Wendy Spencer Appointed CEO Of Corporation For National And Community Service

When Patrick Corvington resigned as CEO of the Corporation For National And Community Service (CNCS) in April, the search was on for a replacement.  6 months later, that replacement has been found in Wendy Spencer.

Spencer, who was the CEO of the Governor's Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service in Florida, was nominated for the position yesterday by President Barack Obama.  She now must be approved by the U.S. Senate.  The CNCS engages more than five million Americans in service through Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America, and leads President Obama's national call to service initiative, United We Serve.  The CNCS has been something of a punching bag for members of Congress, who have written legislation that appropriates $280 million for the agency, which has an overall budget of $1.09 million.

You can read the full story on Spencer's nomination, including reaction from key figures in the nonprofit sector, over on our website.

$14 Million Social Innovation Grants Awarded

Last week was the second round of the Corporation for National and Community Service's (CNCS) annual Social Innovation Fund (SIF) awards, and five lucky nonprofits received grants.  All told, the awards added up to $14 million.  SIF funds the initial two years of the grants, and the organizations that receive them must match each federal dollar.  Here are the five recipients:

• United Way of Southern Michigan: $4 million over two years
• Mile High United Way: $3.6 million over two years
• Corporation for Supportive Housing: $2.3 million over two years
• NCB Capital Impact: $2 million over two years
• US Soccer Foundation: $2 million over two years

Want to learn more about the SIF grants and the organizations that received them?  Head on over to The NonProfit Times for the full scoop.

Disaster Cooperation Keys National Volunteering Conference

Paul Clolery, editor-in-chief of The NonProfit Times, went down to New Orleans to cover this year's National Conference on Volunteering and Service, which is hosted by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).  We just posted an article he sent in about the event.  Here's an excerpt from it:

Republican pundit Mary Matalin yesterday referred to her husband, Democratic pundit James Carville, as “my service project.” For his part, Carville said New Orleans without music “might as well be Atlanta,” not that there's anything wrong with Atlanta.


The duo moved their family from the Washington, D.C., area to Carville's native New Orleans three years ago. They talked about that decision and the rebuilding of the hurricane ravaged city during the opening general session of the National Conference on Volunteering and Service (NCVS). She is originally from Calumet City , Ill., but came to love New Orleans.


More than 4,000 people involved in various aspects on public service and volunteerism are attending the conference, which runs through Wednesday. They took on 25 service projects around the city prior to the conference officially opening on Monday. The event is convened by the Points of Light Institute and the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).


If the unlikely pair of Matalin and Carville can make a marriage work, then cooperation of federal, state and local governments and the nonprofit sector should be a breeze. But, it isn't. There are turf wars, varying skills levels and often a lack of management during a disaster recovery operation.

You can read the whole article by visiting our website.

Robert Velasco II Named Acting CEO at CNCS

You might have heard that Patrick Corvington, more than one year after being appointed, stepped down as CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).  With its annual conference with the Points of Light Institute coming up, President Barack Obama appointed Robert Velasco II as acting CEO.  Velasco, who was previously the Chief Operating Officer of CNCS, must now be officially nominated by President Barack Obama.  His nomination requires the approval of the U.S. Senate before he could assume his new position.  In a messsage to his colleagues at the agency, Corvington had this to say about Velasco:

“Robert has done an outstanding job serving as our Chief Operating Officer, where he has managed agency operations, implemented changes to increase efficiency and accountability, and developed the infrastructure to carry out the Serve America Act and fulfill the President's vision for national service. Since February, Robert has also served as Chief of Program Operations, where he has provided strong leadership to support our thousands of grantees in the field who are delivering high-quality programming to meet local needs.”

Corvington has said that he resigned his position to take another job in the nonprofit sector, though he declined to provide additional details.  Velasco will certainly have tough challenges ahead of him, as his rise to acting CEO comes at a time when the CNCS will likely see cuts in revenue because of the federal government's budget crisis. 

If you are interested in reading more about this story, check out the article over at The NonProfit Times website.