Campus Compact VISTA members serve at colleges, universities, and community organizations across Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Illinois, Virginia, Wisconsin, Kansas, South Dakota, Michigan, and Nebraska. Our sites include public and private, as well as two and four year institutions. Campus Compact through the AmeriCorps VISTA program seeks to activate higher education institutions and their partners to work together to make an impact on poverty in their local communities. VISTA members will be leveraged to build capacity at higher education institutions and/or partnerships between higher education and their school and community-based non-profit partners that directly impact economically disadvantaged individuals.

You can view our host sites for 2019-2020 here and learn more about how our VISTAs are building capacity at their host sites!

VISTA builds upon the ability of sponsor organizations to fight poverty through education. Rather than providing services directly to low-income individuals and communities, VISTAs strengthen and support organizations by building infrastructure, expanding community partnerships, and securing long-term resources.

Capacity building is a term used to describe the process by which VISTAs work with staff and communities to create, expand, or strengthen the systems and processes that help an organization carry out its anti-poverty work. These tasks and activities can include recruiting volunteers, developing databases or systems, securing funding, and establishing partnerships in the community. 

Direct service refers to activities that immediately address an individual’s needs (i.e.tutoring, delivering a meal, managing a group of volunteers).

While someone performing direct service might tutor middle school students in math, a VISTA performing indirect service might recruit tutors or develop a relationship between the middle school and a college to make the program self-sufficient and secure. The goal is setting up programs for long-term sustainability.

Approximately 70 volunteers serve as Campus Compact AmeriCorps VISTAs. The corps regularly comes together for trainings, residential retreats and social outings, and engages in resource sharing and networking throughout the year. 

VISTAs may apply to any position(s) that they are interested in, in any region(s) they choose.

VISTA members serve for one year (12 months).  Members can (and often do!) sign on for an additional year(s) of service, up to three VISTA terms.

The 2020-2021 Campus Compact AmeriCorps VISTA program will begin mid-summer 2020 (Northeast Region: July 20, 2020 / Midwest Region: August 3, 2020). 

Campus Compact AmeriCorps VISTA members receive a living allowance that is paid out bi-weekly by Campus Compact. VISTAs are also eligible for student loan forbearance for qualified federally backed loans, health coverage (click here for more info), a relocation allowance (if moving more than 50 miles), as well as a $6,195 Educational Award or $1,800 cash stipend upon completion of service (2020-2021). For more information regarding benefits, click here.

Yes, you can hold part time employment as long as it does not interfere with your VISTA work and is not directly affiliated with your partnership. To learn more about the policy, click here.

In order to serve as an AmeriCorps VISTA you must have the equivalent of a degree from a two or four-year institution. As with our Outside Employment Policy, VISTAs can be in school part-time as long as it does not interfere with their VISTA work.

Campus Compact VISTA has plenty of resources to help new members adjust to living in a new area.  We can provide you resources around finding affordable housing and accessing public resources in your state. We also have an extensive alumni network that loves to welcome new VISTAs to the neighborhood, and can connect you with other incoming Campus Compact VISTA members if you are looking for roommates.  Talk to the VISTA Leaders [vista@compact.org] to find out more about these options.

The necessity of a car is dictated by the level of public transportation in the area and your ability to access your host site and/or community partner effectively.

Each year, the VISTA Leaders in partnership with the Program Director and Program Managers work together to create a training curriculum that suits the needs of members.  Members frequently recommend training topics and facilitate workshops in areas of expertise. In the past, trainings have included:

• Grant Writing & Fund Development
• Community Partnership Development
• Diversity Training and Social Justice Education
• Evaluation and Impact Assessment
• Sustainability Strategies
• Recruitment and Retention Practices
• Service Learning Development
• Team-Building
• Asset-Based Community Development
• Community Organizing
• College Access
• Data Collection & Reporting
• Introduction to the Higher Education System
• Social Media and Marketing Strategies

Members go on to a variety of post-service opportunities, while others choose to stay on for a second (or third!) year of service.  Past members have moved onto:

• Service-Learning Director, University of New Haven
• Director of Research and Instruction, Stanford University
• Director of Individual Giving, United Cerebral Palsy
• Specialist in Social Policy, Congressional Research Service
• Volunteer Coordinator, Hanover Habitat for Humanity
• Graduate Study in: Law, Public Policy, Medicine, Urban Planning, Education, American Studies, Higher Education Administration, Student Affairs, Social Work, Non-Profit Management, Social Psychology

For more information about:

AmeriCorps: visit https://www.nationalservice.gov/

AmeriCorps VISTA: visit https://www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps/americorpsvista

Campus Compact VISTA: visit our “About” page