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Leveraging Transformative Resources to Meet Community 

Needs and Ignite a Lifetime of Civic Engagement 

June 8, 2023 

Office of Research and Evaluation 
 

Setting the Stage 

Jehyra M. Asencio Yace, PhD 

Research Analyst, AmeriCorps 
 

 

- ’ ’

”

35% 

30% 

25% 

20% 

15% 

10% 

5% 

0% 

2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 

27 

29% 29 

% 

% 29% 

30% 30% 

27% 26% 26 % 27% 26 % 27% 27% 25% 25% 25% 

23% 

Stability in the national volunteering rate ... until COVID

National Volunteering Rate, 2002-2021 

Source for 2002 15 figures: Grimm, Robert T. Jr., and Dietz, Nathan. 2018. “Where Are America s Volunteers? A Look at America s Widespread Decline in Volunteering in 

Cities and States. Research Brief: Do Good Institute, University of Maryland.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AmeriCorps Office of Research and Evaluation 

Life Cycle Evaluations 

• Build evidence in high priority areas of work 

• Use a bundling approach 

• Increase evaluation capacity 

• Foster peer learning 

Volunteer Generation Fund (VGF) and the 2020 Cohort Evaluation 

• Program established by congress in 2009. 

• In 2022, AmeriCorps expanded the VGF Program scope to other 

organizations and entities and has a current cohort of 18 grantees 

nationwide. 

• Evaluation designed with FY 2020 Cohort will be completed in early Fall. 

• AmeriCorps first effort to examine program models and best practices. 

5 
 

 

Scholarly Literature Review 

*New version to be published this Summer! 

Volunteer Management 

Practices 

▪ Match Volunteers to Roles Based on 

Interest 

▪ Support Volunteers Professionally and 

Emotionally 

▪ Clearly Define Volunteers’ Roles

▪ Train Volunteers and Provide Learning 

Opportunities 

▪ Provide Volunteers with Feedback 

and Recognition 

Volunteer Recruitment Practices 

▪ Communicate the Organization’s Investment in 

Volunteers 

▪ Match Volunteers’ Motivations to Volunteer

Recruitment Messaging 

▪ Explicitly Invite Different Populations of Interest 
 

Samantha Spinney, PhD 

Principal Investigator of Volunteer Generation Fund Evaluation, ICF 

Volunteer Generation Fund Evaluation 

Preliminary Findings 
 

 

Evaluation Overview 

P u r p o s e : 

L e a r n m o r e a b o u t h o w s t a t e c o m m i s s i o n s w h o r e c e i v e d a 

V o l u n t e e r G e n e r a t i o n F u n d ( V G F ) g r a n t i n 2 0 2 0 a r e u s i n g 

f u n d i n g t o s u p p o r t v o l u n t e e r m a n a g e m e n t 

P a r t i c i p a t i n g s t a t e c o m m i s s i o n s : 

Florida Iowa Massachusetts Minnesota Nevada 

New 

Hampshire New Jersey North Carolina Utah 

8 
 

Volunteer Recruitment & Retention Strategies 

Strategies provided by commissions during training and 

capacity-building activities: 

• Writing stronger volunteer position descriptions 

• Creating easy entry activities 

• Recruiting different types of volunteers 

• Aligning volunteers to tasks they enjoy doing 

• Demonstrating appreciation 

9 

Strategies depend on the type of volunteer, size of 

organization, capacity of organization, staffing, etc. 
Emerging Topics in Volunteer 

Engagement 

Managing volunteers 

in COVID-19 

➢ Stopping or pivoting 

use of volunteers 

➢ Success engaging 

volunteers trained in 

medicine 

➢ Training and 

capacity building: 

operating with fewer 

volunteers, recording 

volunteer trainings, 

engaging volunteers 

virtually 

DEI in volunteer 

management 

➢ Overrepresentation 

of volunteers among 

more privileged 

groups 

➢ Training and 

capacity building: 

engaging diverse 

volunteers (e.g., 

updating recruitment 

language) 

➢ A DEI lens, but not 

always a specific DEI 

focus 

10 
Challenges 

Low training 

participation 

Measuring 

volunteer 

retention 

Networking 

opportunities 

Training on data 

collection and 

management 

Lack of DEI in 

Service 

Enterprise 

11 
Preliminary Outcomes 

Creation of 

volunteer 

management 

networks 

Expanded reach

Improved 

volunteer 

onboarding 

Better alignment 

of volunteers to 

needs 

Leader in the 

county or state 

Approachability 

of Service 

Enterprise 

Improved 

volunteer 

descriptions 

Continued 

training 

opportunities 

Qualification for 

larger grants 

12 
Volunteer Management Models Identified in the 

Study 

Service 

Enterprise 

Stanford 

Pathways 

Human 

Resource 

Management 

13 
 

Kayla Paulson 

Service Enterprise Program Administrator, AL!VE 
 

 

 

 

 

Service Enterprise 

National Accreditation in Strategic Volunteer Engagement 

Great way to amplify AmeriCorps programming & 

funding 

• Senior Corps: Help stations create more impactful opportunities, 

strengthen community engagement, and be able to report hours, 

outputs, & outcomes 

• AmeriCorps: Strengthen organization’s ability to recruit, train, and

supervise members in addition to bringing in volunteers to amplify 

and supplement AmeriCorps’ efforts

• VGF: Change management program that focuses on building an 

organization’s capacity to engage volunteers (need I say more?)

Kayla Paulson,

CVA 

Experienced: 

• RSVP Director 

• Interim 

AmeriCorps 

Director 

• VGF Volunteer 

Center Leader 

15 
Service Enterprise 

National Accreditation in Strategic Volunteer Engagement 

Service 

Enterprises 

(Organizations) 

Fundamentally 

leverage 

volunteers and 

their skills 

throughout the 

organization to 

achieve its social 

mission. 

16 

Service 

Enterprise 

Program 

Cross-functional 

multi-level 

organization team 

solely focused on 

improving the way 

they leverage the 

skills, time, and 

talents of 

volunteers. 

SE Training & 

Implementation 

Hubs 

Partners across the 

nation that deliver 

the SE program by 

providing training, 

coaching, and 

facilitating change 

with a cohort of 

organizations. 
Service Enterprise Program 

Guiding Principles 

Volunteer 

Ecosystem 

Make it 

Core 

True 

Community 

Needs 

Need to 

Invest 

DEAI 

17 
 

 

Service Enterprise Program 

Key Outcomes & Findings 

• All organizational capacities are significantly and markedly 

stronger for nonprofits with a strong volunteer management 

model 

• Significantly better led and managed 

• Significantly more adaptable, sustainable and capable of 

going to scale 

• Operating as a Service Enterprise requires strong and welldeveloped human resources management practices 

• Are equally as effective as their peers without volunteers but 

at almost half the median budget 

18 
How Service Enterprise Works for Orgs. 

Transforming Organizations to Strategically Engage Volunteers 

19 

Volunteer Engagement 

101 Training Series 

Prepares organizations by training 

individuals in volunteer 

engagement core competencies. 

Organization Change 

Management Program 

Organization transformational 

process bringing a crossfunctional multi-level team 

together for true cultural change. 

Diagnostic & Debrief 

SE trainers facilitate a debrief 

conversation about researchbased report & specific 

recommendations. 

National Network 

Service Enterprise Training & 

Implementation Hubs connect 

regularly sharing resources, 

problem-solving, and connecting 

organizations across the nation. 

Continuous Learning & 

Improvement 

AL!VE offers Academies & a 

Community of Practice that is 

exclusive to Service Enterprise 

organizations. 

Custom Training & 

Coaching 

Adaptive to the needs of the 

organization and provides the 

ability to meet them where they 

are. 
 

 

Become an Implementation & Training Hub: 

Join the Service Enterprise Movement 

Maximize Your Resources with a Proven & Established Program 

Plug & Play Program Model with Curriculum 

• Volunteer Engagement Training Program 

• Diagnostic & Debrief 

• Service Enterprise curriculum 

• Training & coaching topics with resources 

Training & Technical Assistance for Hubs 

• Marketing & communication support 

• National network with monthly training 

• Regular train the trainer opportunities 

• And more 

20 
 

Putting the Recommendations Into Action 

Volunteer Recruitment & Retention Strategies 

✓ Clear & impactful volunteer position descriptions 

✓Low-barrier & low-commitment opportunities as points of entry 

✓Diversified opportunities to meet people where they are 

✓Job-crafted roles for mutual benefit 

✓ Communicate & celebrate how volunteer efforts make a 

difference 

✓Demonstrate the contributions & value volunteers bring 

21 
 

Putting the Recommendations Into Action 

Engaging Diverse Volunteers 

• Rethink the V-word 

• Do WITH not FOR 

• Build volunteer ladders 

• Ask what the barriers are 

• Bust down barriers with volunteers & partnerships 

• Create an inclusive culture of belonging 

22 
 

Putting the Recommendations Into Action 

Sustainable, Adaptable & Scalable 

• Epidemics (COVID) 

• National Disasters (Derecho/Hurricane) 

• Recession 

23 
 

 

Putting the Recommendations Into Action 

Promising Practices & Training 

• Service Enterprise is available to not-for-profits, government 

entities, and proprietary health organizations 

• Available across the nation 

• Email ServiceEnterprise@volunteeralive.org to connect with 

your Implementation & Training Hub or to become one 

24 
 

 

Michelle Raymer 

Senior Volunteer Engagement Officer, 

Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service 
 

About Volunteer Iowa 

Mission: 

To improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through 

service and volunteering 

Vision: 

To create an Iowa where all citizens are empowered through service to meet 

community challenges and make lives better. 
About Volunteer Iowa 
Iowa VGF Activities 

• Volunteer Center Subgrants 

• Statewide Training and Resources 

• Service Enterprise 

• Get Connected 

• Disaster Response 

• City Volunteer Engagement Initiative 

• Youth Volunteering 
Service Enterprise in Iowa 

Service 

Enterprise 

Sub-hubs 

Service 

Enterpise 

Hub 

Volunteer

Iowa 

Volunteer 

Center of 

Cedar Valley 

United Way 

of Wapello 

County 
Service Enterprise in Iowa 

• Over 70 certified Service Enterprises 

• Shift in organizational culture 

• Increase in volunteers 

• Increase in skilled volunteers 

• Volunteer Engagement Professional retention 

• Strengthened network of local leaders 
 

 

Lisl Hacker 

Director of Training and TA, 

Massachusetts Service Alliance 
 

 

 

 

 

MASSACHUSETTS SERVICE ALLIANCE 

We expand volunteerism and service in Massachusetts by providing individuals and 

organizations with funding, training, and support, which enables them to 

strengthen communities and make our Commonwealth a better place to live. 

We are attuned to the Commonwealth’s current needs, strategically harnessing 

service members and volunteers to respond to emerging issues affecting 

Massachusetts residents and developing programs that across the state to address 

those areas. We support organizations with varying missions to increase 

volunteerism and service in all areas of critical need. 

AmeriCorps 

Commonwealth 

Corps 

VGF Supported 

Activities 
 

 

 

 

 

 

VGF IN MASSACHUSETTS 

Through the support of the Volunteer Generation Fund (VGF) since 2010, the 

Massachusetts Service Alliance has successfully leveraged thousands of volunteers 

by supporting volunteer opportunities in Massachusetts. MSA is undertaking a 

comprehensive approach that will enhance and build upon past VGF efforts to 

build the capacity of organizations in the Commonwealth to more effectively 

engage volunteers. MSA supports the volunteer sector through: 

• Service Enterprise Initiative – supported over 120 organizations and certified 75% 

• Youth Development Volunteer Initiative Grants to nonprofits to better engage 

volunteers in youth development programming 

• MA Conference on Service & Volunteerism - statewide with between 300-400 

attendees 

• Fall and Spring Trainings on effective volunteer management practices 

• COVID-19 Resiliency/Recovery Grants aimed to support 

volunteer programming needs throughout the 

COVID-19 pandemic. 
SERVICE ENTERPRISE 
YOUTH DEVELOPMENT VOLUNTEER INITIATIVE 

GRANT 

Proposals Received Proposals Funded 
COVID RESILIENCY/RECOVERY GRANTS 
COVID RESILIENCY/RECOVERY GRANTS -

ORG OPERATING BUDGETS 

3 orgs 

< $75,000 

13 orgs 

< $500,000 

18 orgs 

< $1 million 

*All different 

mission areas 
ENTRY POINT INTO WORK 

WITH THE COMMISSION 

Building Capacity to Support 

Corps Member 

Building Volunteer 

Management Capacity Commonwealth 

Corps/VISTA 

Sponsor/Host 

Site 

Service 

Enterprise/ 

Mini-Grant 

Recipient 

Support full Corps of 

members 

AmeriCorps 

Program 

*See the same trajectory with potential member 

recruitment and development 
 

Shane Dermanjian, MPP 

Research Analyst, AmeriCorps 
 

 

 

 

The AmeriCorps Member Exit Survey 

• AmeriCorps members take the Member Exit Survey (MES) upon exiting the program – over 350,000 responses since 2015 

• Early-exiters and those that finish service both take the survey 

• Members take the survey as many times as they serve 

• 75-80% of members in a given fiscal year complete the MES 

• MES gauges members' experiences, feelings, sentiment, attitudes – helps monitor progress towards agency's strategic goals 

around member development 
 

The MES 

captures the 

AmeriCorps 

Member 

Theory of 

Change (TOC) 

Vision: 

• Creation of empowered and prepared 

citizens 

•More civically engaged 

•Will work to strengthen their communities 

•Dedicated to improving the lives of those in 

their community 

Four Pathways to Achieving Vision: 

•Participants develop along four pathways 

essential in developing empowerment and 

preparation necessary to be a changeoriented, active community member 
MES 

Pathways 

Cultural Competency 

Civic Engagement 

Life and Career Skills 

“Getting Things Done”
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Civic Engagement in the MES (2017 – 2021) 

• Increased community engagement: most members across all programs reported a higher likelihood of 

participating and volunteering in their communities after having served in AmeriCorps, though there was a slight 

decrease amongst all members from 2020 to 2021. 

• Increased frequency of discussing sociopolitical issues: starting in 2019, all members reported a decrease in 

how often they discussed and linked larger political, social, local, or national issues to their communities 

compared to previous years, although levels increased past pre-2019 levels starting in 2020. 

• High levels of attachment and obligation to their community: the majority of ASN and VISTA members 

expressed a strong personal attachment to their community from 2017 through 2021 

• High levels of member confidence to adequately address community concerns: most members felt they 

could do something about a problem in their community by: 

• creating plans 

• getting others to care about the problem, 

• organizing meetings 

• expressing one’s views in front of a group

• contacting elected officials 

43 
 

 

 

Civic Engagement in the MES (2017 – 2021) 

AmeriCorps 

members aged 

18-29 vote in 

presidential 

elections more 

than the 

general 

population of 

the same age 

Figures from Tufts University Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement 

https://circle.tufts.edu/2020-election-center 
Bridging Differences in the MES (2016-2020) 
Members 

report 

positive 

outcomes 

regardless of 

service 

completion 

20) How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements –

participating in AmeriCorps was a worthwhile experience in terms of 

furthering: 

a) my educational goals and educational endeavors: 

Strongly Agree or Agree 

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 

Finished 86% 86% 85% 86% 84% 83% 

Did not Finish 65% 66% 66% 80% 76% 70% 

Difference 21% 20% 20% 6% 9% 13%

b) my professional goals and professional endeavors 

Strongly Agree or Agree 

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 

Finished 90% 90% 90% 91% 89% 89% 

Did not Finish 71% 72% 72% 83% 80% 76% 

Difference 19% 18% 18% 7% 9% 12%

c) My personal goals and personal endeavors 

Strongly Agree or Agree 

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 

Finished 91% 91% 91% 91% 89% 89% 

Did not Finish 73% 75% 74% 86% 82% 86% 

Difference 18% 16% 17% 5% 7% 3%
 

AmeriCorps Reflection 

Emily Stock 

Project Manager for Volunteer Initiatives, AmeriCorps 
 

 

Q&A Panel Facilitator 

Jehyra Asencio Yace, PhD 

Research Analyst, AmeriCorps 
Q & A Panel Discussion: 

• Shane Dermanjian, MPP, Research Analyst, AmeriCorps 

• Lisl Hacker, Director of Training and TA, Massachusetts Service Alliance 

Kayla Paulson, Service Enterprise Program Administrator, AL!VE 

• Michelle Raymer, Senior Volunteer Engagement Officer, Iowa Commission 

on Volunteer Service 

• Samantha Spinney, PhD, Principal Investigator of Volunteer Generation 

Fund Evaluation, ICF 

• Emily Stock, Project Manager for Volunteer Initiatives, AmeriCorps 
 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for attending today’s webinar 

The recording and support materials will be provided in the next two weeks at: 

https://www.americorps.gov/webinar/leveraging-transformative-resources-meet-communityneeds-ignite-lifetime-civic-engagement 

To inquire about the work presented in this webinar, please reach out to Evaluation@cns.gov 

Join us on 6/22/2023 from 12;30 to 2:30pm 

for the next webinar in this series 

Double Trouble: 

Reigniting Civic Engagement through Pandemics and Disasters 

Registration is available now on the 

AmeriCorps Impact and Evidence Webinar Page