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 developed and expanded 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 also built capacity of partnering nonprofits and their affiliates through a series of targeted programs: capacity-building workshops, student internships, and student leadership development.

PHENND engaged over 500 participants annually through a combination of service-learning courses and community service. Subgrants were made to regional nonprofits that work along The Credit Path so they could coordinate participants effectively across the region. These nonprofits were: Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger, Delaware County Asset Development Group, the Montgomery County Asset Building Coalition, the Campaign for Working Families, the Financial Advancement Network program at the Urban Affairs Coalition, and the Entrepreneur Works (formerly Philadelphia Development Partnership).

Subgrants were 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, in turn, supported the nonprofits and affiliates already involved in other aspects of this proposal. See below for a complete list of the subgrantees for each academic year.

The result was that by Year 3 (11-12), 1200 students were engaged in service-learning activities that move people along The Credit Path. As a result, 6,000 low-income individuals and families received 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, received capacity-building support in the form workshops and student interns.

Click here for a visual chart that describes the grant activities.

2011-2012 Subgrantees

Nonprofit Capacity-Building

La Salle University: La Salle will provide workshops to their nonprofit community partners to develop their capacity in the work they are doing. Second, the service-learning cohort of faculty will further explore the issues of economic justice in the community and discover new ways to collaborate with their nonprofit partners. Their third strategy is the creation of a website that will capture the assets and activities of their partners, as well as the efforts of faculty and students who work with these partner agencies. These strategies involve multifaceted collaborations intended to build relationships that are sustainable and instructive in helping the university understand how to change the institutional structures that maintain inequality. Contact: Louise Giugliano

Temple University’s Center for Social Policy and Community Development: Temple University is proposing a Non-Profit Management Certificate Program (NPMCP) to meet the needs of non-profit organizations. Initially, the certificate program (totaling 60 hours of instruction to participants) will be targeted to non-profits surrounding Temple’s main campus in North Philadelphia. Temple intends to expand and replicate the certificate program at its Harrisburg campus. As part of this effort, an evaluation will be done to document and demonstrate an effective non-profit capacity building model at Temple University. Contact:Shirley Moy

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 organization management, human resource management, fundraising, media relations, stewardship, and program evaluation. There will be follow-up sessions with the participants, networking opportunities and efforts made to link participants to Penn resources such as the nonprofit program at the School of Social Policy and Practice. Contact: Isabel Mapp

Student Leadership

Temple University’s University Community Collaborative of Philadelphia: The UCCP will launch Youth Action News, a youth driven mini TV show that will be broadcast through YouTube and Philly Cam, community access media. Youth Action News will highlight positive initiatives that youth in Philadelphia have undertaken with a particular emphasis on youth micro entrepreneurship activities. Youth Action News will be developed by V-Media, the UCCP’s media arm which is comprised of college students and older youth, and managed by our Media Productions Coordinator. Contact: Barbara Ferman

Student Internships

University of Pennsylvania: Building on our experience with the first PHENND Student Internship Grant cycle, 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. Contact: David Grossman

2010-2011 Subgrantees

Nonprofit Capacity-Building

Bryn Mawr’s Nonprofit Executive Leadership Institute: Grant funds will be used to subsidize the enrollment of two nonprofit leaders who agencies address economic recovery issues to participate in the NELI Certificate Program. The nonprofit leaders will receive 60 hours of advance training. Additionally, undergraduate students in the Leadership In Action program will be mentored by the nonprofit leaders to while providing service to their organization. Contact:Margie Dubrow

Chestnut Hill College: With additional technical and financial support in year two from the Nonprofit Capacity-Building grant, Chestnut Hill College will capitalize on expressed nonprofit interest in the program, as well as growth in service-learning and community partnership development in the four focus areas. Utilizing the networks of both PHENND and current campus partners, and under the direction of an Advisory Board, the College will invite nonprofit staff and leaders to participate in seven (7) capacity-building workshops, provided by faculty, administrators and friends of the College. Contact: Ryan Murphy.

Student Leadership

Arcadia University: Arcadia University students will collaborate with the First United Methodist Church of Germantown (FUMCOG) after-school program for Germantown High School students to create a once-weekly “Math Circle” to investigate together financial issues and entrepreneurship based on interviews with neighborhood businesses. Arcadia students will design instructional activities, carry out assessment of learning objectives, and organize meetings with consultants. High school students will teach the university students about their local community, and identify community projects to pursue together. Contact:Peter Appelbaum

Bryn Mawr College: The Civic Engagement Office will jump-start Bryn Mawr College student involvement in economic recovery initiatives by developing new connections to local community-based organizations working in this area, by creating structures on campus to facilitate engagement through volunteer projects, internships and service-learning courses, and by deliberately building linkages to campus-based leadership programs and student-run organizations. Contact: Ellie Esmond

Community College of Philadelphia: CCP will create a service-learning project to develop leadership skills among its Paralegal Club members. Participants will be trained on foreclosure-related financial issues and will help develop related educational videos to serve as a resource for residents facing foreclosure. Videos will be distributed to community partners, broadcast on CCPTV and posted online. This will launch a long-term service-learning project whereby foreclosure-related support would be provided to individuals on campus and at community sites. Contact: David Freeman

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: Dan Dougherty

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 in 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: Jenna Meehan

Rosemont College: Rosemont College’s mission, justice and moral reasoning, ties education into the social sphere and requires students to be actively engaged in the world. As one student explained “The Food Stamp Program has given me a first hand view into the American welfare system, rather than the theoretical approach in class.” Rosemont College will coordinate service learning, leadership development and co-curricular activities around food stamp enrollment and by working with the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger. Contact: Michelle Moravec

University of Pennsylvania: Community School Student Partnerships (CSSP) is a student organization that provides academic and cultural enrichment to children and families in the West Philadelphia community as part of Penn’s overall University-Assisted Community School network. With the support provided in this proposal, CSSP will make a substantial contribution to the institutionalization of service and learning at Penn, will affect measurable outcomes in financial literacy for K-12 youth and their parents, and will build upon the progress made as a PHENND Student Leadership grantee in FY10. Contact: Chris Bower

Student Internships

Drexel University: Drexel University’s Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) is proposing a two-tiered approach to increasing and sustaining a cadre of interns in the area of economic recovery. First, we will expand our Drexel Community Scholars (DCS) program to include one in up to four organizations dealing with economic recovery. The DCS will then recruit an additional 3-4 students and with the assistance of CCE and community partner staff, retain and support those students in long-term, stable, civic engagement opportunities. Contact: Dan Dougherty

Temple University: The Temple Small Business Development Center (SBDC) will hire interns to provide Business Support services to small business in the Philadelphia area for AY 2010-11. The funding will be used to build organization 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, and 2) administer entrepreneurship training. Contact: Eustace Kangaju

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: Ryan Murphy

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/2010/08/nonprofit-institute-at-penn-3/Contact: Isabel Mapp

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: Mary Williams

Student Leadership

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: Tara Ronda

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: Lezlie McCabe

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: Chris Bower

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: Rachel Howe

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: Eustace Kangaju

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: David Grossman