Greetings from Your VISTA Leader
Hello, and welcome to the new VISTA HUB!
Resources from money management to monthly reporting, being a VISTA requires certain information, skills, and planning. Here you will find all the resources you will need to complete a successful year of service. If there is anything that you have found helpful and want to add, just let me know! Thank you all for all that you do and your commitment to serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA.
Official Forms
VISTA policy about serving more than 1 term of service
Describes what you need to know about relocating to your site from your home of record
Everything you will ever need to know about the AmeriCorps*VISTA program
Noob Files - For New VISTAs
You’re Been Hired, What’s Next?
A short overview of what happens next, the PSO and Start Dates are left blank and will change depending on what month you attend Pre-Service Orientation
An Introduction to serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA with The Advancement Foundation
From PSO- a checklist that outlines how to get settled in at your site the first couple of weeks
Current VISTA Resources
National Service Stress Guide with a manual and handouts
How to share your National Service Story
Quick Fact Sheet about where to find things on the VISTA Campus and beyond!
Two documents that list different nonprofit websites and resources
Outlines the different kinds of giving to nonprofits
Communicating through the VISTA Lifecycle
A VISTA Leader Action Learning Challenge Project that talks about communication and the ups and downs of VISTA service
Health Benefits of Volunteering
Research done by CNCS about the health benefits of volunteering
Taken from a VISTA site in Wisconsin, this document has some useful tips for VISTAs on a budget
Holiday Spending Tips on a VISTA Budget
A document created by another VISTA Leader about how to stretch your budget around the holidays
Identifying the types of motivational patterns volunteers fit into
Pathways to Service: Learning from the potential Volunteer’s prospective
Research from CNCS about the way a Volunteer thinks about service
A short handout highlighting different ways to recruit volunteers
A short handout to help you identify who your project’s stakeholders are
List of ideas on how to recognize your volunteers
A list of volunteer recruitment and management websites
This resource includes two forms you can use for creating a personal action plan.
Resistance is a necessary and natural stage of all processes of change. In order to successfully handle resistance when it happens, we need to be able to be able to recognize and address it.
Ideas on how to better your time management skills
Communication Styles: A Self-Assessment Exercise
Identifying your communication style
Communication Styles Case Study
From PSO- a worksheet outlining communication styles in day to day life
Reporting
2012 Monthly Reporting Due Dates
Reporting Dates from January 2012-December 2012
Taken from various VISTA reports- outlines what TAF is looking for when it comes to what to include in your monthly report
This document goes over the report step by step
Please use this template for your monthly reports
This document is due once every quarter as outlines on the Monthly Reportign Due Dates document- please review this with your Supervisor and send it to your VISTA Leader on the due date
If you are going to be taking extended (3 or more) vacation or sick days, please fill this out and return it to your VISTA Leader
Please fill this out each month and hand it in with your Monthly Report
Healthcare
AmeriCorps VISTA Member Health Benefits FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions about AmeriCorps VISTA Member’s Health Benefits provider, Seven Corners
Guide provided to you by Seven Corners that explains your benefits
Life After VISTA
A list of places to look for a job
Non-Competitive Eligibility FAQ
List of Frequently Asked Questions about the one year after you complete your term of service, of non-competitive eligibility
A short worksheet that will help translate your VISTA service into ‘job speak’
Supervisor Resources
Is VISTA right for your organization?
A guide to becoming an AmeriCorps VISTA site
Fiscal Year 2012 Program Guidance
Overview of AmeriCorps VISTA and an outline of programming areas and VISTA Support
Everything you would ever want to know about the AmeriCorps VISTA program
Everything you would ever want to know about being a VISTA program Supervisor
A document created by TAF that outlines the activities VISTAs can and can not do
Establishing a good relationship with VISTAs
Tips for a successful year for you and your VISTA
On-Site Orientation for VISTAs
A checklist made by TAF that outlines the first month of a VISTA’s service and the things they will need to know to successfully complete a year of service
The Advancement Foundation VISTA Quarterly Report
Must be filled out and sent in once every quarter. Please complete with the help of your VISTA and sign it and return to the VISTA Leader .
Expectations of a VISTA Supervisor
Outlines the roles of the VISTA Supervisor and what different parts they play in the program overall
AmeriCorps VISTA Concept Paper
The Concept Paper is a preliminary screening tool that the Corporation for National and Community Service uses to evaluate whether the organization would be an appropiate sponsor for a VISTA.