Abstract:
The (B) case, details the decisions which the Corporation for National and Community Service made as to how best to estimate the funding needs for the Trust. The (B) case (1740.0), however, goes on to frame political questions which develop when the National Service Trust is judged to be under-funded. Specifically, it frames the question of whether and how organizations which receive federal grants to hire AmeriCorps volunteers should organize to resist budget reductions which appear to be in the offing as a result of the financial problems of the Trust. A field which had been relatively unorganized and, indeed, was notable for factions (eg. national versus local) and competing interests, must decide whether to seek to create a united front to lobby for higher funding. The case describes the range of obstacles to the construction of such a political coalition and raises questions both about the logistics and the wisdom of doing so.
Learning Objective:
This series of cases raises a range of issues--financial, budgetary and political--about the US civil national service program known as AmeriCorps. Known as a signature program of the Clinton Presidency, AmeriCorps members volunteer at designated nonprofit social service organizations; the federal Corporation for National and Community Service provides them a living allowance and an education award to help pay college tuition.
