ASU Insight
August 4, 2006

ASU launches community service program to give assistance to nonprofit organizations

By Debra Palka

ASU’s Center for Nonprofit Leadership and Management will launch Public Allies Arizona in the Phoenix community this fall.

The three-year, renewable grant, from the Corporation for National Service and in partnership with the Public Allies national office, will place 25 dedicated, service-minded young people in 10-month apprenticeships in nonprofit partner organizations.

The value of the grant over the funding period is estimated at $900,000. To coincide with the opening of ASU’s new Downtown Phoenix campus, the program will focus on Phoenix area nonprofits during its first year. Emphasis also will be placed on strengthening communities of color.

The young adults aged 18-30 selected for the program will receive training in professional and leadership skills. Once matched with a nonprofit organization, they will be responsible for projects designed to influence the community.

“All Allies are involved in projects where they work directly with those in need,” says Paul Schmidt, chief executive officerof Public Allies.

Allies have served more than 300,000 people nationwide and recruited more than 30,000 volunteers to help them influence the lives of children, families and communities through projects in youth development, public health, and community development.

For example, Allies can help nonprofits expand volunteer opportunities, counsel juvenile offenders, enhance empowerment programs for teenage girls or work with the mentally ill.

“Having a dynamic young person placed with us would be a tremendous asset for our organization,” says Missie D’Aunoy, chief development officer of Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit applying for a Public Allies placement.

Public Allies was founded in 1992 by a diverse group of young nonprofit leaders and activists who wanted to harness the energy of talented young people to tackle community issues. As an AmeriCorps program, Public Allies has expanded to 14 communities, including the new Phoenix site, operated by the ASU Center for Nonprofit Leadership and Management.

“It’s an honor for Phoenix to be selected as a new site, and a credit to ASU for bringing this caliber of program to our state,” says Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano. “This program will be a great resource to Phoenix nonprofits.”

“By providing an additional staff person, especially a young person with fresh ideas, nonprofits can find their human resources bolstered enough to take on a new program or reinvent an existing one,” adds Robert Ashcraft, director of ASU’s Center for Nonprofit Leadership and Management, which specializes in programs that build nonprofit capacity.

Young adults 18-30 interested in becoming Allies must apply by Aug. 16. Applicants do not need to be ASU students.

More information can be found by visiting the Web site (http://publicallies.asu.edu) or by calling (602) 496-0500.

Palka, with the College of Public Programs, can be reached at (480) 496-0409 or (debra.palka@asu.edu).