ANNUAL REPORT 2019 BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS
Inside Message from Board Chair and CEO 2019 Public Policy Recap Innovation & Leadership Awards
MESSAGE FROM THE CEO & BOARD CHAIR Dear ASC members and friends, As we look back on 2019 and the end of a decade (which feels so long ago already!), we can see a clear trajectory of advancement and evolution for America’s Service Commissions and our growing state service network. 2019 was a year of Breaking Down Barriers for us – challenging old norms, developing new strategies and services, reducing “red tape” by advocating for key policy changes, and expanding on our already robust array of trainings, benefits, and special initiatives toward our goal of making it easier for more people to serve and, ultimately, unite states in service. Although we are a national organization with a wide geographic footprint, ASC continues to be a lean, small-staff association that has maintained its ability to be nimble and flexible in the face of a quickly changing landscape and emerging priorities. While we worked hard to meet the deliverables outlined in our 2017-2019 Strategic Plan, we also left room for innovation and adaptation to meet the needs of our network this past year. As you’ll read in this report, 2019 marked the official launch of our new Strengths Accelerator Initiative to provide commissions with intensive, onsite technical assistance and teams of experts to identify areas of strength and promise, as well as key priorities and opportunities, to build long-term commission capacity. New opt-in services for commissions were also developed in 2019 to offer high-quality professional development and explore emerging trends, from Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) to Disaster Services Capacity support, and AmeriCorps Recruitment to Continuity Planning. Our Board of Directors also spent considerable time and attention in 2019 considering and responding to our federal agency’s Transformation and Sustainability Plan (TSP) to ensure the needs of commissions and their programs were represented and adequately met during this time of great transition and uncertainty. We believe in the importance of working with our federal agency partners at the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), and have seen the power of using our collective voice as states to deepen this relationship further, providing realtime constructive feedback, and asking tough questions when needed.
Finally, we’re proud to say that 2019 also saw the passage of another favorable federal spending bill (HR 1865) that expanded national service by $21 million, a major win for our field after threatened budget cuts proposed to virtually eliminate AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, the Volunteer Generation Fund, and state service commissions. This is in part thanks to the efforts of our privately-funded States for Service Public Policy Coalition, working together with key advocacy partners and legislative champions, to ensure that service stays strong in America. In 2020, we hope to double down even further on this theme of “Breaking Down Barriers” to service by fostering creative solutions, harnessing the immense talent within our network through peer best practice sharing, and continuing to convene some of the best minds in service at our national and regional events (when we can do so safely) so we can continue to think big. Thank you for being part of the ASC community and state service network!.
AMBER MARTIN-JAHN, CHAIR ASC BOARD OF DIRECTORS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SERVE WASHINGTON
KAIRA ESGATE, CEO AMERICA'S SERVICE COMMISSIONS KESGATE@STATECOMMISSIONS.ORG
ASC MEMBERSHIP: 2019
500
WE ARE ASC.
NUMBER OF MEMBERS
400
300
+5%
We lead and elevate the state service network.
200
100
+57%
+0%
du iv i In d
iss m m Co
als
s io n
ti o ali Co S S4
+38%
Am
er
iC
or
ps
St
at
eP
ro
gr
am
s
n
0
Our vision is that all states embrace service as a strategy to build community in solving local challenges.
52 STATE SERVICE COMMISSIONS
www.statecommissions.org/find-your-state-service-commission
MEMBERSHIP SNAPSHOT
100% of commissions surveyed in 2019
reported feeling that ASC reflects and elevates ASC saw a steady rise in each of its non-
their commission and the work they do.
commission membership categories in 2019,
100% of commissions rated the services &
thanks to increased interest in membership
support received from ASC in 2019 as
benefits, products, and services such as the
"Excellent" or "Good."
Member Assistance Program and growing
95% of commissions believed the information
awareness of ASC's work as an association and
provided by ASC in 2019 was helpful to their
public policy leader.
work (5% said it depends).
3-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN
OVERVIEW For the last three years, ASC has operated under a comprehensive Strategic Plan with five major goals focused on aligning ASC’s mission, vision, strategies, and activities for optimal growth and long term sustainability. The plan was developed in partnership with a consulting firm, Social Velocity, and a Strategic Planning Committee of board members, stakeholders, and key partners. In 2019, ASC made great progress toward these three-year goals through monthly progress monitoring and quarterly dashboard reporting, coding each objective as green/yellow/red. Of 28 key objectives in 2019, we ended the year with 20 green elements (completed), 6 yellow elements (delayed but on track to completion), and only 2 red items (incomplete). In light of some major federal policy shifts and adaptations required to adjust to the needs of our network due to the CNCS Transformation & Sustainability Plan implementation, the ASC Board voted to extend the 2017-2019 Strategic Plan for one year into 2020 to ensure completion of all the plan's goals and objectives. We look forward to continuing this work in 2020 as we complete the Strategic Plan and look to the next!
KEY PROGRESS HIGHLIGHTS:
Goal 1: Commissioner Online Orientation developed and offered in November 2019 with positive feedback. New Program Officer & Fiscal Officer Training Series development underway. Goal 3: Completed public policy toolkit on removing State Tax on the AmeriCorps Education Award for opt-in states and coalition members.. Goal 5: Grew ASC's human capital by hiring our first Training & Membership Manager. Engaged 5 interns and 119 event volunteers.
OPT-IN SERVICES AND SUPPORT ACTIVITIES
In 2019, ASC offered the largest number of "opt-in" services in our history to state service commissions looking for additional support and consulting in specialty areas. As an association, ASC is able to bundle consulting contracts among interested states to keep costs low and to foster "learning community" cohorts of those looking to build capacity or develop expertise in specific areas: Audit Prep Support – 9 states Board Development Support – 6 states Continuity Planning Support – 9 states Corporate Engagement Support – 7 states Disaster Services Capacity Support – 8 states Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Support – 10 states Evaluation Bundle – 5 states Fiscal Coaching Support – 12 states Recruitment Support – 10 states State Policy Support – 3 states In-Person Events Offered: AmeriCorps Boot Camps – 11 states Federal Grants Management Training – 19 states Strengths Accelerator – 6 states Volunteer Generation Fund Convening – 24 attendees
KEY METRICS 63 AmeriCorps Boot Camp trainees from 11 states 40 commission staff from 26 states participated in New Fiscal Officer Training Series 35 commissioners from 13 states participated in ASC's new online Commissioner Orientation 32 grant management professionals attended ASC's first ever Federal Grants Management Training (FGMT)
MEMBER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (MAP) 21,287 AmeriCorps Members Enrolled Across 42 States 457 AmeriCorps Program Staff
STRENGTHS ACCELERATOR INITIATIVE
In 2019, ASC was proud to officially launch its Commission Strengths Accelerator initiative (which had been piloted in 2018 with great success) to ensure all state service commissions have the opportunity to learn, grow, and take their work from compliance to the next level of impact through a robust, standardized assessment process . ASC staff, consultants, and peer experts visited six commissions from March-December 2019 to engage with commission staff in intensive impact coaching and discussion: March 26-28: Serve Puerto Rico October 8-10: Serve Rhode Island October 29-31: Serve Idaho November 5-7: ServeMontana November 19-21: Alabama Governor's Office of Volunteer Services December 4-6: North Carolina Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service While participation is voluntary, part of ASC's Strategic Plan is to build our capacity to eventually offer the Accelerator process to each state commission every seven (7) years for ongoing continuous improvement and sustainability.
PICTURED FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: ALABAMA, NORTH CAROLINA, MONTANA, IDAHO, RHODE ISLAND, AND PUERTO RICO
2019 ACCELERATOR TEAM Jerry Bertrand, Independent Consultant (Fiscal) Rachel Bruns, Deputy Director, ASC Maureen Eccleston, Executive Director, PennSERVE Chad Driscoll, Senior Program Officer, Volunteer Iowa Roger Dunn, Program Officer, Massachusetts Service Alliance Jeanne Duffy, Executive Director, Serve Wisconsin Kaira Esgate, CEO, ASC Elisa Gleeson, Manager, Membership and Training, ASC Emily Haber, CEO, Massachusetts Service Alliance Kristin Honz, Deputy Director, Volunteer Iowa Suzana Kantardzic, Senior Program Officer, Massachusetts Service Alliance Cat Keen, Director of National Service Programs, Volunteer Florida
Katie Koski, Program Officer, Massachusetts Service Alliance Susan Meche, Independent Consultant (Fiscal) Scott McFarland, Executive Director, Serve Illinois Antonio Mendez, Executive Director, Serve Colorado Ia Moua, Director of AmeriCorps, California Volunteers Jamie Orozco Nagel, Program Officer, Volunteer Iowa Stacey Scherschligt, Director of Programs, ServeMinnesota Kate Scheuritzel, Senior Program Officer, Serve Connecticut Jim Snell, Executive Director, Volunteer Tennessee Emily Steinberg, Director, External Affairs, ASC Kris Tecce, Independent Consultant (Fiscal) Steven Yule, Senior Program Officer, Serve Wisconsin
2019 PUBLIC POLICY RECAP
National Service Receives $21 Million Increase in End-of-Year Bipartisan Spending Bill On December 20, President Trump signed two end-of-year spending packages totaling $1.4 trillion, averting a government shutdown at the last minute after members of Congress led by Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby of Alabama worked diligently to reach critical bipartisan agreements on Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 funding levels. The bills included all 12 annual appropriations bills for the 2020 fiscal year that started October 1, including the Labor-HHS-Education bill that provides funding for the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) as well as commissions and national service programs. ASC and our States for Service (S4S) Coalition are thrilled to report that CNCS received a $21 million increase over the previous year ($1.104 billion), including: $428.5 million for AmeriCorps State /National - $3.5 million increase $208.3Â million for the National Service Trust Fund - $1.5 million increase $6.4 million for the Volunteer Generation Fund - $1 million increase $17.5 million for State Commissions - level funding $32.5 million for NCCC - $500K increase $93.3 million for VISTA - $1 million increase $118.8 million for Foster Grandparents - $7.9 million increase $50.8 million for Senior Companions - $4 million increase $51.4 million for RSVP - $1 million increase $83.7 million for CNCS Salaries and Expenses $5.8 million for Inspector General In addition to this funding, commissions received level funding for their training and technical assistance activities through the Commission Investment Fund (CIF) at $8.5 million. Get involved in our efforts to protect and expand national service: www.states4service.org.
2019 CAPITOL HILL DAY
BOARD OF DIRECTORS America's Service Commissions (ASC) and its member commissions from across the country approved the new slate of board members and officers for the 2019-2020 year during the annual ASC Membership Assembly on September 18, 2019 to start new terms on October 1st. 2019- 2020 Board Officers: Chair: Amber Martin-Jahn, Executive Director, Serve Washington Vice Chair/Membership Chair: Maureen Eccleston, Executive Director, PennSERVE Public Policy Chair: Antonio Mendez, Executive Director, Serve Colorado Resource Development Chair: Ginna Holmes, Executive Director, Michigan Community Service Commission Secretary: Phil Kolling, Executive Director, SerVermont Treasurer: Richard Swarttz, CFO, Peace Corps 2019- 2020 Board Members (in addition to Officers above): Katie Abbott, Executive Director, Serve Alaska John Albright, Commission Chair, Missouri Community Service Commission Jeanne Duffy, Executive Director, Serve Wisconsin Caroline Farmer, Executive Director, Volunteer NC William Hall, Executive Director, ServeOhio Beverly Hoster, Commission Chair, Oklahoma Community Service Commission Bill Hulterstrom, President/CEO, United Way of Utah County Judd Jeansonne, Executive Director, Volunteer Louisiana Julia Keehner, Commissioner, Volunteer West Virginia Cat Keen, National Service Programs Director, Volunteer Florida Charlette Kremer, Commissioner, Serve Idaho Kevin Mays, Commissioner, Serve Kentucky Shelly McAlpin, Executive Director, Serve Wyoming Scott McFarland, Executive Director, Serve Illinois Beth McGuinness, Director of Programs, Massachusetts Service Alliance Kate Scheuritzel, Director of Programs, Serve Connecticut Marty Weinstein, CEO, Bay Area Community Resources and Co-Chair, California AmeriCorps Alliance Thank you to the following outgoing ASC Board Members who departed in 2019: Lindsay Dolce – At-large (Board member since 2013) Adam Lounsbury – IA (Board member since 2013) Leslie Silverman – At-large (Board member since 2016) LaDawn Stoddard – UT (Board member since 2013) Linda Thompson – GA (Board member since 2017)
THANK YOU TO OUR CURRENT & PAST BOARD MEMBERS FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP & VISION
CONFERENCES & TRAINING
This past spring, ASC once again led the implementation of three National Service Regional Training Conferences benefiting more than 1,100 AmeriCorps and national service professionals. This year's theme explored "Breaking Down Barriers," whether paving the way for more people to serve or navigating challenges faced by programs, their clients, and the communities they serve. The conferences took place in Saint Paul, Boise, and Pittsburgh in collaboration with each state's commission: ServeMinnesota, Serve Idaho, and PennSERVE. Similarly to 2018, attendees reported high satisfaction rates and strong performance outcomes: 96% of attendees agreed or strongly agreed that they planned to apply what they learned 94% agreed or strongly agreed they gained new knowledge or skills 89% reported that their organizational effectiveness would improve as a result of attending
INNOVATION & LEADERSHIP AWARDS 2019
On September 19, 2019, nine outstanding community leaders from across the nation were recognized at ASC's annual reception held at Top of the Town in Arlington, VA for the sixth annual Innovation and Leadership Awards. The awards program is held each year in the Washington, DC area to recognize the hard work, leadership, and accomplishments of state service commission staff, commissioners, service programs and their champions throughout the U.S. and its territories. 2019 ASC Innovation & Leadership Award Recipients: Friend of America's Service Commissions: Congressman Tom Cole (Oklahoma) Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (Connecticut) State Service Leadership Award: Governor Larry Hogan (Maryland) Outstanding Commissioner: Mary Grace Landrum (Texas) Outstanding Commission Executive Director: LaDawn Stoddard (Utah) Outstanding Commission Staff: Stacey Scherschligt (Minnesota) Outstanding Service Program: Metropolitan Ministries (Florida) ASC Honor Roll: Robert Shogren (Arizona)
Congratulations to all! Thank you to our awards sponsors for making this event possible, especially Gold Sponsors City Year and Serve Illinois.
FINANCIALS: 2019
Earned Income 10%
Contributions 3%
INCOME Fee-for-Service 33%
Trainings 25%
ASC ended the year in a strong
INCOME: $1,648,398*
financial position with income of over $1.6 million, an increase of 8% over 2018. This revenue represents a diversified funding base of membership dues, fee-for-service, trainings, earned income, and contributions and does not include deferred revenue from the previous year.
Membership 29%
Operations 14%
EXPENSES EXPENSES: $1,678,693
Actual expenses represent 85% of budgeted expenses for 2019 and reflects a balanced budget with 2018 deferred revenue included.
Trainings 30%
KEY FINANCIAL METRICS 8% growth in income from previous fiscal year All 49 state-based service commissions and the District of Columbia paid membership dues Implemented new electronic travel expense and reimbursement tracking system to streamline processes for ASC staff and consultants' conducting business travel
Personnel & Contractors 56%
THANK YOU, 2019 DONORS AND SPONSORS! MAJOR SPONSORS:
2019 Commission Sponsors: Massachusetts Service Alliance Michigan Community Service Commission Oklahoma AmeriCorps OneStar Foundation Serve Colorado Serve Connecticut Serve Illinois ServeMinnesota ServeMontana Serve Washington Volunteer Florida Volunteer Mississippi UServeUtah 2019 Individual & Organizational Donors: Katie Abbott John Albright AL!VE (Association of Leaders in Volunteer Engagement) Barry Altland/HHHE Collective Hope Braveheart Rachel Bruns Becky Cade Clinton School of Public Service Maryalice Crofton Desiree Culpitt Tray Deadwyler DF Meetings Dialogues In Action Lindsay Dolce Chad Driscoll Jeanne Duffy Maureen Eccleston Kaira Esgate Caroline Farmer Heather Foster Elisa Gleeson Good Deed, Inc. Green Bay Packers Monica Greenfield Ginna Holmes
Judd Jeansonne Jacqueline Johnson Julia Keehner Catherine Keen Philip Kolling Heather Margolis Amber Martin-Jahn Shelly McAlpin Beth McGuinness Cole McMahon/ McMahon Consulting Group Antonio Mendez Peace Corps Kate Scheuritzel Bangbay Siboliban Leslie Silverman The SISGI Group Jim Snell Wendy Spencer Emily Steinberg Ed and Carol Steinberg LaDawn Stoddard Richard Swarttz Kristina Tecce/Tecce Consulting Sharon Tewksbury-Bloom Lisa Winkler
THANK YOU FOR HELPING US UNITE STATES IN SERVICE
ANNUAL REPORT 2019 BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS
455 Massachusetts Ave, NW Suite 153 Washington, DC 20001 (202) 813-0807 www.statecommissions.org