Capacity Building: The Heart of VISTA

By the end of this session, you will be able to:  Recognize the role VISTA members play as capacity builders to address poverty  Recognize the long-term scope of capacity building and community empowerment activities  Articulate specific VISTA activities that address poverty, build capacity, and empower the community 2

Capacity Building Definition: Tasks and activities to create, expand, or strengthen an organization’s systems or processes. Capacity building allows the organization and the community to sustain the VISTA’s project activities once the project period has ended. 3

Information gained by the VISTA member during his/her term of service is passed along to other people in an organization in a deliberately designed way. Deliverables created by the VISTA member during his/her term of service are passed along to other people in an organization in a deliberately designed way. Professional contacts developed by the VISTA member during his/her term of service are passed along to other people in an organization in a deliberately designed way. Capacity Building Concepts 4 Transfer of Knowledge Transfer of Products Transfer of Relationships

Capacity Building Game Answer Key Direct Service 2,3,6,7, 10,11,14,15, 18,19,20,23, 24,28,29 Capacity Building 1,4,5,8, 9,12,13,16, 17,21,22,25, 26,27,30 5

Direct Service Definition Provides immediate solutions to help people in need. These can include activities like tutoring, performing manual labor, teaching, doing clerical work, or counseling. 6

When Is Direct Service Appropriate? 7 1)A brief period of direct service is necessary to understand the service elements of the sponsoring organization 2)Direct service is incidental to the time and effort in carrying out the primary responsibilities of the member assignment 3)Direct service is necessary to train direct- service providers

Habitat Scenario  A VISTA member has been placed at a new Habitat for Humanity chapter.  The Habitat chapter has a very small staff and has been fortunate to get a VISTA to help build volunteer programs.  What capacity building activities might the VISTA do? 8

The AmeriCorps VISTA Impact App 9 Assists VISTAs with tracking field data Data aligns with performance measures Use is optional vistacampus.org/impactapp

Performance Measures Key Points Performance measures focuses us on the purpose or outcomes of a particular project. They let CNCS, and your State Office, know if your project is on track. Outputs are the amount of service provided. Outcomes reflect the changes or benefits that occur. 10