Campus Compact AmeriCorps members serve at colleges, universities, and community organizations across Connecticut, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Our sites include public and private colleges and universities, two and four year institutions, as well as a limited number of non-profit and government partners. Campus Compact through the AmeriCorps VISTA program seeks to activate higher education institutions and their partners to work together to make an impact on poverty in their local communities. AmeriCorps members will be leveraged to build capacity at higher education institutions and/or partnerships between higher education and their school and community-based non-profit partners that directly impact economically disadvantaged individuals.

You can view our current host sites here and learn more about how our VISTAs are building capacity at their host sites!

AmeriCorps memebrs serving with a VISTA program builds upon the ability of sponsor organizations to fight poverty through education. Rather than providing services directly to low-income individuals and communities, AmeriCorps members strengthen and support organizations by building infrastructure, expanding community partnerships, and securing long-term resources.

Capacity building is a term used to describe the process by which AmeriCorps members work with staff and communities to create, expand, or strengthen the systems and processes that help an organization carry out its anti-poverty work. These tasks and activities can include recruiting volunteers, developing databases or systems, securing funding, and establishing partnerships in the community.

Direct service refers to activities that immediately address an individual’s needs (i.e.tutoring, delivering a meal, managing a group of volunteers).

While someone performing direct service might tutor middle school students in math, an AmeriCorps member serving with a VISTA program performing indirect service might recruit tutors or develop a relationship between the middle school and a college to make the program self-sufficient and secure. The goal is setting up programs for long-term sustainability.

Approximately 60 volunteers serve as Campus Compact AmeriCorps members with the VISTA program.

Campus Compact AmeriCorps members regularly gather with other members in their region for trainings, residential retreats and social outings, and members engage in resource sharing and networking throughout the year. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, members continue to gather virtually for trainings and community.

VISTAs may apply to any position(s) that they are interested in, in any region(s) they choose.

VISTA members serve for one year (12 months).  Members can (and often do!) sign on for an additional year(s) of service, up to three VISTA terms.

Most AmeriCorps members serving with Campus Compact VISTA projects start their terms of service in July or August, in order to align with institutional needs and to ensure that the majority of the cohort is on the same training cycle.

However, openings can become available at host sites at any time for a variety of reasons. Check our Open Listings for the most up-to-date information. Members who join off-cycle (outside of July or August) will serve for one year from their start date.

In 2021-22, our orientations will begin on July 19, 2021 and August 2, 2021.

Campus Compact AmeriCorps members receive a living allowance that is paid out bi-weekly by Campus Compact. AmeriCorps members with the VISTA program are also eligible for student loan forbearance for qualified federally backed loans, health coverage (click here for more info), a relocation allowance (if moving more than 50 miles), 10 days paid sick leave, 10 days paid personal leave, as well as a $6,345 Educational Award or $1,800 cash stipend upon completion of service (learn about matching institutions here). For more information regarding benefits, click here.

Yes, you can hold part time employment as long as it does not interfere with your VISTA work and is not directly affiliated with your partnership. To learn more about the policy, click here.

In order to serve at a VISTA project you must have the equivalent of a degree from a two or four-year institution. As with our Outside Employment Policy, AmeriCorps members with the VISTA program can be in school part-time as long as it does not interfere with their VISTA work.

The Campus Compact VISTA program has plenty of resources to help new members adjust to living in a new area. We can provide you with resources around finding affordable housing and accessing public resources at your state. We also have an extensive alumni network that loves to welcome new AmeriCorps members to the neighborhood, and can connect you with other incoming Campus Compact AmeriCorps members if you are looking for roommates.  Talk to the VISTA Leaders [vista@compact.org] to find out more about these options.

The necessity of a car is dictated by the level of public transportation in the area and your ability to access your host site and/or community partner effectively.

Each year, the VISTA Leaders in partnership with the Program Director and Program Managers work together to create a training curriculum that suits the needs of AmeriCorps members. AmeriCorps members frequently recommend training topics and facilitate workshops in areas of expertise. In the past, trainings have included:

• Grant Writing & Fund Development
• Community Partnership Development
• Diversity Training and Social Justice Education
• Evaluation and Impact Assessment
• Sustainability Strategies
• Recruitment and Retention Practices
• Service Learning Development
• Team-Building & Leadership
• Asset-Based Community Development
• Community Organizing
• College Access
• Data Collection & Reporting
• Introduction to the Higher Education System
• Social Media and Marketing Strategies

Members go on to a variety of post-service opportunities, while others choose to stay on for a second (or third!) year of service. Past members have moved onto:

• Service-Learning Director, University of New Haven
• Director of Research and Instruction, Stanford University
• Director of Individual Giving, United Cerebral Palsy
• Specialist in Social Policy, Congressional Research Service
• Volunteer Coordinator, Hanover Habitat for Humanity
• Graduate Study in: Law, Public Policy, Medicine, Urban Planning, Education, American Studies, Higher Education Administration, Student Affairs, Social Work, Non-Profit Management, Social Psychology

For more information about:

AmeriCorps: visit https://www.nationalservice.gov/

AmeriCorps VISTA: visit https://www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps/americorpsvista

Campus Compact VISTA: visit our “About” page