Check Your Understanding:

Work Plan Alignment and Volunteer Placement Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP)

Activity Purpose
In the eCourse session titled, RSVP Overview and Exercise: Work Plan Alignment and Volunteer Placement, we demonstrated how to: Align work plans with the National Performance Measures outputs and outcomes; and Calculate the total number of unduplicated volunteers for each work plan.

The purpose of this activity is to practice aligning existing work plans to the National Performance Measures outputs and outcomes, calculate the total number of unduplicated volunteers for each work plan, and uncover any questions or challenges you may have. We will convene a live session titled, Work Plan Alignment and Volunteer Placement Follow Up on August 6, 2013 from 4:15 p.m. 5:00 p.m. EDT to walk through the answers to this activity and provide you with an opportunity to ask questions and make comments directly to a CNCS staff member.

Background: The National Performance Measures

Youve probably asked yourself: o o How much service did my program perform? What difference did our service make for recipients?

Youve probably wondered how to compare your programs progress to others: o Do we use common terms, definitions, and approaches?

Performance measurement can answer those questions.

Performance measurement is the ongoing, systematic process of tracking your programs outputs and outcomes. The National Performance Measures can help you to gauge your organizations progress and provide the data for a strong agency-wide narrative to tell the National Service story. This way, we can better demonstrate the powerful impact of National Service.

Step 1: Review the Requirements

Which of the National Performance Measures apply to my organization?
For RSVP grantees: At least 25% of unduplicated RSVP volunteers must be placed in work plans aligned with one of the six CNCS Priority Focus Areas, which includes Education, Healthy Futures, Economic Opportunity, Veterans and Military Families, Environmental Stewardship, and Disaster Services. At least 10% of the unduplicated RSVP volunteers must be placed in work plans that result in outcomes. Up to 30% of unduplicated RSVP volunteers may be placed in work plans that are created by the grantee to address community activities not captured by the CNCS Focus Areas. All other remaining RSVP unduplicated volunteers may be placed in work plans in a combination of designated Agency-Wide Priority Measures or Complementary Program Measures. Now, take a look at the National Performance Measures for RSVP organized by the Six Focus Areas. These tables will serve as a key guide throughout the remainder of this exercise as you align work plans with these key measures.

EDUCATION FOCUS AREA

Objective School Readiness Output ED21. Number of children that completed participation in CNCSsupported early education programs. Outcomes ED23. Number of children demonstrating gains in school readiness in terms of social and/or emotional development. ED24. Number of children demonstrating gains in school readiness in terms of literacy skills. ED25. Number of children demonstrating gains in school readiness in terms of numeracy (math) skills. School Readiness K-12 Success ED29. Number of children served in child safety, welfare, and health programs. ED2. Number of students that completed participation in CNCSsupported K-12 education programs. None

ED5. Number of students with improved academic performance in literacy and/or math. ED27. Number of students in grades K-12 that participated in the mentoring or tutoring or other

education program, including CNCS-supported service learning, who demonstrated improved academic engagement. ED6. Number of students that improved their school attendance over the course of the CNCS-supported programs involvement with the student. ED26. Number of students acquiring a GED. K-12 Success ED4A. Number of disadvantaged youth/mentor matches or children with special or exceptional needs/mentor matches that were sustained by the CNCS-supported program for at least the required time period. ED5. Number of students with improved academic performance in literacy and/or math. ED27. Number of students in grades K-12 that participated in the mentoring or tutoring or other education program, including CNCS-supported service learning, who demonstrated improved academic engagement. ED6. Number of students that improved their school attendance over the course of the CNCS-supported programs involvement with the student. ED26. Number of students acquiring a GED.

HEALTHY FUTURES FOCUS AREA

Objective Output Outcomes H9. Number of homebound OR older adults and individuals with disabilities who reported having increased social ties/perceived social support. H14. Number of caregivers of homebound OR older adults and individuals with disabilities who reported having increased social ties/perceived social support. H12. Number of individuals that reported increased food security of themselves and their children (household food security) as a result of CNCS-supported services. H12. Number of individuals that reported increased food security of themselves and their children (household food security) as a result of CNCS-supported services.

Aging in Place H8. Number of homebound OR older adults and individuals with disabilities receiving food, transportation, or other services that allow them to live independently. Aging in Place H13. Number of caregivers of homebound OR older adults and individuals with disabilities receiving respite services. Obesity and Food H10. Number of individuals receiving emergency food from food banks, food pantries, or other nonprofit organizations. H11. Number of individuals receiving support, services, education, and/or referrals to alleviate long-term hunger.

Obesity and Food

Access to Care H2. Number of clients to whom None information on health insurance, health care access, and health benefits programs is delivered. Access to Care H4. Number of clients participating in health education programs. None

Access to Care H7. Number of clients receiving None language translation services at clinics and in emergency rooms.

ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY FOCUS AREA

Objective Housing Output O5. Number of economically disadvantaged individuals, including homeless individuals, receiving housing services. Outcomes O11. Number of economically disadvantaged individuals, including homeless individuals, transitioned into safe, healthy, affordable housing.

Employment

O2. Number of economically O10. Number of economically disadvantaged disadvantaged individuals receiving job individuals placed in jobs. training and other skill development services. O1. Number of economically disadvantaged individuals receiving financial literacy services. None

Financial Literacy

VETERANS AND MILITARY FAMILIES FOCUS AREA

Objective Output Outcomes None None

Veterans & Military V1. Number of veterans that received CNCSFamilies Served supported assistance. Veterans & Military V8. Number of veterans family members that Families Served received CNCS-supported assistance.

Veterans & Military V7. Number of family members of active-duty None Families Served military that received CNCS-supported assistance. Veterans & Military V9. Number of military service members that Families Served received CNCS-supported assistance. Veterans & Military V3. Number of veterans assisted in pursuing Families Served educational opportunities. None None

DISASTER SERVICES FOCUS AREA

Objective Assistance Provided Assistance Provided Assistance Provided Assistance Provided Assistance Provided Output D1. Number of individuals that received CNCSsupported services in disaster preparedness. D2. Number of individuals that received CNCSsupported services in disaster response. D3. Number of individuals that received CNCSsupported services in disaster recovery. D4. Number of individuals that received CNCSsupported services in disaster mitigation. Outcomes None None None None

D6. Number of RSVP volunteer service hours in None disaster preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery.

ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP FOCUS AREA

Objective Output EN 4. Number of acres of national parks, state parks, city parks, county parks, or other public and tribal lands that are improved Outcomes None

EN 5. Number of miles of trails or None waterways (owned/maintained by national, state, county, city or tribal governments) that are improved, and/or created. EN 6. Number of tons of materials collected and recycled. None

CAPACITY BUILDING
Objective Capacity Building and Leverage Output Outcomes

G3-3.1. Number of community G3-3.3. Number of organizations implementing volunteers recruited by CNCS-supported three or more effective volunteer management organizations or National Service practices as a result of capacity building

Participants. Capacity Building and Leverage G3-3.2. Number of community volunteers managed by CNCSsupported organizations or National Service participants.

services provided by CNCS-supported organizations or national service participants. G3-3.3. Number of organizations implementing three or more effective volunteer management practices as a result of capacity building services provided by CNCS-supported organizations or national service participants.

Capacity Building and Leverage Capacity Building and Leverage

G3-3.16. Dollar value of cash resources None leveraged by CNCS-supported organizations or National Service participants. G3-3.17. Dollar value of in-kind resources leveraged by CNCSsupported organizations or National Service participants. None

OTHER COMMUNITY PRIORITIES

Objective Other Output SC1. Grantee met their target for community priority activity (Yes/No). Outcomes None

Step 2: Aligning Work Plans to Outputs & Outcomes

Hanover County is a diverse county in Minnesota that is rich in cultural heritage, boasting about 80% German heritage and a diverse collection of other groups making up the remaining 20%. A recent wave of immigrants and refugees into the county may have contributed to a recent increase in families requesting food assistance. Now, 16.3% of the population lives in families below the federal poverty level. In addition, schools are being impacted with higher numbers of students in 3 rd, 4th, and 5th grades failing state tests. These results are particularly apparent in students who may be learning English as a second language or who fall behind in early grades. Volunteer Hanover County is a non-profit organization that matches volunteers and donors to the needs of local organizations, community programs, and events. Volunteer Hanover County strengthens the capacity of other local organizations while offering meaningful volunteer opportunities for our citizens.

Setting the Stage: A Description of a Sample RSVP Grantee Organization

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Instructions
Now that you have reviewed the National Performance Measures for the Focus Areas on pages 3-7 and read about our sample grantee organization, its time to check your understanding of how everything fits together. In the next part of this activity, you will: o o o Read samples from Volunteer Hanover Countys Work Plans D, E, and F Use the National Performance Measures outputs and outcomes provided on pages 3-7 to align each work plan with the National Performance Measures If you want more information about term definitions and measurements, see the document titled RSVP National Performance Measures Instructions for further details

Remember, some of the Work Plans below may not align with the National Performance Measure outcomes.

Read the key information about Work Plan D below.

Work Plan D: Key Information

Work Plan Name: America Reads

Issue Area: Education Service Category: America Reads Service Activity: 10 trained RSVP volunteers will provide literacy training to at least 30 at-risk students at 5 stations (e.g., schools, libraries, pre-schools) during the 2012-2013 school year and/or summer months. Each student will receive a minimum of 60 minutes of one-on-one weekly or small group tutoring. Literacy tutoring will include alphabet and word recognition, phonics, comprehension, writing, spelling, speaking, and thinking. Anticipated Output: At risk youth in Hanover County will be tutored weekly by RSVP volunteers during the 2012-2013 school year and/or summers. Anticipated Outcome: Tutored students will demonstrate marked improvement in reading and comprehension as a result of being tutored by RSVP volunteers.

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Question #1: Based on the key information from Work Plan D above, which output do you think aligns with Work Plan D? Refer back to the performance measures on Pages 3-7 to find a list of possible outputs. Dont worry about describing the output. For example, you may simply write H1.

Output: ____________
Question #2: And which outcome associated with this output aligns with Work Plan D? Again, refer back to the performance measures on Pages 3-7 to identify the Outcome.

Outcome: ____________ Lets try Work Plan E now.

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Work Plan E: Key Information

Work Plan Name: Maintaining Food Security

Issue Area: Healthy Futures Service Category: Food Security Service Activity: 8 RSVP volunteers will serve at food distribution sites for low income individuals at risk of hunger and will perform the necessary duties to sustain the daily operations of their emergency feeding programs. Duties include: unloading deliveries, stocking shelves, registering and servicing clients, packaging and serving food orders, preparing and serving meals, placing orders, coordinating food drives, and overseeing the monthly food co-op programs, where applicable.

Question #3: Based on the key information from Work Plan E above, which output do you Anticipated Output: Low income individuals will receive emergency think aligns with food assistance through one or more of the food distribution efforts: Work Plan E? food pantry, soup kitchen, food co-op, and other miscellaneous Refer back to the efforts (e.g., holiday food baskets). performance measures on Anticipated Outcome: Because they received low/no-cost food Pages 3-7 to find assistance, low-income people will be better able to feed a list of possible themselves and their families, reducing the risk of food insecurity. outputs. Dont worry about describing the output. For example, you may simply write H1.

Output: ____________
Question #4: And which outcome associated with this output aligns with Work Plan E? Again, refer back to the performance measures on Pages 3-7 to identify the Outcome.

Outcome: ____________ Finally, take a look at Work Plan F.

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Work Plan F: Key Information

Work Plan Name: Cultural Heritage Learning

Issue Area: Education Service Category: Cultural Heritage Service Activity: 10 RSVP volunteers will serve in various positions at six local ethnic celebrations and festivals. They will provide assistance with logistics, ticket sales, food preparation and distribution, and event coordination. Anticipated Output: Cultural heritage groups are satisfied with the RSVP volunteers who serve. Anticipated Outcome: RSVP volunteers report satisfaction in serving in Cultural Heritage events.

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Question #5: Based on the key information from Work Plan F above, which output do you think aligns with Work Plan F? Refer back to the performance measures on Pages 3-7 to find a list of possible outputs. Dont worry about describing the output. For example, you may simply write H1.

Output: ____________
Question #6: And which outcome associated with this output aligns with Work Plan F? Again, refer back to the performance measures on Pages 3-7 to identify the Outcome.

Outcome: ____________
You just aligned Volunteer Hanover Countys Work Plans D, E, and F to important outputs and outcomes. Youre half way there.

Step 3: Work Plan/Outcome Prioritization

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When aligning work plans to the National Performance Measures, you may realize that your work plan aligns with multiple outcomes and/or that An Excerpt from Volunteer Hanover Countys you will need to prioritize Organizational Strategy: the work plans to ensure Volunteer Hanover County helps those in need to that 25% of your get the resources (e.g., food, living conditions) they unduplicated volunteers are placed in work plans need most in the most immediate term and to equip aligned with one of the these individuals with the skills they need for the six CNCS priority focus longer term. areas and that at least 10% of your volunteers are placed in work plans that result in outcomes. You will need to select one outcome for each work plan that will ultimately be entered into your worksheet. When selecting an outcome, consider: The most pressing need of program participants (e.g., seniors, students, veterans and military families); and The mission of your organization. This may include how you want to present the impact of your program for the community.

Take a look at the excerpt from Volunteer Hanover Countys organizational strategy and consider how they may prioritize work plans. Choose the work plan that is the highest priority in terms of National Performance Measures. Write a 1 at the top of that work plan. Now, decide which work plan is priority number two. Write a 2 at the top of that work plan. Write a number 3 on the work plan that is the lowest priority.

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Step 4: Calculating Unduplicated Volunteers (Volunteer Placement)

Lets figure out how many unduplicated volunteers are volunteering for Volunteer Hanover County. Remember, At least 25% of unduplicated RSVP volunteers must be placed in work plans aligned with one of the six CNCS priority focus areas. At least 10% of the unduplicated RSVP volunteers must be placed in work plans that result in outcomes. Up to 30% of unduplicated RSVP volunteers may be placed in work plans that are created by the grantee to address community activities not captured by the CNCS focus areas. All other remaining RSVP unduplicated volunteers may be placed in work plans in a combination of designated Agency-Wide Priority Measures or Complementary Program Measures. Volunteer Hanover County has 20 volunteers: Abraham, Bradford, Courtney, Darla, Eugene, Jaime, Jeanette, Josephine, Kent, Lula, Luz, Lydia, Marshall, Marta, Pablo, Patti, Roosevelt, Sam, Tanya, and Velma. Volunteer Hanover County already aligned volunteers with work plans. Note that some of the volunteers are placed in multiple work plans.

Volunteer Hanover County Volunteers by Work Plan

Work Plan D Courtney Darla Jaime Jeanette Lula Lydia Pablo Sam Tanya Velma

Work Plan E Abraham Bradford Darla Josephine Lydia Marshall Marta Pablo

Work Plan F Bradford Eugene Kent Lula Luz Marta Pablo Patti Roosevelt Tanya

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Lets calculate the total number and percentage of Volunteer Hanover Countys unduplicated volunteers. Start by crossing out all of the duplicated names in Work Plan F as it is not aligned with the National Performance Measures. Then, work through duplicated volunteers in D and E. Remember that you will need to choose whether to prioritize Work Plan D or Work Plan E based on what you have selected as your primary focus area. If you select, Work Plan E as your first priority, then you should cross off duplicated names in Work Plan D first.

Step 1: Count the number of unduplicated names (this should be the remaining names that you have not crossed out). Record the number here: _____

PRIMARY FOCUS AREA Step 2: Now count how many of your unduplicated volunteers fall under the work plan that is aligned with your primary focus area. Record the number here: _____ Step 3: Take the number you came up with for Step 2 and divide it by the number of names you found for Step 1. This will tell you the percentage of volunteers who are in the work plan aligned with your primary focus area. Ideally, this number should be .25 (25%) or greater! Record the number here: _____

OUTCOME-FOCUSED WORK PLANS Step 4: Count how many of your unduplicated volunteers fall under work plans that result in outcomes. Refer back to the pages where you aligned work plans to outputs and outcomes to see which work plans are aligned. Record the number here: _____ Step 5: Take the number you came up with for Step 4 and divide it by the number of names you found for Step 1. This will tell you the percentage of volunteers who are in work plans that result in outcomes. Ideally, this number should be .10 (10%) or greater! Record the number here: _____

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COMMUNITY PRIORITIES Step 6: Count how many of your unduplicated volunteers fall under work plans that are created by the grantee to address community activities that are not captured by the CNCS focus areas. Refer back to the pages where you aligned work plans to outputs and outcomes to see which work plans are aligned with community priorities, but not the National Performance Measures. Record the number here: _____ Step 7: Take the number you came up with for Step 6 and divide it by the number of names you found for Step 1. This will tell you the percentage of volunteers who are in work plans aligned with community priorities. Ideally, this number should be less than .30 (30%)! Record the number here: _____

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Step 5: Worksheet Entry

Below, we have provided copies of sample worksheets for Work Plans D, E, and F. Complete these worksheets by adding the total number of unduplicated volunteers in the Output/Outcome pair and the percentage of total unduplicated volunteers in the Output/Outcome pair.

Work Plan D
Community Need: The 2011 ISTEP+ Results Overview produced by the Minnesota Department of Education (DOE) shows 17% of 3 rd graders, 18% of 4th graders, and 25% of 5th graders failed the 2011 ISTEP+ in English and Language Arts. An article of the School Library Journal titled The Illiteracy Effect points to research that clearly indicates that illiteracy is linked to a range of social and human costs. Low illiteracy levels lead to truancy and exclusion from school, reduced employment opportunities, increased health risks, and a greatly increased risk of involvement with the criminal justice system. Because of this, there is a need for literacy tutoring for at-risk students in Hanover County, particularly those who may be learning English as a second language or who are falling behind in early grades. Output Output Service Activity # of # of # of Outp Outcome Outcome Outcome Instrume (each selected Unduplicat Total Volunte ut Instrume Target nt will generate a ed Voluntee er Targe nt separate work Volunteers rs Stations t plan) ED2. Number of Attendan TutoringPublic ED5. Number of Standard students that ce Log; Schools students who improved ized completed Activity academic performance Pre/Post participation in Log; in literacy and/or math. Test; TutoringFaithCNCS-supported Other Standard Based School K-12 education http://www.nationalserv ized Test Tutoring - Other programs. iceresources.org/npm/e d5 http://www.nation alserviceresource s.org/npm/ed2 Total number of unduplicated volunteers in Output/Outcome pair: ____ Percentage of total unduplicated volunteers in Output/Outcome pair: ______

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Work Plan E
Community Need: Kids Count reports that in 2008, 16.3% of the population of Hanover County lives in families with incomes below the federal poverty level including 94,619 children. Food insecurity is an issue that impacts these families on a daily basis. Hunger impacts approximately 17.2% of the population in Hanover County. The food bank system reports the numbers of families requesting food assistance in Hanover County has grown by 40% since 2010. This may be due to the high number of immigrants and refugees who have settled in this area. These families qualify for SNAP Food Stamp benefits for only the first three months after their settlement. Output Output Service Activity # of # of # of Outp Outcome Outcome Outcome Instrume (each selected Unduplicat Total Volunte ut Instrume Target nt will generate a ed Voluntee er Targe nt separate work Volunteers rs Stations t plan) H10. Number of Tracking Food H12. Number of Pre/Post individuals Form; Distribution individuals that Survey; receiving Client reported increased Survey emergency food Databas food security of Food Collection from food banks, e; Other themselves and their food pantries, or children (household Food Pantry other nonprofit food security) as a Support organizations. result of CNCSsupported services. http://www.nation alserviceresource s.org/npm/h10 Total number of unduplicated volunteers in Output/Outcome pair: ____ Percentage of total unduplicated volunteers in Output/Outcome pair: ______

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Work Plan F
Community Need: Hanover County is rich in cultural heritage boasting 80% German heritage and a diverse collection of other groups making up the remaining 20%. Groups strive to support the cultural preservation of their heritage with enrichment program activities. Hanover County has Germanfest, Greekfest, Latinofest, and Kwanza celebrations. Native American and Pioneer groups express their roots in the Johnny Appleseed Festival and the Forks of the Wabash Celebration. Two Burmese holiday celebrations also mark the entry of the newest immigrants to the area. All groups require volunteer support that enables them to continue their events and expand the focus of their cultural roots. Output # of Unduplicated # of Total Volunteers # of Volunteer Volunteers Stations Grantee met its target for community priority activity

Total number of unduplicated volunteers in Output: ______ Percentage of total unduplicated volunteers in Output: ______

Congratulations! You have now completed the Work Plan Alignment & Volunteer Placement activity! You should now be able to: Identify RSVP National Performance Measures in the six focus areas 21

Align your work plans to Agency-Wide outputs and outcomes Calculate the number and percentage of volunteers in the different types of work plans. You can now better measure your organizations performance, and help us illustrate the importance of National Service. We will review the activity and answer any questions during the live webinar to follow.

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