepare college and university staff to run Students in Service on their campuses. He is enthusiastic about his new position and looks forward to continuing his work.

Washington Reading Corps Program Update
Heather Weaver, Education Specialist, Washington Campus Compact

Washington Campus Compact’s Washington Reading Corps (WRC) is a literacy program that involves 21 full-time AmeriCorps and VISTA members in eight area elementary schools. With the 2004-2005 year now in its second quarter, the WRC program has already achieved much of note:

• 484 K-6 students being tutored in reading
• 407 K-12 students engaged as peer and cross-age tutors
• 27 community members engaged as volunteer tutors
• family involvement/migrant education initiative dedicated to the mutual enhancement of K-6 student literacy efforts and migrant farmworker adult education services
• active partnerships with local middle schools, high schools and libraries, Page Ahead, Skagit Valley College, Western Washington University, Skagit County Community Action Agency, Skagit Literacy, Skagit County Best SELF, Educational Services District 189, as well as numerous area businesses and foundations

SUCCESSFUL ANNUAL MEMBERS’ MEETING ADDRESSES SUSTAINABILITY
Julie Muyllaert, State Network Director, Washington Campus Compact

The theme of Washington Campus Compact’s (WACC’s) 2004 Members’ Meeting in Seattle on Nov. 1-2 was sustainability. The meeting goals included learning how to be more strategic with funding efforts and about aligning service-learning with institutional priorities, learning how campus and community colleagues are advancing and sustaining partnerships, and networking with colleagues from across the state.

We were pleased to have Barbara Holland — director of the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse — join us as a guest speaker and participant . She brought her years of experience from both the campus and the outside funding agency perspectives to keynote on sustainability, present a workshop, and facilitate a discussion between external funding agency representatives, presidents and meeting participants.

New this year, the Members’ Meeting was scheduled in conjunction with the annual executive board meeting and the first statewide Presidents’ Meeting. Participants from all meetings joined together the afternoon of the second day to hear member presidents, a state senator, a foundation president and a development representative speak to strategies for sustaining and institutionalizing our efforts.

More than 60 participants from 22 of WACC’s 25 member institutions attended the meeting. We believe the high participation at both the members’ and presidents’ meetings was largely due to the increasing quality and substance of our meeting agendas. In addition, the overlapping schedules offered presidents and other member constituents the chance to come together to learn about and address the compelling issue of sustainability in a unique setting. We welcome your ideas for improving these combined meetings, which we’d like to continue.

DOCUMENTARY CAPTURES ESSENCE OF DIALOGUE FOR DEMOCRACY FORUM
Brian Heinrich, Communications Coordinator, Washington Campus Compact

On May 6, Washington Campus Compact (WACC) convened more than 140 people from across the state to dialogue toward solutions for the pressing issues in education and communities today. This Dialogue for Democracy forum demonstrated how intentional deliberation can build capacity for strong partnerships between campuses, schools and community partners.

A 25-minute film documenting this event will be available in DVD format in December. An online order form is available for download.

Through interviews with diverse stakeholders, as well as footage captured from the dialogue itself, the Dialogue for Democracy documentary explores the basis and the potential for connections between communities and education in Washington state today. This film is a testament to the power of partnerships, and the impact of service-learning and civic engagement.

Dialogue for Democracy has wide applications in educational settings ranging from classrooms and administrative meetings to community events and civic gatherings.

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STUDENT/CAMPUS PROJECTS

AMERICORPS MEMBERS CHANGE WITH THE SEASONS OF SERVICE
Diane Bateman, Executive Assistant, Washington Campus Compact

Background
Seasons of Service, sponsored and promoted by the Points of Light Foundation, is a portfolio of national opportunities for people interested in volunteering for service projects and activities throughout the year. More than 20 million people volunteer annually as part of Seasons of Service, a year-round action plan to illustrate how a single day of service can grow into an ongoing habit of helping communities.

Building the designated days of service into a program calendar can promote volunteerism in a community and provide opportunities for project-oriented problem solving, planning, teaching, researching, networking and increasing community awareness. Participants also can tap into the national medial focus generated by the Points of Light Foundation. The idea is to turn people on to service so they will become lifelong volunteers.

Washington Campus Compact’s (WACC’s) Students in Service program encourages its AmeriCorps members to participate in the entire calendar of national service days promoted by Seasons of Service:

• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (January)
• National Youth Service Day (April)
• National Volunteer Week (April)
• Join Hands Day (May)
• One Day’s Pay (September)
• Kids Care Week (October)
• Make a Difference Day (October)
• National Family Volunteer Day (November)

WACC’s AmeriCorps members in both the Campus Connections and Washington Reading Corps programs intentionally incorporate two days of the Seasons of Service into their terms of service: Make a Difference Day and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Make a Difference Day
The most encompassing national day of helping others, Make a Difference Day (MADD) had

Campus Connections’ Spokane cluster celebrates a successful “Scavenger Hunt for Hunger” food drive. (left to right) Hillary Shannahan (Eastern Washington University), Kylie Gaard (Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge), Jennifer Forsman (Gonzaga University), Jesse Smith (EWU), Kate Wooddell (Spokane Community College), Autumn (Turnbull), Mara Pavich (Gonzaga), Mark Veldkamp (Whitworth College) and Jeff Wooddell (Kate’s husband).

3 million participants in 2003 alone. MADD’s theme is “a national day to help others,” and its purpose is to inspire and reward volunteers. Everyone who helps others on this day and submits an entry form is eligible for a national or local award and a cash donation to a charitable cause. Every April, hundreds of MADD activities are selected for recognition. Paul Newman, via Newman’s Own, donates $10,000 each to 10 selected projects. These 10 honorees, plus hundreds of local ones, are spotlighted in an issue of USA Weekend magazine (MADD’s creator and co-sponsor).

On Oct. 23, all Campus Connections AmeriCorps members across the state, many Students in Service members, and Washington Reading Corps members in Skagit County provided valuable service for Make a Difference Day. Some highlights of Campus Connections service include:

• Members in Bellingham collaborated with the Whatcom Volunteer Center and the Western Washington University (WWU) Center for Service-Learning to coordinate and participate in a variety of service projects throughout the city. Thanks in large part to the efforts of Dave Newell, an AmeriCorps member at WWU, this year marked the largest turnout of WWU students for this event.
• Members in Seattle joined with Volunteer Chore Services to help clean homes of individuals about to be evicted. Their work meant several individuals would not lose their homes.
• Members in Spokane undertook a major food drive effort and gathered eight barrels of non-perishables for local community members. They were even featured on a local news channel!
• Members in Wapato and Ellensburg collaborated with First Book to provide books to low-income children.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
During his lifetime, Dr. King sought to enable people from all walks of life to join together as equals to address important community issues. Service, he realized, was the great equalizer. He once said, “Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.”

In 1994 Congress passed the King Holiday and Service Act. Today, the Corporation for National and Community Service and the Points of Light Foundation sponsor Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. With the theme of “Make it a day on … not a day off!,” this service day’s purpose is to help keep Dr. King’s legacy of service to others alive in communities across the country.

As they do every year, WACC’s AmeriCorps members will participate in this national day of service on Jan. 17, 2005. However, anyone may participate in these efforts, and WACC encourages everyone on our member campuses, especially students, to take part. Those interested may contact the Campus Connections AmeriCorps members on our WACC member campuses. You may join in their service projects or, at the very least, they can direct you to other community projects that may interest you.

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BEST PRACTICES

PREPARATION IS KEY TO RAISING FUNDS FOR SERVICE-LEARNING IN HIGHER ED
Source: National Service-Learning Clearinghouse website. Excerpted from fact sheet by Sarena D. Seifer and Stacy Holmes, Community-Campus Partnerships for Health, June 2002.

Whether you are seeking funds to support a college-level service-learning course or planning to launch a service-learning center, here are some resources and ideas on how to start and where to look for assistance. Many helpful publications and directories can be located through the Foundation Center and/or through your local library system.

For purposes here, the term “funder” means a whole spectrum of entities, including governmental agencies, public foundations, private foundations, corporations and individual philanthropists.

Below are a number of actions that you might consider as you search for the most appropriate tools and resources to raise funds for your service-learning program. Reflect on your fundraising strategies and do some background research on funder priorities and charitable giving patterns in order to build a solid foundation for success.

Make a Plan
Drafting a plan of action will help you to clarify your funding priorities. How much of your time will focus on writing proposals, soliciting individual donations and/or seeking corporate sponsorship? How much assistance will you need? What categories and amounts of funding are you seeking? The Fundraising 101 section below includes links to key websites to help you answer these questions.

Talk to People
Call your colleagues. Find out what fundraising strategies your colleagues utilize. They might give you some creative ideas and/or be able to refer you to other resources.

Start within your institution. Before seeking external sources of support, make sure you investigate funding that may be available within your institution (e.g., departmental seed grants or funds to attend a relevant conference, or campus funds for new course development). Further, many funders require evidence of institutional commitment; these internal sources can be used as matching funds.

Connect with the development directors at your institution. These individuals raise money for a living and will probably be able to offer you some insight and guidance for your fundraising efforts. At the very least, these individuals will be aware of any fundraising efforts under way at your institution and whether/how your program can be included. In addition, they might be able to solicit funds on your behalf, so make sure they know about your project!

Collaborate with your community partners. Some funders will only support proposals from community-based organizations. Your community partners are important allies in your service-learning program. They can be the lead applicant on grants, and build the service-learning program into the proposal.

Contact potential funders as you shape your ideas. So much of fundraising is developing relationships with potential funders. Find out what funders think of your service-learning project by asking them. Make sure to coordinate your activities with your institution's development office to ensure that you are not competing with or jeopardizing other fundraising efforts. Once you have coordinated your efforts with your institution, you can call potential funders to find out if your project fits within their funding priorities and/or if they have any advice before you write a formal proposal. People are often surprised to find out how forthcoming and helpful funders can be — if we only ask them! Engage potential funders in your program, for example, by inviting them to serve on an advisory committee or attend the students' final presentations.

Do Some Research
Visiting the Internet resources shown here and taking a trip to your local library will provide some background on the types of funders you should contact. In addition, organizations such as the Chronicle of Philanthropy and the Independent Sector publish research on the state of charitable contributions.

Build on the Past and Diversify
Raising any amount of funds can act as leverage to raising more funds, especially if you are able to show the positive impact of your program. Some funders prefer to fund “start-ups” and provide seed grants, while others want to support projects that have a history of success. Some funders will be interested in supporting service-learning as a topic whereas others might be more interested in the community that is being served (e.g., the homeless community) or the intended outcome (e.g., environmental justice). You can capitalize on all types of funders by tapping into a diverse range of funding streams, including:

• individual donors and bequests (Alumni are an important subgroup.)
• corporate sponsors
• public and private foundations
• county, state and national governmental funding
• faculty development and curriculum development grants from your institution
• state, regional and national Campus Compact grants
• professional associations (e.g., education and social service associations)
• initiatives to improve education, civic engagement, community development and individual health

Be Prepared to Pull a Proposal Together Quickly
Funders often have short turnaround times for their “requests for proposals.” Not infrequently, a funder may request a concept paper or brief proposal after a conversation. Prepare in advance for these opportunities by keeping all of your proposal-related materials and documents in a readily accessible format. For example, many items do not change much from proposal to proposal, such as a brief description of your program, biosketches for key staff and descriptions of your community partners.

Review Others’ Grants to Become a Better Grant Writer
Another way to do research is to be a grant reviewer. Periodically, federal agencies and large foundations will put out a call for objective reviewers to assess a group of grant proposals. The experience of reading and judging a group of proposals will help you learn to think like a funder and sharpen your own proposal writing skills.

Remember, Always Follow the Funder’s Instructions
Whether you are writing a grant or making a presentation, you should follow the funder’s instructions down to the last detail (i.e., font size, line spacing, length of time). You run the risk of not having your proposal reviewed or considered since funders might bypass the candidates who do not follow instructions. Unfortunately, you also run the risk of leaving a bad impression no matter how objective the funder tries to be in the future. Avoid these risks by following all instructions and asking for clarification whenever there is confusion.

Fundraising 101
These resources focus on the basics of fundraising and include links to many other useful websites and resources:

• The Association of Fundraising Professionals website provides links to a number of resources, including grantwriting tips.
• The Chronicle of Philanthropy website includes many free resources, tools and links on fundraising. Paid subscribers have expanded access to directories and archives.

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DATES / ANNOUNCEMENTS

Ongoing
STUDENTS IN SERVICE PROGRAM TRAIN THE TRAINER ORIENTATIONS
Throughout Washington

Dec. 2
SURVEYS DUE
Campus Compact 2004 Annual Survey
Deadline was extended. The national office uses your feedback to evaluate the state of the national service movement, calculate student and faculty involvement in service and service-learning, and measure campus and community engagement.

Early December
CALL FOR PROPOSALS OUT
For eighth annual Continuums of Service Conference (Portland, Ore.; April 11-13, 2005)
See conference website for details.

December
DIALOGUE FOR DEMOCRACY DOCUMENTARY DVD AVAILABLE
Download the online order form. (requires Adobe Acrobat)

Jan. 17, 2005
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY
Join community service activities statewide with WACC’s Campus Connections AmeriCorps members on this national day of service.

Feb. 9, 2005
APPLICATIONS DUE
For Campus Compact’s Howard R. Swearer Student Humanitarian Awards
Online nomination materials (requires Adobe Acrobat)
Swearer nomination materials also are to be mailed to member presidents and community service directors in early December.

Feb. 16, 2005
APPLICATIONS DUE
For Campus Compact’s 2005 Thomas Ehrlich Faculty Award
Online nomination materials (requires Adobe Acrobat)

April 13-15, 2005
EIGHTH ANNUAL CONTINUUMS OF SERVICE CONFERENCE
Portland, Ore.
Downtown Marriott
See conference website for details.

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