Eligible Placements for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 AmeriCorps Grant Years

For the purposes of new enrollments started during the 2013-2015 grant year in the National Bonner AmeriCorps Education Award only Program, the Member’s primary service placement must be either a Capacity Building placement (CB) or an After-School Program placement (ASP) as outlined on the Bonner Network Wiki. Other short-term activities related to the Bonner Program model may be approved in addition to the primary placement at the discretion of the National Bonner AmeriCorps Program Staff.

Capacity building encompasses many types of service activities. For example, a capacity building position may involve a number of the following responsibilities at a Member's service site:

Volunteer Management including volunteer recruitment, volunteer training and/or volunteer recognition
Training and Program Development including curriculum development, implementing new programs and/or organizing staff training
Fundraising including organizing a fundraising event, identifying grant or other funding sources, and/or writing grants (but limited to no more than 10% of a Member's originally agreed-upon hours)
Communications including website development and/or social media implementation to facilitate outreach efforts of the non-profit site
Research including program surveys and/or community-based research (CBR)

In order for an after-school program to serve as a placement site for a Bonner AmeriCorps member, the following must be true:

The population served should be from an at-risk population, defined as at least 51% eligible for free or reduced lunch
The youth/children served should participate in programming at least 5 hours/weekly for 16 weeks
For Summer Enrichment Programs, the youth/children served should participate in programming at least 10 hours/weekly for 4 weeks

Position Descriptions in BWBRS

Every position description in BWBRS must include the following elements:

A Descriptive Title - Use key words to indicate position responsibilities and the name of non-profit site!

In addition, please include the following signifier after the title

(CB) for a Capacity Building position
(ASP) for After-School Programs

A brief summary of the Mission Statement of the Organization
A one-sentence statement to Identify the Population Served at the Site
A Description of the Compelling Community Need which will be addressed by the Member's service
A two- or three-sentence Description of the Direct Service Responsibilities related to the position
If applicable to the site, be sure to include any necessary caveats regarding non-displacement of paid employees or non-provision of abortion-related services or referrals.

Use the following links to find data about school populations and other demographics to help you identify which populations are eligible to be beneficiaries of AmeriCorps service hours:

http://elementaryschools.org

http://high-schools.com

http://www.census.gov

http://www.aecf.org

If you are entering a Capacity Building (CB) Position in BWBRS, be sure to include an additional one- to two-sentence description of the capacity building activity being performed using the following format:

This positions includes Capacity Building Roles such as volunteer recruitment, training design, and program design (pick 3 from the Capacity Building checklist that are most relevant to the position).

Below is an example of a CB position description that includes all required elements:

Capacity Building Position Description

PositionTitle

Position Description

Girl Scout Program Coordinator

(CB)

The AnyTown Girl Scouts Program is a local nonprofit that serves low-income youth in the AnyTown community through weekly after school programming. The AnyTown Girl Scout Program Coordinator works with the youth at weekly meetings and collaborates with other coordinators to plan meetings, leader trainings, and special events. Capacity building roles include development of new training modules, volunteer recruitment and training, developing new curriculum for existing programs and managing all forms of communication among volunteers, the college, and community partners. This will benefit the community by empowering the youth in the program to be strong, independent, knowledgeable, and resourceful women in their community.

PositionTitle

Position Description

Souper Sandwich Club Assistant (CB)

Souper Sandwich Club is a link between Focus (a local nonprofit soup kitchen) and the College, dedicated to bringing awareness of hunger issues in ______. The Souper Sandwich members make lunches to supplement Focus' outreach to low-income community members, while also educating the community about hunger. Capacity building roles include volunteer recruitment, community partnership development, and volunteer communication tools.

Below is an example of an ASP position description that includes all required elements:

After School Program Position Description

PositionTitle

Position Description

Youth Enrichment Assistant (ASP)

The Get Set After School Program seeks to enhance and enrich the lives of our neighborhood families by providing supplemental educational services. The program serves youth from the Trenton school district. Over 50% of students in the district are eligible for free or reduced lunch. Youth Enrichment Assistants provide support to disadvantaged youth by providing academic support, designing and implementing educational activities, and modeling positive life choices. On a typical day, Youth Enrichment Assistants assist students with homework before participating in a special interest group on literacy. AmeriCorps Members serving at this site do not displace any paid employees.

Back to the Bonner AmeriCorps Programs Page

AmeriCorps Eligible Placements for the 2013-2015 Grant Years