Higher Education as Guides to the Credit Path
With funding from Learn and Serve America, and in partnership with Drexel University's Center for Civic Engagement, PHENND will develop and expand four regional campus-community partnership initiatives focused on key areas of economic recovery: food stamp enrollment, income tax assistance for low-income families, financial education, and micro-entrepreneurship training. Each of these areas sits along a continuum of asset development, The Credit Path, which moves families from financial uncertainty to self-sufficiency. Layered across each of these regional partnerships, PHENND will also build capacity of partnering nonprofits and their affiliates through a series of targeted programs: capacity-building workshops, student internships, and student leadership development.
PHENND will engage 500 participants annually through a combination of service-learning courses and community service. Subgrants, representing 34% of requested funds, will be made to regional nonprofits that work along The Credit Path so they may coordinate participants effectively across the region. These nonprofits are: Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger, Delaware County Asset Development Group, Community Action Development Commission of Montgomery County, the Campaign for Working Families, the Financial Advancement Network program at the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition, and the Philadelphia Development Partnership.
Subgrants will also be made each year to area colleges and universities, to provide capacity-building workshops to partnering nonprofits and their affiliates, to develop student leadership , and to manage student interns who will, in turn, support the nonprofits and affiliates already involved in other aspects of this proposal. See below for a complete list of the 2009-2010 Subgrantees.
The result will be that by Year 3, 1200 students will have been engaged in service-learning activities that move people along The Credit Path. As a result, 6,000 low-income individuals and families will receive information about becoming more self-sufficient and services to help them achieve that goal. Finally, at least 500 nonprofit organizations, working along The Credit Path, will receive capacity-building support in the form workshops and student interns.
Click here for a visual chart that describes the grant activities.
2009-2010 Subgrantees
Nonprofit Capacity Building
Chestnut Hill College: With the Nonprofit Capacity-Building grant, Chestnut Hill College will capitalize on recent growth in service-learning and community partnership development in the four focus areas (food stamp enrollment, volunteer income tax assistance, financial education, and micro-entrepreneurship training). Utilizing the networks of both PHENND and current campus partners, the College will target nonprofits to participate in at least three capacity-building workshops, provided by faculty, administrators and friends of the College. Under the direction of an Advisory Board, the College will survey nonprofits for their needs and interests and develop at least three additional program offerings. See: http://updates.phennd.org/2010/02/volunteer-management-basics-for-2010/ Contact:
University of Pennsylvania: Penn's Netter Center for Community Partnerships will offer two Nonprofit Institutes during the grant period that will each offer a series of workshops over six days for a minimum of 60 participants from nonprofits to help build their capacity by addressing critical topics such as organizational management, human resource management, fundraising, media relations, stewardship, and program evaluation. There will be follow-up sessions with the participants and efforts made to connect them to Penn resources. See: http://updates.phennd.org/2010/03/nonprofit-institute-at-penn-2/ Contact:
Widener University: Widener University proposes a series of workshops for Fall 09, student service-learning classes, additional workshops in spring 2010, and a 2010–2011 year-long service-learning class in which nonprofits in Delaware County, PA will work with students to develop comprehensive marketing and communication strategies. The fall 09 workshops will focus on the organizational and individual skills identified as critical to capacity-building by the Alliance for Nonprofit Management. During the fall workshops, needs assessments will be conducted to ensure appropriate spring workshops and service-learning courses. During the spring 2010, senior level management student teams will each work for the semester with a nonprofit to focus on specific organizational goals. In addition, Widener’s Sales and Marketing Fraternity will work with specific nonprofits that might need a special marketing tool (possibly for fund-raising events or a kick-off for a new program). Finally, selected nonprofit organizations will have a year-long opportunity to develop and improve their communications strategies. Contact:
Student Leadership
Drexel University: The Center for Civic Engagement will work with Drexel Bridges to carry out the goals of this project. Therefore, as a student run coalition supporting other student-run organizations, the initiative will be run by students, for students, with staff from the CCE providing support and training. Specifically, the Drexel Bridges subcommittee for Philanthropy will advise the CCE as it identifies and distributes Student Leadership Grants to Student Organizations. Once an organization receives a grant it will be required to use funds to support member-volunteers in their participation in activities that move community members/clients along the Credit Path: food stamp enrollment activities, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, financial education for youth and adults, and micro-entrepreneurship training. Funds used may include transportation costs, trainings, project materials and other reasonable costs associated with delivery of services to community partners and their clients. Contact:
Montgomery County Community College: Montgomery County Community College will engage students in two projects to foster civic engagement and student leadership. First, MCCC students will serve as volunteer tax preparers partnering with the North Penn United Way and Family Services of Pottstown. In addition, MCCC students will also help pilot GPUAC's FAN Club Campus program, which will engage students in the creation and support of Financial Advancement Network chapters in Montgomery County. Contact:
Richard Stockton College of New Jersey: In an effort to advance student leadership opportunities through course-based service-learning, the Service-Learning Office at Stockton College will establish a food stamp enrollment project with a built-in developmental leadership model for participating students. This project is part of the Learning to End Hunger Campaign of the New Jersey Higher Education Service Learning Consortium. Service-learning faculty, staff, and students; social work faculty and students; and existing community partners will collaborate to plan, implement, and assess the program and plan for subsequent years. The College will also partner with Atlantic Cape Community College to engage their students and faculty in the project. Contact:
Rosemont College: Rosemont College will integrate service learning and ethical development through curricular and student activities. Rosemont service learning students will participate in the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger’s food stamp enrollment program. Students will fulfill service requirements for clubs and athletes by participating in food distribution programs, hunger walks, and food stamp enrollment outreach. Students will undergo leadership development through on campus workshops and an off campus leadership conference. Contact:
University of Pennsylvania: There are approximately 50 student service groups at the University of Pennsylvania recognized by the Civic House Associates Coalition (the main coordinating body for student led service), of which Community School Student Partnerships (CSSP) is one of the fastest growing (http://www.penncssp.com). The mission of CSSP is to facilitate the use of university students and student groups to support the operation of University-Assisted Community Schools (UACS). CSSP mentors in conjunction with Penn student groups design and lead many different activities at the various sites in conjunction with school and community partners (mostly parents). As a result of positive feedback during parent meetings for our limited efforts around financial literacy, we are proposing an expansion of those efforts. These include: Black Wall Street, school stores, financial education for youth, Young Entrepreneurs Club. In addition, CSSP students will also help pilot GPUAC's FAN Club Campus program, which will engage students in the creation and support of Financial Advancement Network chapters in West Philadelphia, primarily comprised of parents of school-aged youth. Contact:
Student Internships
Temple University Community Learning Network: Temple will fund 2-3 undergraduate student interested in business, finance, accounting, or urban education to support projects at various organizations including: youth entrepreneurship program at Honickman Learning Center and data analysis for the Irish Immigrant Center. Contact:
Temple University Small Business Development Center: Temple's SBDC will hire three interns to provide Business Support Services to small and emerging growth companies in the Philadelphia area for summer 2010. The funding will be used to build organizational capacity that will enable us to provide additional services through training and consulting to small businesses. Specific activities are to: 1) provide creative services that will enable small businesses to enhance their marketing capabilities. Contact:
University of Pennsylvania: The Civic House-PHENND Internship in Economic Recovery aims to support students’ public interest experiences throughout the academic year and summer, while addressing community organizations’ needs year-round in project-based internships in Philadelphia. The challenges faced by students seeking to secure summer internship support also exist during the academic year. The Civic House-PHENND Internship in Economic Recovery will enable students to provide direct support to local organizations empowering some of Philadelphia’s most vulnerable citizens. Ten student interns will be supported during the Spring and Summer 2010 terms. Contact: