AmeriCorps 2010 Planning Grant Recipients

AmeriCorps 2010 Planning Grant Recipients

The Corporation for National and Community Service has awarded planning grants to 14 organizations seeking to establish AmeriCorps programs. The grants, which total more than $660,000, will assist the organizations as they design new AmeriCorps programs in the areas of health, economic opportunity, education, clean energy, and veterans' issues.

The purpose of AmeriCorps planning grants is to support the development of service programs so applicants are better prepared to compete for an AmeriCorps program grant the following year. These one-year grants help organizations develop the tools and systems necessary to support AmeriCorps members and manage an AmeriCorps program that addresses unmet community needs. National and Indian Tribes planning grantees receive support and technical assistance from the Corporation during their planning year. AmeriCorps State planning grantees receive support and technical assistance from their state service commission.Previous planning grants have helped organizations new to national service bring AmeriCorps member led volunteer generation, capacity building, and direct community service to new locations all around the country.

AmeriCorps Indian Tribes Planning Grants

Cherokee Nation
Strategic Ga du gi
Tahlequah, OK 74465

Total Award Amount: $49,841

Program Summary

The Cherokee Nation will use the planning period to design the Strategic Ga du gi program to help restore the traditional Cherokee lifeways that sustained people through centuries of cultural devastation. The tribe will plan a program in which AmeriCorps members would serve as project site coordinators in critical locations throughout the Cherokee Nation, addressing local community needs related to the environment and healthy lifestyles.

Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
First Foods AmeriCorps Planning Project
Pendleton, OR 98501

Total Award Amount: $50,000

Program Summary

The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) will plan an AmeriCorps program that will further the youth development and natural resource protection goals of restoring and sustaining the Tribes' traditional First Foods (water, salmon, deer, roots, and berries) throughout the Tribe's aboriginal use area (Norhteast, Oregon and Southeast, Washington). The tribes will use the planning period to develop evaluation measures, experiential learning activities, leadership development opportunities, and recruitment processes. This process will lead to a program design that accomplishes both youth development and First Foods resource management objectives.

Hopland Band of Pomo Indians
Education Enhancement for Hopland Band of Pomo Indians
Hopland, CA 95449

Total Award Amount: $49,845

Program Summary

The Hopland Band of Pomo Indians will plan an AmeriCorps program to improve its school-aged tribal members' academic success and increase the capacity of tribal youth to make healthy decisions. This includes some key elements: creating a successful, structured learning and homework program in the out-of-school hours; developing a core group of tribal and community volunteers to mentor the youth, tutor the students, and act as role models for healthy decision-making; and coordinating the intergenerational community service component of the Hopland Band Tribal Youth Leadership program.

Mescalero Apache Tribe
Sovereign Nations Planning Grant
Mescalero, NM 88340

Total Award Amount: $50,000

Program Summary

The Mescalero Apache Tribe (MAT) will use the planning period to develop the Soveriegn Nations Service Corps on tribal lands in the four corners area of the southwest United States. The program will mobilize Native American young adults from Pueblo, Tribes, and Indian Nations and provide them with natural resource management service and learning experiences. The long-term goal is to create trained Corps units within each Pueblo, Tribe, and Nation to address natural resource issues within tribes, amongst tribes as well as become a regional rapid response force.

AmeriCorps National Planning Grants

American YouthWorks
YouthBuild Austin, TX
Austin, TX 78701

Total Award Amount: $40,428

Program Summary

American YouthWorks will use the planning period to create the management systems and complete the site selection process for the Environmental Corps (E Corps), which specializes in environmental conservation and completes projects in a variety of areas including habitat restoration, public lands improvement, erosion control, water quality protection and trail building. The program has operated successful within the state of Texas for several years and will expand into the Southeastern United States.

Appalachia Service Project, Inc.
Appalachian Service Corps
Johnson City, TN 37601

Total Award Amount: $50,000

Program Summary

The Appalachian Service Project (ASP) seeks a planning grant to develop the Appalachian Service Corps. The Appalachian Service Corps will assign AmeriCorps members to community housing organizations in Appalachia, double the number of volunteers supported by ASP and the number of low income residents receiving improved housing through ASP and create new green-building practices for community organizations and ASP itself.

Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America
Prevention Treatment & Outreach Program for the NG
Alexandria, VA 22314

Total Award Amount: $50,000

Program Summary

Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA), a national 501c3 organization representing over 5,000 community coalitions throughout the United States will work in partnership with the National Guard Bureau (NGB) and its Prevention, Treatment and Outreach Program (PTO) to create a National AmeriCorps program to assist wounded National Guard and Reserve veterans returning to civilian life and their families. CADCA will use the planning period to conduct a community needs assessment and work with community partners to build a structure to support veteran AmeriCorps members.

Foster Care Alumni of America
Engage and Serve - Foster Care Youth and Alumni
Alexandria, VA 22314

Total Award Amount: $50,000

Program Summary

Foster Care Alumni of America (FCAA) and FosterClub are jointly involved in an AmeriCorps planning grant process to support the development of an AmeriCorps program that engages young alumni of the foster care system in national service opportunities, building a powerful pipeline for new public servants, civic leaders, and social entrepreneurs who have historically been absent from national service. Foster Care Alumni of America and FosterClub will use the planning period to conduct a needs assessment of foster care children and alumni and work with community partners to build a structure to support AmeriCorps members.

Nueva Esperanza, Inc.
Nueva Esperanza Planning Grant
Philadelphia, PA 19140

Total Award Amount: $50,000

Program Summary

The Nueva Esperanza, Inc Planning Grant expands its National Housing Initiative to support national efforts to increase service and volunteerism and to develop a program on foreclosure counseling, with a focus on Hispanic and minority communities. The program will research, develop, and structure an AmeriCorps program to expand Esperanza's National Housing Initiative, enabling the current 10 affiliate housing organizations to serve more people and build a structured volunteer network within Hispanic communities in Arizona, Pennsylvania, Florida, and California.

Occidental College
FoodCorps: A School Garden and Farm to School Program
Los Angeles, CA 90041

Total Award Amount: $44,213

Program Summary

The National Farm to School Network, a joint program of Occidental College and the Community Food Security Coalition, will conduct a yearlong planning process to develop FoodCorps, a program intended to put AmeriCorps service members to work building Farm to School and School Garden programs around the country in communities of need. The ultimate goal of the project is to increase the health and prosperity of children at high risk of developing obesity and Type II diabetes.

William J. Clinton Foundation - Alliance for a Healthier Generation
empowerME Movement
Little Rock, AR 72201

Total Award Amount: $49,998

Program Summary

The Alliance for a Healthier Generation (the Alliance) is a national non-profit organization fighting childhood obesity. To combat the childhood obesity epidemic, the Alliance works to establish the conditions necessary for all children to live healthier lifestyles and has identified communities most impacted by the obesity epidemic, a condition that disproportionately affects families living in poverty and communities of color. During the planning process, the Alliance will collaborate with local youth serving organizations to understand the need for youth voice and leadership to impact obesity and to implement sustainable healthy living programs for youth.

AmeriCorpsStatePlanning Grants

Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
Neighbor to Neighbor
Chicago, IL 60604

Total Award Amount: $50,000

Program Summary

The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights is a non profit organization formed in 1986 with a goal of promoting the rights of immigrants and refugees. ICIRR is comprised of over 130 organizations promotes citizenship and civic education, ESL, and cultural exchange. The purpose of the AmeriCorps planning grant is to expand the capacity of organzations that provide ESL services, with an overall goal of increasing the number of volunteers who serve as ESL tutors.

Metropolitan Area Agency on Aging, Inc.
Planning for Age-Friendly Communities
North St. Paul, MN 55109

Total Award Amount: $50,000

Program Summary

The Metropolitan Area Agency on Aging, Inc (MAAA) proposes to develop a program to engage a team of AmeriCorps members age 50 and older to help their communities become more accessible and age-friendly. Members will act as catalytic leaders for achieving age-friendly communities in Minnesota. During the planning period, MAAA will develop the systems and partnerships necessary to submit a competitive implementation proposal in the next competitive cycle.

Mobius, Inc.
Youth Mentoring
Burlington, VT 5401

Total Award Amount: $44,661

Program Summary

Formed in 2003, Mobius is non-profit organization that provides technical support and public awareness to mentoring programs in Chittenden County and across Vermont. With an AmeriCorps planning grant, the organization plans to conduct a needs assessment and communtiy meetings to determine how AmeriCorps can increase the capacity of mentoring agencies.