Coverage of Community-Service Agency Failed to Offer the Full Picture

To the Editor:

Those of us at the Corporation for National and Community Service found the coverage of national service in your March 22 issue incomplete (“National Service’s Fight for the Future”). The articles portray the fiscal austerity that has affected the entire federal budget, and the gridlock that has stalled the confirmation of the president’s CEO and board nominees.

Despite these hurdles, the corporation’s programs have continued to meet critical challenges facing our nation—from helping communities rebuild after natural disasters to keeping millions of students engaged in school to helping veterans find jobs and services after they return from war.

Unfortunately, The Chronicle articles never describe the actual work national service members do, the impact they have on communities, the support they provide to the nonprofit sector, or the growing demand for national service resources.

Each year, the corporation’s programs engage 5 million Americans in service through 70,000 community and faith-based organizations, supporting food banks, homeless shelters, youth centers, senior homes, and VA hospitals.

The corporation places tens of thousands of teachers, tutors, and mentors into America’s lowest-performing schools, annually serving more than 3 million at-risk youth. The corporation multiplies the federal investment by leveraging $800- million in outside resources and mobilizing 3.5 million additional volunteers each year.

National service programs bolster—not displace—civic, nonprofit, and faith-based groups, helping them expand their reach and impact. That’s why Habitat for Humanity, Teach for America, Catholic Charities, Boys & Girls Clubs, the American Red Cross, and thousands of other organizations participate in and staunchly support national service.

National service also is a way for Americans to serve their fellow citizens. And in a tough job market, especially for youth and minorities, national service provides tens of thousands of young adults with a living allowance, work skills, and educational support to help them graduate, go to college, and find work, saving taxpayer dollars.

Last year nonprofits requested nearly twice the number of grant dollars and AmeriCorps positions than could be funded; AmeriCorps applications reached an all-time high of 582,000; and national service has gained strong support from governors and mayors from both parties.

National service isn’t about Washington; it’s about what happens in communities—the cumulative impact of millions of citizens working together to solve local problems. A comprehensive look at national service needs that viewpoint, and it was missing here.

Using the AmeriCorps member level to gauge progress of the Serve America Act misses key provisions that have been implemented: launching the Social Innovation Fund, increasing the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award, adopting core focus areas, and more.

The good news is that the AmeriCorps member level has increased, and the budget for the corporation has risen 18 percent since 2009, even in an austere fiscal climate.

National service has strong leadership, a clear strategic direction, proven programs, and a highly effective field network. The launch of FEMA Corps—a ground-breaking partnership to expand AmeriCorps by 1,600 members, better support disaster survivors, and achieve $60 million in annual taxpayer savings—is just one recent accomplishment.

At a time of fiscal constraint and growing social need, national service is a smart and cost-effective investment that provides billions of dollars in needed impact at low cost by engaging America’s most powerful resource—its citizens—in solving community problems.

Robert Velasco II
Acting CEO
Corporation for National and Community Service
Washington

To the Editor:

It is disappointing that The Chronicle’s story “Nominee to Head National Service Agency Faces Scrutiny Over Role in Fla.” failed to showcase the merits of Wendy Spencer and Volunteer Florida.

As the nominee to head the Corporation for National and Community Service, Ms. Spencer has received overwhelming, bipartisan support—in Florida and across the nation—and sets a level of enthusiasm and commitment to service that is rarely observed. Her dedication and leadership at both the state and national level are examples that we would all do well to attempt to emulate. She has certainly had an impact on many, both in the service she has rendered and the individuals she has inspired to serve others.

Highlights achieved during Ms. Spencer’s tenure include the coordination of over 252,000 volunteers in response to the 2004-5 hurricanes, as well as of donated items worth more than $85-million. Recognizing the need to provide meaningful and safe opportunities for volunteers in the aftermath of a disaster, Volunteer Florida has shared its best practices learned from these hurricanes across the nation. These methods have been tapped into in subsequent disasters, and in Florida were utilized again in 2010 when Volunteer Florida was charged with registering 19,899 volunteers who were prepared for immediate response, recovery, and long-term relief efforts related to Deepwater Horizon.

Ms. Spencer has been instrumental in growing AmeriCorps programs in Florida, which created a positive educational climate for 93,792 students last year through tutoring, mentoring, and educational services. In fact, 80 percent of students at risk of academic failure who received tutoring with an AmeriCorps member gained a full year in reading at grade.

Recognized for her leadership among her national peers, in 2006 Ms. Spencer was the only state commission director appointed by President Bush to the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation. In 2010 she was elected by her peers across the nation as chairman of the Association of State Service Commissions. Volunteer Florida continues to serve as a leading state commission model for the nation, with many other states consulting the organization for peer-to-peer exchange.

As a former chairman of Volunteer Florida’s Commission, I described my confidence in Ms. Spencer’s leadership in interviews with The Chronicle’s reporter. As the former statewide elected comptroller for the State of Florida, I also noted that audits are a routine part of ensuring accountability in any organization, and that all audits I’ve reviewed at Volunteer Florida have only confirmed that Ms. Spencer is doing an excellent job at the helm of the commission. If confirmed, she will be missed in Florida and I am sad to see her go; but I know she is ultimately the best person for the corporation.

Unfortunately, this story’s headline and use of isolated statements from audit findings attempt to suggest otherwise. I am hopeful that in the future, a more well-balanced approach to journalism is put forth in this publication.

Lt. General Bob Milligan, USMC (Ret.)
Former Chairman, Volunteer Florida
Former Comptroller, State of Florida

To the Editor:

The approach used to inject “scrutiny” into Wendy Spencer’s nomination to become the CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service leaves much to be desired on how news is developed at The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Virtually every organization that receives any type of government audit will be facing a series of “questioned costs” that need further examination and review by the granting agency. The Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal grantor agency in this instance, makes the final determination on any unallowable costs. This is a normal process, which Volunteer Florida and the corporation resolved over four years ago.

But the most significant challenge I find in this article is questionable reporting and lack of full disclosure of some of the responses used in an attempt to discredit the nomination. One person [David Reingold] quoted in this article who calls into question Ms. Spencer’s nomination also has written an article, “The Future of National Service,” in which he raises major concerns about the organization he once was employed by to lead its evaluation and research efforts, not the audit resolution process. That piece of background was missing, but if included would offer the reader an insight as to why these concerns were expressed.

Ms. Spencer has no reason to leave her current job as CEO of Volunteer Florida. However, her long and distinguished record makes clear her desire to serve the public interest. Anyone who has taken the steps required to be considered to serve as a presidential appointee knows the extraordinary self reporting as well as full disclosure and related background checks that we require of all who desire to serve in these highly trusted positions. I only hope that others who desire to serve in similar capacities, whether at the government or nonprofit level, will not be discouraged by attempts to raise unsupported issues in an attempt to manufacture news. People of Ms. Spencer’s integrity are exactly who we need in government service today.

William C. Basl
Executive Director
Washington Commission for National and Community Service
Olympia, Wash.

Editor’s note: Mr. Reingold was interviewed because he was former chairman of the Indiana Commission on Community Service and Volunteerism, a similar group to the one that Ms. Spencer heads, and previously worked at the Corporation for National and Community Service as director of research.