Become An Americorps Partner Site
AMERICORPS PARTNERS
AmeriCorps engages more than 80,000 Americans each year in intensive, results-driven service. Since 1994, AmeriCorps is part of a tradition of national movements such as VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) and the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps), involving people of all ages and backgrounds in strengthening American communities. Our members are part of the AmeriCorps State and National program, and are focused on direct service. Through this service, members generate measurable impact by addressing critical community needs, expanding opportunity, and building stronger, more resilient communities.
WHAT YOU CAN ACHIEVE AS A PARTNER SITE: AmeriCorps members serve their communities in ways that address economic opportunity, education, healthy futures, and building capacity. They also recruit volunteers to enhance their effectiveness. Here in West Virginia, nearly 800 members of all ages and backgrounds are serving each year to meet some of the most critical needs in the state. AmeriCorps State and National members focus on direct service, although they can do limited capacity building and fundraising as directly related to projects they are working on.
HOW HIGH ROCKS FITS IN: High Rocks is one of West Virginia’s AmeriCorps grant host sites. We handle the majority of reporting, administrative requirements and compiling performance data across the programs for your AmeriCorps projects so that you can focus on building effective programs that improve people’s lives and our communities. We help you navigate the reporting and compliance requirements, provide you and your AmeriCorps member with the training, and offer mentoring to develop a successful multi-year project.
IS MY ORGANIZATION THE RIGHT FIT?
An AmeriCorps member placed at your site can improve your organization’s capacity to address community needs by doing direct service. High Rocks has four main program pillars: Leadership Development, Engagement with Learning, Wellness, and Community Engagement/Volunteerism. High Rocks partners and AmeriCorps members should align in one or more of these areas.
Additionally, the High Rocks AmeriCorps grant’s primary performance measures are:
Education: Increase pre-school, K-12, and post-secondary engagement with learning and social and emotional skills
Organizational Capacity: Increase effectiveness, efficiency and scale of organizations by engaging volunteers
Your project needs to have one of these measurable components, in addition to having the programmatic compatibility. This could look different ways and we are happy to discuss how your organization and the work you do could lead towards a potential partnership.
High Rocks expects all our partner sites to work with us to make the AmeriCorps program a transformational experience for the members, a valuable partnership for your organization and High Rocks, and an effective tool for addressing community needs. Your organization will commit to:
- Partner site contribution paid before member start.
- Recruit, interview, and select your member.
- Provide member service roadmap, first two-week orientation plan, and site data collection and evaluation plan.
- Attend initial AmeriCorps training with member (in-person for members serving full-time, virtual for part-time members who are also students).
- Provide weekly supervision meetings.
- Provide a workspace at your organization with desk, computer, internet access, phone, and access to meeting space.
- Provide necessary service supplies.
- Provide mileage reimbursement if travel is required.
- Keep clear data on people served and evaluate improvement of those individuals (High Rocks will provide materials for data and evaluation).
- Support AmeriCorps members in the Power Skills Certification class run by High Rocks as part of our workforce development program for all High Rocks AmeriCorps members.
- Participate in at least one Good Workplaces coaching session and activity to promote good workplace practices and policies as part of our capacity building program elements.
- Maintain timely timesheet submissions and approvals.
- Submit regular monthly narrative reports (AmeriCorps members submit these) and bi-monthly data and evaluation reports (host sites submit these).
- Maintain good communication with High Rocks.
- Host site visits with AmeriCorps staff.
*The financial value of each AmeriCorps member slot is approximately $36,000, including the living stipend and an education award. Partner sites are required to contribute $2,200-$6,500 per full-time member, towards the AmeriCorps grant match requirement.
| Slot Type | Required Hours | Partner Site Contribution |
| Full-Time, 11.5 months | 1,700 | $6,500 |
| Three-Quarter-Time, 8.5 months | 1,200 | $5,500 |
| Half-Time, 6 months | 900 | $3,500 |
| Quarter-Time, 3 months | 450 | $2,000 |
| Minimum Time, 7.5 months | 300 | $2,000 |
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO BECOME A PARTNER SITE WITH HIGH ROCKS AMERICORPS PROJECT?
- Submit an application with High Rocks
- Designate a site supervisor for your potential AmeriCorps member
- Develop a service description and service plan for your AmeriCorps Member
- Sign and submit the partner site Letter of Agreement and commit the financial contribution, pending award
ALREADY A PARTNER SITE…WHAT’S NEXT?
- Recruit your AmeriCorps member! There are several key points and requirements to this process, please email us for more information on this process.
- Submit your financial donation to High Rocks Educational Corporation by August
- Attend the annual orientation in September, this includes the supervisor and member
- Start thinking about how you work with volunteers and how you would like to improve your volunteer system
KEY DATES
- September: Partner sites submit letters of interest to High Rocks
- November: High Rocks begins initial selection of partner sites to include in grant application
- November-December: Preliminary partners submit signed Letter of Agreement to High Rocks and Performance Measure targets
- December: High Rocks submits collaborative AmeriCorps grant to Volunteer WV
- December-January: High Rocks works with VolunteerWV and partners on grant revision
- January: High Rocks AmeriCorps grant submitted to federal competitive grant pool
- March: High Rocks Partner Site Progress Reports due from current partner sites
- May: Volunteer WV notifies High Rocks if programs will be recommended for federal funding (start unofficial member recruitment)
- July: Volunteer WV notifies High Rocks if our programs received federal funding
- August: Partner sites complete AmeriCorps interviewing and member selection; send financial contribution
- September: AmeriCorps Orientation and training at High Rocks and in Charleston, WV
- September: High Rocks Partner Site Final Progress reports due from current partners (previous year)