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International Calendar | Support for the National Peace Corps Association
RPCVs of Wisconsin-Madison Group-Building Grant to the National Peace Corps Association
Each year we offer the National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) a grant for group-building activities for other RPCV groups. Because NPCA's activities for this grant awarded in 2007 extended through 2008, we did not award the grant in 2008. In 2009, NPCA received $10,000 for RPCV group-building activities, which will be used primarily for webinars.
National Peace Corps Association
2007-08 Group Capacity Building Grant
Final Report to RPCVs of Wisconsin-Madison
The RPCVs of Wisconsin-Madison grant to NPCA funded a series of capacity-building conferences for NPCA member group leaders. NPCA maximized the extent and impact of the grant funds and involvement by group leaders by (1) coordinating these conferences to coincide with other scheduled regional events, (2) involving local group leaders in the organization and (3) incorporating in-kind support. The events covered under this grant are summarized as follows:
| Atlanta, GA |
March 29 |
12 participants from 10 groups |
| Seattle, WA |
May 3 |
22 participants from 12 groups |
| Online |
Nov 20 |
25 participants from 16 groups |
The Group Leaders Forum (GLF) in San Francisco on October 4 helped to tie all of the meetings together and frame the context of the final "virtual" meeting held online. Approximately 100 people participated in the GLF, with 42 member groups officially represented (27 in person and 16 on the phone).
As previously reported, we derived the agendas for these meetings based on group leader input. The first two face-to-face meetings covered an afternoon (and into the evening in Seattle) and involved a range of topics, as defined by a survey open to all group leaders. Following discussion at the Group Leaders Forum in San Francisco and ongoing via the GroupLeaders listserv, we consulted with the GLF Coordinator, Ben Bellows, to focus the final, virtual meeting on membership. We asked participants to describe their membership strategies, questions and concerns, the compilation of which defined the meeting agenda.
We posted complete details, agendas, and outcomes (notes) of all meetings and the recording (audio and visual) of the virtual meeting to a dedicated page on our website and posted a brief overview of each meeting and the website link to the GroupLeaders listserv.
While we anticipated that the face-to-face meetings would attract leaders of geographic groups and the virtual meeting would attract country of service group leaders, all meetings involved a full range of participants, including some for groups that are not yet formally affiliated with NPCA.
Participating group leaders reported that the meetings were extremely helpful in allowing leaders to share best practices, learn new strategies and brainstorm new approaches to persistent issues. Based on the particular success of the virtual meeting, NPCA staff members are already exploring options for hosting regular, smaller, focused meetings to involve all groups.
Financial Report
| |
Budget |
Actual |
| Conference planning/preparation |
$1,700 |
$2,119.02 |
| Regional conferences |
$6,000 |
$5,490.44 |
| On-line conference |
$2,100 |
$2,751.05 |
| Reporting |
$200 |
$220.00 |
| Total |
$10,000 |
$10,580.51 |
On behalf of the NPCA staff, Board of Directors, and particularly all of the leaders in NPCA's 140 member groups, we thank the RPCVs of Wisconsin-Madison for their financial support that made these meetings possible. We look forward to continuing to work with RPCVs of WI-Madison and others to further the goals of our member group community and expand our connections and engagement in the Third Goal of Peace Corps and beyond.
Anne Baker
Vice President
NPCA |
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