AmeriCorps TTA Planning Working Group conference call Tuesday, June 7, 2005

1. AmeriCorps TTA Planning Working Group conference callTuesday, June 7, 2005

2. Agenda for Conference Call • Review of minutes from last call • Do we want these posted to the web? (Kristin) • Overview of 2005 National Conference (Gretchen) • Where we are with the Grantee meeting (Gretchen with Jewel, Susan, and Charles) • AC TTA Planning Group involvement and the Grantee meeting – Jacqui, Gregg, Tom, Charmion, and Mary Rose are the people who volunteered (Gretchen) • Outline for the AmeriCorps T/TA Concept Paper (Gretchen) • Next meeting and when do we want to meet at the conference?

3. 2005 National Conference Basics 2005 Theme: • Serve Communities * Solve Problems * Strengthen America Pre-conference Activities (Mon-Wed, Aug. 1-3) • YesAmbassador Training • Points of Light Youth Leadership Institute • VCNN Council meetings • Employee Volunteer Training sessions • AmeriCorps VISTA National sponsor meeting • AmeriCorps Grantee Staff Training • State Commissioner Training • Connect America Council Meeting • Second Annual International Roundtable • Second Annual National Faith and Community Service Institute • CNCS Peer Review Certification • Other Volunteer Center Training • Government Volunteer Program Training

4. Wednesday, August 3 for AmeriCorps Grantees specifcally • Grantee Staff training has a committee made up of your peers. • Two conference calls to give feedback to agenda, June 9, 2-3 and June, 10 11-noon • There are beginning, intermediate, and advanced sessions and a fiscal track • Five sessions per four workshop blocks – total 20 sessions, topics include: Beginning eGrants, Intermediate eGrants, Performance measurement, CNCS 101, Program Management: “Starting and Staying Strong,” Administrative Standards, Working the GARP process, Monitoring and Coaching for High Performing Programs, Performance Measurement: Beyond the Basics, Establishing Innovative partnership within your community, Member and Volunteer Development, Seminar (two workshop blocks): Professional Development on the Job, Seminar (two workshop blocks): Management coaching for nonprofit leaders, A Year in the Life of a PO, A Year in the Life of a TO, CNCS GARP Overview, Fiscal Issues for Non-fiscal staff, Fiscal Management: Beyond the Basics, Meeting the Match, and Audit Issues • There is also a commissioner training with one session each per four workshop blocks (Dave Bell from WV commission and ASC board is planning) • AmeriCorps Leadership meeting from 4:00-5:30 • Opening Reception for Grantee meeting 6:00-7:30 (David Lauren from Ralph Lauren and Congressional Caucus?) • ASC dinner from 8:00-10:00 • Separate registration letter with all of these activities listed coming out middle of June

5. 2005 National Conference Basics Conference Program, Thurs-Sat., Aug. 4-6) • 3 General Sessions (Opening and 2 Luncheons) • Cokie Roberts, Bob Woodson, David Lauren, and Mark Victor Hansen (still waiting on others) • 120 + workshop sessions • Topics, presenters, and descriptions available on-line at www.volunteeringandservice.org along with “conference planner” • Volunteer Management Track • 6 introductory-level workshops on such topics as developing volunteer positions and recruiting volunteers • 8 intermediate-level workshops on such topics as volunteer management, planning, and trends in volunteering • 8 advanced-level workshops on such topics as volunteer management systems, professional volunteer management • CEUs for individuals who register for track through American Humanics • Pre- and post-assessment of learning outcomes

6. 2005 NationalConference Basics Conference Program (cont) • 6 Forums (Town Hall Meetings) • Panel on “What Funders Look For” and Responding to RFPs • Forum on Youth and Volunteering Research Study (joint research sponsored by POLF and CNCS with the Census Bureau) • Family Volunteering Forum: Sponsored by Disney • 50+ Volunteering in a New Age: Innovative Pathways for Organizations and Volunteer Managers (part of the White House Conference on Aging) • Serving the Common Good: Ethical and Effective Practice in Non-Profit Organizations (Independent Sector) • “Better Together” (Coordinated by leadership of Volunteer Centers and AmeriCorps)

7. Thursday, August 4 for AmeriCorps Grantees specifically • 7:30-9:00 special meetings (Direct grantees, standards group, New EDs and Mentors, Data group? • 9:30-11:30 Opening session of the conference with Cokie Roberts and Bob Woodson • Noon-1:30 possibly CNCS strategic plan? • 2:00-5:30 AC Grantee meeting, topics include: Rulemaking, Nuts and bolts of 2005 NOFA, cutomer service update, cross-stream training, update on eGrants, data group?, planning the rest of your conference, funding for national service? • 6:30 Conference special event at Museum of Natural History

8. Friday, August 5 for AmeriCorps Grantees specifically • 7:00 am Fun Run, stretching, and program as part of the conference service project and the “President’s Active Lifestyle Program” with the Kennedy Recreation Center in the Shaw neighborhood (Darryl Green from the Redskins, other sports figures, and possibly Sec. Leavitt in attendance) • 9:00-10:30 Concurrent sessions including “Sharing best practices: AmeriCorps models that work.” Forum on “Better Together” with Volunteer Centers and AmeriCorps • 11:00-noon Free in the Exhibit Hall – hands-on demos of eGrants • Noon-1:30 Corporate Awards Luncheon. David Lauren speaking and being intro’ed by AC member. CNCS giving a corporate award. • 2:00-5:30 Afternoon concurrent sessions including: AmeriCorps Longitudinal Study, AmeriCorps Alums, How State Commissions Can Reach Out to Faith-based and Grass-roots organizations, managing spontaneous volunteers in Disaster, and several sustainability sessions, and Forums on Engaging Baby-boomers and Forum on Ethical and effective practice in non-profit organizations with the Independent Sector (this is following up on the legislation through the Senate Finance Committee) • 6:30 - Networking receptions. Right now New Mexico is the only “official state reception” but others are brewing

9. Saturday, August 6 for AmeriCorps Grantees specifically • 8:00-9:30 Concurrent sessions including some of the previous ones mentioned and a Forum on findings from the Census Bureau’s study on youth and volunteering • 10:00-11:30 Closing session of AC Grantee meeting – “Communities of Practice” an experiential exercise using Implementing Rulemaking as the subject matter. • Noon-1:30 Closing session with speaker Mark Vistor Hansen (original author of Chicken Soup for the Soul) and possibly Colin Powell, Sec. Leavitt, or other administration official. We will give out CNCS Spirit of Service awards here.

10. What we need from the AC T/TA Planning Working Group… • First, are these the right sessions? Have we covered all the needs/ideas you had previously identified? • Jacqui, Tom, Greg, Charmion and Mary Rose said they would help • We need help planning the opening reception – what should the program be? • We need help designing and planning the Thursday afternoon line-up. • We need help identifying good presenters in some cases. • What are your overall concerns or suggestions to strengthen the overall grantee meeting?

11. Proposed Outline for the AmeriCorps T/TA Concept Paper • Philosophy of T/TA for AmeriCorps • Capacity building - Ultimate goal is capacity building at local level • Partnership – HQ and direct grantees with respect for mutual expertise • Competency-based – focus on key knowledge/skill areas • Adult-learning principles – interactive and ownership of own learning • T4T approaches, peer to peer preferred – minding standards • Seek 4 points on a 5 points scale as standard satisfaction measure • Try to measure where we are “moving the needle” in key competency areas • Target Audience • HQ →Direct grantees → subgrantees/sites → members/volunteers • With exceptions (spell those out?)

12. Proposed Outline for the AmeriCorps T/TA Concept Paper (cont) • Data Collection - What we need to know About our Target Audience • Competency assessment • Needs assessment • How they use TTA resources • Availability of peers • Satisfaction of TTA • Impact of TTA • Key strategies • TTA providers • Selection of providers • Developing of provider deliverables • Allocating provider resources • Accountability for provider resources • PDAT • Allocation of PDAT resources • Purpose of PDAT and PDAT plans • Training for PDAT coordinators • Accountability for PDAT • Identifying and Communicating Annual AmeriCorps T/TA Goals and Available Resources • Factors to be considered • Role of AC T/TA Planning Working Group • Timeline • Opportunities for wide input and participation