Volunteer Generation Fund
Adopted at the 78th Annual Meeting in 2010
WHEREAS, today, tens of millions of Americans volunteer to tackle our most urgent needs and millions more are prepared to fill gaps in our nation's social safety net; and WHEREAS recent studies have shown that the very institutions whose role it would be to deploy the time and talents of these volunteers lack the capacity to use a new surge of volunteers effectively; and
WHEREAS, the annual cost for a nonprofit to screen, train and manage one volunteer per year is $300 and most nonprofits must put volunteer management in the back seat to core functions, resulting in those willing to serve having fewer valuable opportunities and basic services going undelivered; and
WHEREAS, we have seen the need for volunteer infrastructure in times of crisis such as Hurricane Katrina when thousands of unaffiliated volunteers flooded the Gulf region and had to be screened, trained, housed, fed and deployed; and
WHEREAS, a modest federal investment in a strong volunteer management infrastructure to build the capacity for nonprofits to recruit, train, target and retain volunteers would support the social service delivery systems in cities, large and small; and
WHEREAS, the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act of 2009 included such an investment vehicle - the Volunteer Generation Fund - for grants to entities that 1) are dedicated to the practice of connecting volunteers to meaningful, diverse opportunities and 2) have a track record of practical, actionable engagement strategies across sectors; and
WHEREAS, the Fund, administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, awards grants to state service commissions and nonprofit organizations that either directly carry out volunteer programs or develop and support community-based entities that recruit, manage or support volunteers; and
WHEREAS, the Fund was authorized for $50 million in FY2010 and Congress appropriated only $4 million; and
WHEREAS, the President has requested $10 million for the Volunteer Generation Fund for FY2011; and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the U.S. Conference of Mayors calls upon Congress to provide $10 million for the Volunteer Generation Fund in FY2011; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Congress should ensure both nonprofit organizations and state service commissions are eligible to apply for funding, as specified in the original Serve America Act.