Self Assessment Tool
for Improving Programs—Screener
Introduction
Please rest assured that your anonymity will be protected. Only aggregate responses of all participants will be gathered for the analysis and ongoing development of the self-assessment tool. Neither the Corporation for National and Community Service nor your state commission or any other funders will utilize this information for funding purposes.
Respondent Information
Please
select the response that most closely reflects your
demographic and employee information.
This assessment tool was developed by researchers at the
1.
a. As a manager of volunteers, I work in the following type
of organization:
Nonprofit organization
Public sector organization with no Corporation funding
Private or corporate organization
Public sector organization with funding through the Corporation
b. Among Corporation-funded programs in your organization, please choose only one as a reference point to complete this assessment. The program I am assessing is:
AmeriCorps’ State
AmeriCorps’ National Direct
AmeriCorps’ Education Award Program
AmeriCorps/VISTA
AmeriCorps/NCCC
AmeriCorps Tribal Program
Senior Corps - Foster Grandparents Program
Senior Corps - Retired and Senior Volunteer Program
Senior Corps - Senior Companion Program
Learn and Serve - K-12
Learn and Serve - Higher Education
Learn and Serve – Community-Based
Learn and Serve – Tribal Program
Volunteer Center
Other Community-Based Volunteer Program
Other, please specify:
_______________________________________
2.
The 5-digit zip code where I work is:
3. My highest educational level is
Did not finish high school
High school diploma (or GED)
Some college
Associate Degree
Bachelor Degree
Master Degree
Doctoral Degree
Vocational/Technical Training
4. My race/ethnic identification is
African-American/Black
Hispanic/Mexican-American
Anglo-American/White
Asian-American/Pacific Islander/Native American Indian
Multiracial/Other
5. I am
Female
Male
6. My age (in years)
Less than 21
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
Over 60
7. Years of experience I have managing volunteers:
Less than 2
2-5
6-10
11-15
Over 15
Not applicable
8. Years of experience I have managing national service
participants:
Less than 2
2-5
6-10
11-15
Over 15
Not applicable
9. Years our national service program
has been in existence:
Less than 2
2-5
6-10
11-15
Over 15
Not applicable
Don’t know
10. Estimated size of the sponsor
organization's (the agency or organization housing your national service
program) annual budget:
Less than $500,000
$500,000-$999,999
$1M-$4,999,999
$5M-$9,999,999
$10M-$24,999,999
More than $25 M
Not applicable
Don’t know
11. Estimated size of the Corporation funded program annual budget
(including matching funds): Less
than $100,000
$100,000-$249,999
$250,000-$499,999
$500,000-$999,999
$1M-$4,999,999
More than $5M
Not applicable
Don’t know
12. If separate from the
national service program listed above, estimated annual budget of the community
volunteer program:
Less than $100,000
$100,000-$249,999
$250,000-$499,999
$500,000-$999,999
$1M-$4,999,999
More than $5M
Not applicable
Don’t know
13. Estimated number of FTE (Full Time Equivalents) employees in the
sponsor organization:
Less than 5
5-10
11-25
26-50
51-75
76-100
101-200
More than 200
Not applicable
Don’t know
14. Estimated number of national service participants (e.g., AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, Learn & Serve) in the sponsor
organization (not FTEs but the actual number):
Less than 5
5-10
11-25
26-50
51-75
76-100
101-200
201-300
301-500
More than 500
Not applicable
Don’t know
15. Estimated number of community volunteers in the organization
(not FTEs but the actual number):
Less than 5
5-10
11-25
26-50
51-100
101-250
251-500
501-1,000
1,001-2,500
More than 2,500
Not applicable
Don’t know
A Note on
Terminology
As already noted, this assessment tool is intended for leaders in any of the
Corporation for National and Community Service programs and for community based
programs that work with volunteers.
Based on your answer to #1 above, the statements in the tool will be
automatically worded to reflect the vocabulary of your program. However, here is a guide to the word choices
you may see:
·
Volunteer:
Even though some Corporation
participants receive modest financial remuneration, the word “volunteer” has
always been used as an umbrella term for all the programs. Therefore, it is used here as the default
word choice if other phrasing seems awkward.
Everyone completing the assessment tool should interpret the word
“volunteer” as meaning whatever type of service-providing participant is your
primary focus. Note that board members are also volunteers,
though they fulfill a legally-defined governance
role.
·
Volunteerism:
Used when a statement refers to the full scope of volunteering and
community service in all its varieties, especially when discussing the entire
professional field or the concept/philosophy of citizen participation.
·
Member: Refers to
AmeriCorps
or AmeriCorps/VISTA
participant.
·
Service
Participant: A general term most
relevant to full-time service programs and students engaged in
service-learning.
·
Student: School-based service participant.
·
Community: Refers to the local environment in which
an agency or program operates, including the public at large, other nonprofit
and government agencies, businesses, faith communities, etc. All volunteers and service participants
obviously come from the “community,”
but become part of the organization once accepted. So, when the assessment tool uses the word
“community,” it should be interpreted as all the people and groups outside of the organization.
· Community Partner: In this context, a “Community Partner” fills a role defined by a Corporation grant. The term is used for an organization that serves as a host site for program participants, such as an agency in which RSVP volunteers are placed, an agency providing service-learning projects for students, or any organization accepting one or more AmeriCorps or AmeriCorps/VISTA members from a grantee managing a larger corps.
·
Staff:
Although in general usage both paid and unpaid workers can be
considered “staff,” in this tool, “staff” means “employee.”
Marking Instructions
This assessment tool contains a series of descriptions that represent characteristics or indicators of an effective program that uses national service participants and/or volunteers. Please read each item and decide to what extent it describes your program at this point in time. There are no right or wrong answers. Most programs will rate some items as more similar and some as less similar. Please be truthful and describe your program as it really is, not as you would like it to be. If you do not have any information about a particular statement, indicate that by selecting “Don’t know.” If the statement is not applicable to you, indicate that by selecting “Not applicable.”
Please rate the degree to which each of the following items reflects your current program:
5 = Exactly like my program
4 = Very much like my program
3 = Moderately like my program
2 = Somewhat like my program
1 = Not at all like my program
0 = Don’t know
n = Not applicable
Board & Advisory
Leadership
1 Our board members understand their role as volunteers in a governance position and provide strong leadership.
2 Our board understands the work of the program and its role in the community.
3 Our board members support the work of volunteers in achieving the goals of the organization.
Organizational
Culture
4 Senior leadership speaks positively
and passionately about the role of volunteers.
5 Decision makers in the organization are accessible to employees, volunteers, and community members.
6 Decision makers in the organization support our program objectives.
Program
Accountability
7 Our program’s strategic plan is based on needs assessment and evaluation data.
8 Our program uses valid and reliable evaluation tools to measure program effectiveness.
9 Our program measures the performance of staff, volunteers, members, board members, and program partners.
Financial Management
10. Our program expends funds in accordance with budget plans and in line with board oversight.
11 Our program practices effective
financial management.
12 Our program manages grants effectively.
Staffing & Development
13 Our other program employees understand and effectively apply the principles of volunteer management.
14 Our program trains employees to work
with volunteers.
15 Our program volunteers are encouraged to reach their full potential.
Marketing & Communication
16 Our program facilitates regular
communication with internal
stakeholders about volunteer value, impact, and
outcomes.
17 Our program facilitates regular
communication with external
stakeholders about volunteer value, impact, and
outcomes.
18 Our program communicates and markets
effectively.
Infrastructure
19 Our program provides adequate space for
volunteers to work.
20 Our program provides adequate equipment and supplies for volunteers to perform their work.
21 Our program implements effective
volunteer recruitment methods, such as presentations, written materials, media
events, and email.
Service
Learning
22 Our program offers consistent opportunities for debriefing and reflection of the service experience.
23 Our program designs service projects that build on the knowledge and the skills directly related to the course.
24 Our program helps young people identify
the relationship between service experiences and the skills associated with
citizenship.
Community Collaboration
25 Our organization retains its
partnerships with other organizations over
time.
26 Our organization regularly gathers and
shares effective practices with other community-based organizations.
27 Our organization encourages community
involvement to ensure long-term sustainability of the program.
28 Our program employees and volunteers
participate in a wide array of activities to
learn about effective practices.
29 Our program utilizes community input and
feedback to develop new program ideas.
30 Our program conducts periodic data
collection from community stakeholders on opportunities, challenges, and
trends.
Volunteer
Management
31 Our program clearly defines volunteer roles and responsibilities.
32 Our program creates service placements
based on needs assessments.
33 Our program provides clear lines of volunteer supervision.
34 Our
program engages volunteers for regular input on program operations.
35 Our program leaders provide volunteers
clear feedback on their work.
36 Our program offers service opportunities to meet the needs of diverse audiences.