How have Fellows supported community resilience projects? Hear from our Partners!
CivicSpark and the California Climate Action Corps are national service programs implemented by the Local Government Commission, dedicated to supporting organizations and local public agencies to address community resilience issues. Together, they have recruited over 400 Fellows directly supporting local governments and organizations with over 600 community and climate resilience projects all across California while serving as a career accelerator for emerging leaders.
Click through the tabs below to learn more about our programs and find the best fit for your organization or agency!
CivicSpark is a Governor’s Initiative AmeriCorps program dedicated to building local government capacity to address resilience challenges such as climate change, water resource management, housing, and mobility. Fellows focus on planning and policy support to create a lasting impact in California communities.
How it Works
- CivicSpark places highly motivated emerging leaders with local organizations for 11-months to support research, planning, and implementation projects for community resilience.
- CivicSpark Fellows are AmeriCorps Members selected through a competitive national application process. Fellows have at minimum a college degree in a relevant field, as well as workplace and community service experience.
- Public agencies, State agencies, Native American Tribes, and Non-Profit Organizations can contract directly with LGC to host CivicSpark Fellows.
- Projects must support local public agency resiliency needs around on climate change adaptation or mitigation, affordable housing, energy efficiency, water management or policy, sustainable mobility, or rural broadband.
California Climate Action Corps is a national service program led by California Volunteers and implemented by the Local Government Commission and Bay Area Community Resources, dedicated to supporting organizations and local public agencies to address climate and community resilience issues across the state.
California Climate Action Corps is part of a larger statewide initiative to address the climate crisis by placing emerging leaders with local organizations to mobilize community members on direct climate action through outreach, education, and volunteer mobilization, focusing projects on urban greening, food waste recovery, and wildfire resilience.
How it Works
- Climate Action Corps is dedicated to mobilizing climate action through community empowerment and engagement.
- Climate Action Corps places highly motivated emerging leaders with local organizations for 11 months to support direct climate action and community mobilization.
- Climate Action Corps Fellows are AmeriCorps Members selected through a competitive national application process. Fellows have at minimum a college degree in a relevant field, as well as workplace and community service experience.
- Public agencies, State agencies, Native American Tribes, and Non-Profit Organizations can contract directly with LGC to host Climate Action Corps Fellows.
- Projects must include defined and measurable climate pollution reduction, resiliency benefits, or disaster recovery activities; engagement components to empower community members to take action on climate change issues; and must address local vulnerabilities.
CivicSpark and Climate Action Corps at a glance
| CivicSpark | Climate Action Corps | |
| Focus Areas | Community Resilience:
|
Climate Action:
|
| Type of Service | Capacity Building:
|
Direct Action:
|
| Host Partners | Capacity Building:
|
Direct Action:
|
| Hours Requirement | 1700+ Total
1300+ Service |
1700+ Total
1300+ Service |
| Hours Breakdown |
|
At least 80% Project Service (including Volunteer Engagement)
Up to 20% Other Activities (Fellow Training, Service Days, etc.) |
| Term of Service | 11 Months | 11 Months |
| Benefits | $22,000 Living Stipend over 11 Months | $22,000 Living Stipend over 11 Months |
| Year Launched | 2014 | 2020 |
| Estimated Number of Alumni | Currently 300+, will increase to 380+ in July 2021 | 60+ in August 2021 |
Example Project Types
Past projects can be found on Our Projects page. The Project Concept Repository is a searchable database of project ideas.
CivicSpark: COMMUNITY RESILIENCE
Climate
Housing
Water
Mobility
California Climate Action Corps: CLIMATE ACTION MOBILIZATION
Urban Greening
Wildfire Mitigation and Recovery
Food Waste Recovery
All CivicSpark Fellows provide support to public agencies through 4 core activities:
Tangible and impactful resiliency projects
- Clear, suitable scope of work
- Commitment to implementation
- Strong connection to public agencies need
Commitment to Fellows growth and development
- Direct project oversight
- Dedicated Fellow supervisor
- Determine Fellow’s strengths
- Set professional goals
- Conduct performance assessments
- Provide development opportunities
Partnership Details
CivicSpark and Climate Action Corps are federally-funded AmeriCorps programs that follow strict requirements regarding the projects and partners we can support.
- Fellows can be placed with local public agencies, NGOs, or State agencies, but not for profit organizations (however for-profit organizations may sponsor Fellows).
- Fellows must implement at least 2 projects or initiatives with a clear scope of work designed to build the capacity of eligible local service recipients.
- State agencies and non-profit organizations can host Fellows but must identify a local service recipient that the Fellows’ project will serve (for CivicSpark those must be local public agencies, for Climate Action Corps those must be local public agencies or non-profits).
- Partners must agree to follow all AmeriCorps requirements and prevent Fellows from participating in prohibited activities. See here for more information.
CivicSpark and Climate Action Corps staff work with project partners to coordinate a positive Fellowship experience.
- Site Supervisors (agency staff) provide direct project supervision for Fellows, with support from LGC Regional Coordinators.
- Regional Coordinators provide program support and Fellow development training and act as a local liaison to the partner.
- LGC program staff provide additional content expertise, support for partners, and training for Fellows.
- LGC administrative staff support Fellows and Partners by coordinating reporting requirements and other program logistics.
Partners are responsible for securing at least 2 distinct projects that serve defined local public agency service recipients for each Fellow’s project work. Participating public agency service recipients must demonstrate a “capacity need”, measured by meeting at least one of the following criteria:
Significant communitywide burdens as demonstrated by any of the following indicators:
- CalEnviroScreen > 33, or
- Distressed Community Index >50, or
- Unemployment above state average, or
- Regional Opportunity Index (People or Place) below state average; or
Absence of an adopted and up-to-date strategy (plan, element or other) that comprehensively addresses the target resiliency issue with appropriate funding, programs, and policies, to implement the strategy. Examples include but are not limited to:
- Climate Mitigation or Adaptation Plan
- Integrated Regional Water Management Plan
- Stormwater Resources Plan
- Groundwater Sustainability Plan
- Housing Needs Assessment
- Regional Transportation Plan; or
A defined resilience capacity gap
as evidenced by at least 1 significant program, policy, or planning goal for a specific resilience issue that has not been met, or cannot be met, without resource or system development assistance. Capacity gaps should have defined targets such as:
- Success rates
- Quality of outcomes
- Resource deployment
- Services provided
- People reached
|
Phase |
Priority |
2nd Priority & Climate Action Corps |
Rolling |
|
Application Window |
Jan 18 – Feb 28 |
March 1 – 30 |
April 1 – Full |
|
Staff Interviews |
Jan 18 – March 8 |
March 1 – April 8 |
Ongoing |
|
Decisions |
March 15 |
April 15 |
Ongoing |
|
Contracting Deadline |
April 30 |
May 30 |
w/in 6 weeks of approval |
|
Fellow Matching |
May 1 – May 30 |
June 1 – June 30 |
w/in 6 – 10 weeks of approval |
|
Fellow Term of Service |
September 14, 2021 – August 12, 2022 |
||
CivicSpark positions are funded in part by AmeriCorps, and in part by participating local governments, or third party funders. Participation in this program requires a fiscal contribution based on the amount and type of support provided by the CivicSpark program.
Climate Action Corps positions are fully funded by California Volunteers, partners will not need to provide a fiscal contribution.
CivicSpark and Climate Action Corps rates are:
- All-inclusive (covers workers compensation, liability insurance, workplace costs, Fellow personnel benefits, job travel support, etc.);
- Covers both the CivicSpark Fellow and LGC staff support; and
- Based solely on costs for project work hours, not training time spent by the Fellow. (For additional information, please visit our FAQ page).
2021-22 Pricing
| Cost per Fellow | Project Support Provided per Fellow | Additional Benefits per Fellow |
|---|---|---|
| $29,000 for 1 $28,500 for 2 or more |
11 Months and 1,300+ project hours |
80 additional project-prep hours 100 volunteer engagement hours |
*This represents the general pricing structure and the floor for pricing, but some variations may exist depending on terms and conditions of specific placements.
Step 1: Submit Online Project Application
Prepare and submit your application by the Priority Deadline (February 28, 2021) to ensure the highest likelihood that your project will be accepted.
Project applications submitted by the Regular Deadline (March 30, 2021) may still receive support.
Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis after the March 30 Regular deadline but will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis.
You can download a sample application here.
We estimate it should take 30-45 minutes to complete the application form once you have developed your project concept.
Step 2: Application Review & Follow-Up
LGC will review project applications and schedule a call with your project lead contact to ensure your project will deliver results while also meeting our goals as an AmeriCorps program. LGC will then review and consider your project for approval based on our programmatic priorities.
Step 3: Project Approval & Contracting
Approved projects must complete a Service Agreement (contract). The Service Agreement outlines mutual roles and responsibilities between project partners and LGC, as well as payment terms.
Step 4: Candidate Review and Interviewing
Once we have a pool of qualified applicants, LGC will share candidates for consideration that have been pre-screened and have completed an initial interview. The Partner interviews candidates they feel could be a good fit and lets LGC know preferences. LGC makes offers to candidates for the partner.
Step 5: Pre-Service Capacity Assessment
Local service recipients must complete a Pre-Service Capacity Assessment survey prior to the start of service. This survey establishes baseline information about the project’s capacity needs and goals. This information is used to set goals and evaluate success after project completion.
More Questions? Ready to Apply?
Feel free to contact Mackenzie Bolger at mbolger@lgc.org to discuss any additional questions.
The fellows have been great to work with and I am confident they have great careers ahead of them. The work they are doing for us and the cities of the region is invaluable.
CivicSpark has been an invaluable resource to the County of Santa Barbara, and we’re still experiencing the benefits. Once our ECAP was adopted and the rubber hit the road, our CivicSpark Fellow was able to take on a crucial role in coordinating implementation, and monitoring and reporting.
Our CivicSpark fellows have brought a fresh perspective on how we engage the community in energy planning in the Sierra Nevada, and they are not short on ambition.
The projects our fellow is working on are important for the County’s success in designing and implementing climate action strategies. They are also significant components in broader thinking about long-term sustainability. Without our CivicSpark fellow, these significant pieces of work would be several years out for their completion.
The CivicSpark has been invaluable to the successful launch of our building energy transparency requirement…Collaboration of the CivicSpark Bay Area team has enriched our program through new perspectives and best practices from other cities. It has been a great experience for all involved.
Our CivicSpark members have been very active, enthusiastic, and engaged with our staff and have been a pleasure to work with. Their outreach work and communication has been wonderful.
This program is providing a lot of value for us. When we are required to address the climate action plans, it is a requirement we can’t implement. This is providing us some real action and support and we are seeing progress.