AmeriCorps VISTA
Becoming a VISTA Site Sponsor
How can this VISTA program benefit your community?
- Help new and existing businesses, design education or training programs, and/or develop and implement strategies to meet economic well-being goals.
- Build awareness of economic issues and coordinate local needs and values with economic opportunities.
- Learn from and network with other VISTAs and rural communities working on similar projects around the state.
- Provide a local person the opportunity to gain valuable experience while earning a stipend every two weeks and receiving a $4,725 education award or a $1200 stipend awarded after their year of service.
How can your community sponsor a VISTA member?
- Submit an application identifying the economic development needs of the community, showing how the VISTA can help address those needs, and explaining how the project will be sustained after the VISTA year of service.
- Demonstrate widespread community interest and support including resolutions or letters from the village council, village corporation, and/or city council.
- Provide office space, project supervision, and the resources needed by the VISTA to acheive project goals.
- Is a public sector organization or private organization designated as non-profit.
- Comply with applicable financial and fiscal requirements.
- Have resources available for AmeriCorps VISTA members to perform their tasks; i.e., space, consumable supplies, telephone, on-the-job transportation, reimbursement and be able to provide emergency cash advances when needed.
- Be able to mobilize community, public, and private sector resources to achieve short-term program goals and long-term project self-sufficiency goals, and to encourage local part-time volunteer service.
- Have the capacity and commitment to recruit, orient, train, supervise and otherwise support locally and nationally recruited Members in appropriate capacity building roles.
- Have an understanding of the concept of, and be committed to, promote national service and AmeriCorps VISTA.
- Be experienced in the issues related to the beneficiaries of service and those being addressed by the proposed projects.
- Have the capacity to build community partnerships and collaborative efforts in order to achieve project self-sufficiency.
- Address the needs of low-income communities and otherwise comply with the provisions of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973, (DVSA) as amended (42 U.S.C. 4951 et seq.) applicable to AmeriCorps VISTA and all applicable published regulations, guidelines and Corporation policies.
- Lead to building organizational and/or community capacity to continue the efforts of the project.
- Be designed to generate public and/or private sector resources and to promote local, part-time volunteer service.
- Describe in measurable terms the anticipated self-sufficiency outcomes at the conclusion of the project, including outcomes to the sustainability of the project activities.
- Clearly state how Members will be trained, supervised, and supported to endure the achievement of program goals and objectives.
- Be eternally consistent; the problem statement, which demonstrates need, the workplan, the assignment, and all other components, must be related logically to each other.
- Ensure that AmeriCorps VISTA and community resources are sufficient to achieve project goals and objectives.
- Involve beneficiaries in project development and implementation throughout the life of the project.
- Have the management and technical capability to implement the project successfully.
- Describe how the number of Members being requested is appropriate for project goals and objectives, and how the skills and qualifications described in the application are appropriate for the assignment(s).
- Describe how AmeriCorps VISTA assignments are designed to best utilize the full-time Member's time to the maximum extent.
Download VISTA Sponsor Application
The following criteria will be utilized by staff in the selection of AmeriCorps*VISTA sponsors and in the approval of both new and renewal AmeriCorps*VISTA projects. Your proposal must include all of the elements listed below.
CRITERIA FOR SPONSORSHIP
PROJECT SELECTION CRITERIA