2022-2023 Annual Report Initiatives and Impact through Transitions
Table of Contents Page 2
Letter from MSA’s CEO and Board Chair
Pages 3-4 Pages 5-6 Pages 7-8
Highlight on AmeriCorps Spotlight on Commonwealth Corps Spotlight on Volunteerism Initiatives
Page 9 Page 10
Our External Relations Efforts Our Fiscal Responsibility
Page 11
Spotlight on our JEDI Work
Page 12
Our Board and Team
From left to right: Michael Smith (AmeriCorps’ CEO), Rep. Ayanna Pressley, & Emily Haber (MSA’s former CEO)
Commonwealth Corps members preparing to serve with Regional Environmental Council.
From Beth McGuinness, CEO Like so many in the nonprofit sector, the Massachusetts Service Alliance has seen its share of changes to our team in the last year — we said farewell to long-term colleagues and wished them well on their next adventures, while we welcomed many new people to our organization who have brought new perspectives and ideas to our work. As I reflect on the last year, it is critical to acknowledge the leadership of Emily Haber, who left MSA in July after successfully leading the organization as its CEO for 15 years. Emily set MSA on a steady path of growth and success during that time and I’m deeply grateful for the example she set, the talented team of individuals she pulled together, and the strong foundation she built during her tenure. Our mission is to support organizations across Massachusetts as they seek to engage volunteers and corps members in their work, and I can confidently say that this mission guides us each and every day. Throughout this year, our team created new resources to help make managing our programs easier, developed new application processes intended to make our grants and programs more accessible, and built relationships with new partners across Massachusetts. Our goal is to be a critical partner in making service and volunteerism work across the Commonwealth and, as our partner, I hope you can feel the care that our team exudes on a daily basis and the support they provide. I’m incredibly proud of what we and our partners have accomplished this past year, particularly in the face of so much transition, and I look forward to what we’ll do together in the year ahead!
From Louise Keogh Weed, Board Chair It goes without saying that MSA has been through a fair share of transitions over the last year — we have a new CEO and many new staff members! As the Board was faced with managing this huge transition, we were continually struck by the strength of the MSA team. So, while we have seen much change over the last year, that change has truly highlighted the depth and strength of this MSA team. Beth McGuinness and our new staff have partnered with our incredible existing team to shepherd us into our next chapter, where service will continue to grow and thrive. I think it’s safe to say we have all burned out on talking about COVID-19 and its unprecedented impact. But we would be remiss if we didn’t pause to reflect on the extraordinary strength of our programs during this time. Service has been extraordinarily strong in Massachusetts for a long time — we are proud to have some of the highest quality programs in the country here in the Commonwealth. When they were asked to pivot again and again, in what seemed like an endless loop, our programs rose to the occasion and have continued to adapt as we re-emerge. They have shifted outreach approaches to match a recruitment crisis, and they have updated program protocols and materials to be more inclusive and reflective of the just society in which we aspire to live. I remind you of all these powerful shifts to publicly celebrate and honor the endless hard work of our programs. But it once again shows us the extent to which the kind of change that will shift society rests on a solid base, strong teams, and incredible people.
Spotlight on AmeriCorps DIAL/SELF Restorative Relationships Corps “[Our] relationship with MSA is the cornerstone for possibilities.”
The DIAL/SELF Restorative Relationships Corps, launched in 2022, was “born from many ongoing relationships,” including DIAL/SELF’s existing 27-year-long partnership with MSA. “MSA’s support,” says Matt Ashby, DIAL/SELF’s AmeriCorps’ Director, “has been central to our development and strength. MSA staff take the time to get to know each program, its staff, and the region.” A conservative estimate, he said, would put MSA’s support to DIAL/SELF’s original AmeriCorps program in the neighborhood of 2,000 hours — split between grant and program planning assistance, site visits, monitoring, continuous improvement support, workshops, webinars, and more. “Our goal,” he says, “is to honor that collaboration and history, to build on the strengths, and evolve with new inputs.” DIAL/SELF’s Restorative Relationships Corps is one of the products of that evolution. “At its best, the Restorative Relationships Corps is an instrument for members, sites, and community partners to connect, collaborate, learn, and amplify their efforts to support social and emotional learning, restorative practices, and a shift from punitive discipline to communitystrengthening forms of accountability. The program supports relationships, and those relationships then inform and shape the nature of the program.” “DSAP RRC uses a continuous learning approach. How can the program better serve the relationships, values, and objectives that constitute its reason for being?”
AmeriCorps: At a Glance
In 2022–2023, MSA oversaw 30 AmeriCorps state programs and 4 planning grantees, subgranting out over $23.5 million.
We’re proud to share that as a result of our program staff’s thoughtful work, MSA was a
2023 finalist for ASC’s nationwide Innovation in Grantmaking award.
Framingham State Teacher Residency “Thanks to [MSA’s] support, [we] launched with a strong sense of purpose.” The Framingham State Teacher Residency, which entered our portfolio as a 2021 planning grantee, found MSA’s support from application to full AmeriCorps State grantee to be invaluable. “Thanks to the MSA planning grant,” says Kelly Matthews, the program’s director, “we secured consultancy services [that] provided leadership and structure as we built our collaborative planning team of twelve faculty, staff, and senior administrators.” This proved key to setting up the program’s groundbreaking work, which focuses on supporting vulnerable, multilingual middle schoolers. Now in its second year as an official AmeriCorps State program, the Framingham State Teacher Residency is thriving. In addition to successfully increasing student engagement, the majority of the first cohort‘s members are now employed in Framingham Public Schools, increasing the diversity of the teacher workforce in Massachusetts.
Amber Flockton, AmeriCorps Alum AmeriCorps Cape Cod and the Massachusetts Historic Preservation Corps Alum “Throughout my service, I frequently found myself in novel situations: operating boom lifts despite my fear of heights, felling trees many times my size, lighting backfires during prescribed burns. But the quiet moments were the most profound. Through them I grew to know the corps members, program staff, service partners, and volunteers who taught me my most important, most difficult lessons. The memories I made and bonds I built proved instrumental in overcoming my apathy, embracing myself, and choosing to act.” “After serving with AmeriCorps, I started hormone replacement therapy and changed my legal name. Those Herculean feats once seemed unachievable. The woman I am now, that I always knew myself to be but never had the courage to show the world, only exists because of the opportunities AmeriCorps afforded me. I am a trans woman in the trades, out and proud, shaped by everything I did, every place I went, and every person I met while serving with AmeriCorps.”
Program Outcomes In addition to supporting a diverse portfolio of 34 2022-2023 grantees, our AmeriCorps Team was on the cutting edge of improving processes for programs and members.
1,044
AmeriCorps program members enrolled
Nearly 1 Million
hours served by AmeriCorps members
54,516 4,834 youth and children served
volunteers recruited and managed
Spotlight on Commonwealth Corps THRIVE Communities “Aided by Commonwealth Corps, THRIVE served as many returning citizens in one month as we had previously served in an entire year.” “Transition will always be a part of THRIVE Communities,” says Kim Yeasir, THRIVE’s CEO. “We pursue a mission to empower communities to welcome neighbors returning from incarceration; reentry is an incredibly significant transition for returning citizens, their family, and their community, and it is what we are all about. By engaging people, connecting partners, and striving for systems change, THRIVE empowers communities to help transform these reentry experiences.” MSA’s support via our Commonwealth Corps program has been invaluable to empowering THRIVE’s success. “In 2022-2023,” Kim says, “we saw our busiest year of reentry support ever. THRIVE’s Commonwealth Corps Fellows played an integral role in THRIVE serving over 100 returning citizens in the past year. In addition to helping THRIVE’s members find resources, reach appointments, secure IDs, and seek housing and employment, our Fellows provided much needed social support and connection. Aided by the Commonwealth Corps program, THRIVE served as many returning citizens in one month as we had previously served in an entire year.” “Our Fellows helped expand THRIVE’s impact in our community not only in our reach, but with innovation and responsive support. Recognizing some common resource needs that our returning neighbors faced as they rebuilt their lives post-release — clothing, home goods, childcare supplies — THRIVE’s Fellows envisioned the Community Closet. This initial dream turned into a full resource closet housed at THRIVE’s office, a community hub on Market Street in Lowell.”
CC: At a Glance
In 2022–2023, MSA oversaw 14 Commonwealth Corps programs, leveraging nearly $1 million for host sites.
Commonwealth Corps members serve 10 months in a full-time or half-time positions at one of our host site partners in the focus areas of Workforce Development, Education, Health & Nutrition, Youth Development, and Veterans Support.
Rasheeda Brown, CC Alum Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro South Commonwealth Corps Alum “Some of my best memories growing up came from being a youth member of a Boys & Girls Club. What better place to give back than at the organization that never let me slip through the cracks?” Commonwealth Corps was hugely rewarding to Rasheeda, letting her showcase her creativity and talents: “I grew up in a time where color mattered,” Rasheeda said. “All my teachers and fellow students were all white, and I never felt like I belonged.” “Later on, I realized I wanted to be part of the reason the world sees me and other beautiful girls and women like me as the amazing beings we most definitely are in our own right.” This past year in Commonwealth Corps, Rasheeda worked to make Boys & Girls Club youth feel seen and have fun. One of her ideas was to start growing tea leaf plants on the farm, which bloomed into her creating fresh tea bags with youth and providing tea to staff.
Program Outcomes In addition to supporting a diverse portfolio of 14 2022-2023 grantees, our Commonwealth Corps team improved its program selection process and year-long support.
Nearly $1 Million
23
state dollars leveraged community reviewers for host sites recruited
61% 5,178
CC applicant acceptance new beneficiaries as a rate after MSA support result of CC members
Spotlight on Volunteerism Initiatives Our Volunteerism Initiatives’ Impact
10,127 25,000+
underserved youth supported
hours served by volunteers
MSA has leveraged a federal Volunteer Generation Fund grant with additional state funding to build capacity and enhance volunteer engagement within Massachusetts nonprofits and schools. The organizations supported through our Volunteerism Initiatives vary widely. From a statewide LGBTQ+ nonprofit to a senior support and services organization in the Pioneer Valley, we do our best to show up in every region across the state and support volunteerism that benefits communities and volunteers alike. In 2022-2023, we did this through deep and intensive training and certification; online trainings providing best practices; grants for capacity-building in volunteer engagement for youth-serving programming and COVID-19 recovery efforts; and our volunteerism platform, MSA Connects for Good.
150+
nonprofits supported through our volunteerism initiatives
Service Enterprise & Endicott College The Service Enterprise Initiative (SEI), sponsored by AL!VE, is a leading capacitybuilding certification program for nonprofits. Endicott College was one of our 2022-2023 participants, and found the training to be invaluable. “We are so thankful to now be a certified Service Enterprise,” says Lauri Rawls, Director of Community Service at Endicott College. “It represents [our] commitment to maximizing the positive impact of community service efforts, and dedicating resources, time, and expertise to ensure that volunteer engagement is well-planned, well-executed, and aligned with our goals, values, and the needs of the community. This commitment leads to a brighter future for our students’ community service efforts, fosters stronger communities, and provides a better sense of shared responsibility for positive change.”
We’re proud to share that as a result of our commitment to this work, MSA was the 2023 winner of ASC’s nationwide Innovation in Civic Engagement and Volunteerism award!
COVID-19 Recovery Mini-Grant “[This grant] has invigorated us ‘from the ground up.’” — Barnstable Land Trust
Organizational Impact
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, MSA has funded four rounds of mini-grants to support volunteers in addressing the consequences of the pandemic at the local level. Our most recent funding opportunity had a focus on re-energizing, re-building, and recognizing volunteers and supported twenty-five organizations. One grantee was Barnstable Land Trust (BLT): a communitysupported nonprofit based on Cape Cod, serving the 7 villages within the town of Barnstable by protecting natural and cultural resources through land stewardship and community engagement. “Receiving a grant from the Massachusetts Service Alliance was exciting and timely news,” Sue Dahling Sullivan, BLT’s Director of Communications & Programs, wrote to us. “The grant has invigorated the organization ‘from the ground up’ as staff, board, volunteers, and community collaborators have sprung into action.” With six staff, only two of whom are full-time, Barnstable Land Trust relies heavily on volunteers to protect, support, and maintain thousands of acres of land. Through the COVID-19 RRR grant, BLT bought much-needed volunteer supplies.
Our COVID-19 RRR Grantees were Geographically Diverse, with
~7,000
volunteers engaged statewide through the grant.
Volunteer Impact
The COVID-19 RRR mini-grant opportunity additionally spurred new and old volunteers into action, like Eliza McFeely, a volunteer with grant-supported Truro Community Kitchen (TCK), a nonprofit fighting food insecurity. “My husband and I retired to Truro at the beginning of the pandemic,” she explained. “We knew virtually no one in town, and we were not connected to any of the circles that would keep us abreast of what was going on here. “TCK became the way I became part of Truro. The volunteers I met there have become friends and have introduced me to more friends. I don’t know that I have ever worked with a group of people who were more determined to be helpful and supportive. There is something so satisfying about doing something personally for the people around you. Giving money is important, but it can’t match working together with a bunch of good folks to help others. The world is a mess, but here, in a kitchen at a church in Truro, I can make a real difference to real people.”
Our External Relations Efforts “2023 marked a new era for MSA’s external relations efforts.”
External Affairs During 2023, we successfully worked on events and initiatives to further MSA’s reach and effectiveness, including the following highlights: Events • Hosted AmeriCorps Opening Day for the 20222023 service year, featuring Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, and AmeriCorps CEO Michael Smith • Attended a Friends of National Service Awards Ceremony honoring Senator Ed Markey • Ran a legislative briefing at the State House for freshmen and sophomore state senators and representatives Policy & State Budget • Recruited new legislative champions — Senator Susan Moran & Representative William Driscoll • Filed and testified for a bill to remove state tax on the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award • Advocated to maintain our state FY2023 level funding of $2.2M, an $800,000 increase from FY2022
From left to right: Lindsay Rooney (MSA’s Director of Operations and External Affairs), Emily Haber (MSA’s former CEO), Senator Ed Markey, and AmeriCorps CEO Michael Smith
External Communications With the hire of MSA’s first-ever Communications and Marketing Associate, 2023 marked a new era for MSA’s external communications, including the following projects: New Systems • Created a brand guidelines toolkit that improved messaging and increased co-branding • Built a synced content calendar and increased social engagement by 18.3% • Switched email services and increased click-through rates by 22% New Content • Restructured and redesigned a more accessible, comprehensive MSA website in-house, which our Communications and Marketing Associate was invited to present on to an ASC workgroup • New newsletters, including heritage month member highlights, National Volunteer Week interviews, and monthly jobs and volunteering blasts • Built custom program maps with hundred of weekly views
Our Fiscal Responsibility “We are stewards of public trust.”
Sub-grants (82%)
FY23 Expenses by Area
The Finance Team safeguards the assets entrusted to MSA. We are stewards of public trust and must model fiscal responsibility internally through development of expertise and maintaining fiscal compliance and externally through collaborative support, training, and monitoring of our sub-grantees.
Other Program Expenses & Sub-grants (82%)
Sub-grants Administrative (5%) (82%) Other Program Expenses & Sup
Administrative (5%) Other Program (82%) Sub-grants Expenses & Sub-grants (82%) Support (13%) Other Program Expenses &
95% of MSA’s expenses are directly invested in our communities through sub-grants of federal and state dollars, nonprofit trainings, technical support, and other programmatic support.
Other Program Admin (5%) Expenses & Administrative (5%) Administrative (5%)
FY23 Financials Operating Revenues Operating Federal State Program revenue & other Contributions
$15,226,217 $2,095,219 $99,423 $4,425
Operating Expenses
Operating
Total operating revenue
$17,425,284
Total operating expenses
$17,478,392
Operating Revenues
AmeriCorps Commonwealth Corps Volunteer Generation Fund General and administrative
Changes in net assets from operations Net Investment Income Changes in net assets without donor restrictions
$15,246,651 $837,629 $519,201 $874,911
Operating
((($53,108) $124,960 $71,852
Areas of Accomplishments in FY23 • • • • •
Received an unmodified audit opinion from an independent auditor Met budget and spending targets across all areas Identified ways to reduce fiscal barriers to participation in MSA’s initiatives, with the goal to expand the opportunity for more organizations to participate in federal- and state-funded grant programs Provided one-on-one training and technical assistance to a wide variety of nonprofits to enhance their fiscal operations and ability to successfully manage federal funding Introduced new, more efficient processes for monitoring budgets and sub-grant activities
Spotlight on our JEDI Work
“We view centering JEDI in our work as one of our core responsibilities.” This past year has been a year of significant growth and change in our Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) work. Some of those initiatives are listed below: •
Improved external communications outreach, including a new, more accessible website, guided by WCAG (Web Content Accessability Guidelines), new social media policies, and increased visual and content accessability of external relations materials. • Improved HR initatives, including a new, comprehensive accommodations policy and training (by EPIC Training and Consulting), a new, more inclusive employee handbook, a genderneutral bathroom in our office building, a brand-new Bilingual Compensation Policy, multiple all-staff trainings (with Thenera Bailey from SISGI Consulting Group), and more. • Improved grantmaking processes, including compensation for our Community Reviewers, increased transparency in site visits and monitoring, and more. • JEDI Workgroup-led all-staff trainings and knowledge-building, including reading some of the books at the bottom of this page. Workgroup members have also facilitated ASC affinity groups. Finally, we’ve also created a more accessible external JEDI statement that’s focused on accountability:
Our New External JEDI Statement We view it as one of our core responsibilities to be an anti-racist State Service Commission that centers justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in the work and mission of our organization. We promise to do our best to: • • • •
Listen and learn with humility from those impacted by systemic injustices Take accountability for our past and present action and inaction Remove barriers and increase accessibility for communities that are underrepresented, marginalized, and/or oppressed Create environments where people can show up authentically
We encourage our stakeholders and partners to join us in this work and hold us accountable.
Our Board Leadership Board Chair Vice Chair Secretary Treasurer
Louise Keogh Weed Janelle Fouché Helene Horan Winn Eric Solem
Members Anne Ostberg Ayanna Crawford Candace Burns Charla Hixson, LICSW Dr. Lawrence Neil Bailis Grace Lichaa Hallie Zenga-Josephson (Youth Seat) James Lin Joe Oliveira Kristen McKinnon Midori Morikawa Osin Ghimire (Youth Seat) Simone Lawrence Tyissha Jones-Horner
Our Team
Beth McGuinness Chief Executive Officer
Lindsay Rooney Director of Operations & External Affairs Julia Lee-Papastavros Communications & Marketing Associate Saba Fiazuddin Program & Operations Associate Sarah Louise Adamczyk Controller Abdullahi Yusuf Assistant Controller Sybelle Etienne Grants & Fiscal Compliance Officer Mayan Kleiman Grants & Fiscal Compliance Associate Suzana Kantardzic Director of AmeriCorps Katie Koski Senior Program Development and Training Officer Andrea Farren AmeriCorps Program Officer Jared Jones AmeriCorps Program Officer Peter Tam AmeriCorps Program Officer Victoria Tucker Commonwealth Corps Program Manager
2023 marked the sad loss of two MSA board members, Barbara Moffat and David Roach. Barb and David were fierce champions of service, touching the lives of many through their dedicated board service at MSA, devotion to their communities, and their long careers in public and higher education.
Sally Kim Associate Commonwealth Corps Program Manager Luis Santos Commonwealth Corps Program Fellow Lisl Hacker Director of Training and Technical Assistance Ian Whalen-Stone Program Officer for Volunteer Initiatives
Massachusetts Service Alliance 98 N Washington St Suite 400 Boston, MA 02114
mass-service.org @massvolunteers @massservice @massservice Massachusetts Service Alliance
For over 30 years, the Massachusetts Service Alliance (MSA) has provided funding, training, and resources to hundreds of organizations across the Commonwealth, building their organizational capacity through service and volunteerism.
MSA is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
As Massachusetts’ official State Service Commission, we administer tens of millions in federal and state dollars annually via AmeriCorps State and Commonwealth Corps program grants. We also offer a variety of trainings, mini-grants and resources focused on effective volunteer engagement and management, including the nationally-recognized Service Enterprise Initiative, Service-Learning training and implementation grants, and our volunteer portal MSA Connects for Good.