ORGANIZATIONS INTERESTED IN RECRUITING A VISTA
We look for potential partnering organizations throughout the year. At the time of application, partners must be public, private, or faith-based nonprofit organizations, or local, state, or federal agencies. For-profit entities—even those that are active in the community and/or are designated as a social enterprise—are not eligible to apply for a VISTA. We encourage you to connect with our business development services team if you would like support in expanding your business.
Other organization guidelines:
- Organizations must have a focus on fighting poverty in the community as VISTAs are not to be used for the purposes of providing general services; they may only focus on poverty alleviation.
- Organizations will be asked to clearly demonstrate how their proposed VISTA programs address systemic rather than immediate needs.
- Sites must be willing to follow all federal regulations concerning the VISTA program, one of which is a prohibition on members performing direct service.
- Members cannot replace staff or fill a position that was recently vacated by staff.
- Host organizations must provide a physical office location, substantial supervision, adequate organizational infrastructure, and all materials necessary to completing the VISTA project.
- Most years, we require a cash match of between $5,000 and $7,000. Some years, however, we are able to offer a lower cash match, dependent on federal funding and the number of organizations that enroll in our program. We endeavor to keep our match as low as possible while ensuring a high-quality experience for our members. In some years we are able to refund partner sites portions of the match at the end of the service term.
We operate two recruitment cycles. Our Request For Proposal (RFP) is typically released August and due by mid-September for sites that will commence in February. Another RFP is opened in January and due by early March for sites that will commence in August. If you are a nonprofit with a project focused on economic development, housing, job skills training, or asset building, please contact:
Matthew Cramer
VISTA Program Director
Phone: (503) 896-5074
Email:mcramer
