FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 15, 2020
Contact: Michelle Raymer
Volunteer Iowa
515.348.6235 / 800.308.5987
Volunteer Iowa Awarded $332,000 to Strengthen and Expand Volunteering Across Iowa
Des Moines, IA – Volunteer Iowa announced today that it has received a Volunteer Generation Fund (VGF) grant of $331,976 from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency that oversees AmeriCorps and the nation’s volunteer initiatives. This funding will allow Volunteer Iowa to better support local organizations in recruiting, managing, and retaining volunteers to address some of Iowa's most pressing challenges.
Volunteer Iowa plans to utilize the Volunteer Generation Fund grant to build on the success of previous years through two main approaches:
1) Strengthen Iowa’s volunteer infrastructure, enhancing and expanding statewide and local resources for increasing volunteer engagement capacity. Through funding, specialized training, and resources, Volunteer Iowa will support continuing and new Volunteer Centers and other local institutions to: connect citizens with opportunities to serve, increase capacity of local organizations to engage volunteers in meaningful service, promote volunteering, and develop local programming that leverages volunteers to meet community needs. Additionally, Volunteer Iowa will build a network of Service Enterprise hubs to certify organizations that fundamentally leverage volunteers and their skills to achieve their social mission.
2) Pilot new initiatives to meet emerging needs around disaster response, strengthening rural cities, and empowering youth as Iowa’s newest volunteer force. By developing easy to use toolkits, hosting workshops paired with ongoing learning cohorts, and providing implementation funding, Volunteer Iowa will refine strategies and resources for communities to prepare for and respond to disaster; for cities to leverage their greatest assets, their citizens, to survive and thrive during challenging times; and for schools to develop Iowa’s future leaders through service learning and volunteerism.
"Volunteer Iowa is thankful to receive this VGF grant from CNCS so that we can continue to develop local volunteer infrastructure and resources, and build the capacity of communities to create a culture of volunteerism," said Adam Lounsbury, Executive Director with Volunteer Iowa. "We will continue to focus on the development of statewide volunteerism resources, that support nonprofits, government organizations, and the public to leverage the power of volunteering."
This year’s grant competition was highly competitive with a strong demand by state service commissions seeking VGF resources. CNCS awarded 22 VGF grants to state service commissions across the country, totaling more than $6 million.
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About Volunteer Iowa (or Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service)
Volunteer Iowa and its partner agencies work with organizations and individuals on three main fronts. The first is to help agencies develop quality programs that use service as a strategy to fulfill their missions and address Iowa’s greatest areas of need. The second is to help engage Iowans in their communities by promoting service and expanding the volunteer base. Finally, the third area of work is to connect individuals with appropriate service opportunities by building the volunteer infrastructure. More information is available at volunteeriowa.org.
About the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)
The Corporation for National and Community Service is the federal agency for volunteering, service, and civic engagement. The agency engages millions of Americans in citizen service through its AmeriCorps and Senior Corps programs and leads the nation's volunteering and service efforts. For more information, visit NationalService.gov.