Public Comment Period. (Branham) No members of the public requested an opportunity to speak.
Present: Celeste Branham, Edward Barrett, Stacie Haines, Matthew L’Italien, Zakk Maher, Robert Meinders, Jessica Nixon, Pamela Proulx-Curry, Dale Rowley, Nathaniel Rudy, Luke Shorty, Jenifer Tilton-Flood
Guests: Bill Burney, Volunteer Maine Foundation. Sarah Goan, Cutler Institute at University of Southern Maine. Ian Yaffe, Executive Director of Mano en Mano/Hand in Hand.
Call to Order. Commission Chair Branham called the meeting to order 10:04 am.
Welcome, Announcements, Agenda Adjustments. (Branham)
Commissioners introduced themselves and stated what seats they held on the Commission. Staff were also introduced. Meinders, Proulx-Curry, and Barrett answered the quiz correctly. There were no other announcements and no additions or deletions to the agenda.
Consent Agenda
There were no concerns about the consent agenda. MOVED by Tilton-Flood to approve the agenda. Seconded by Shorty. Vote on the motion: In favor – Branham, Barrett, Haines, L’Italien, Maher, Meinders, Nixon, Proulx-Curry, Rudy, Shorty, Tilton-Flood. Opposed – none. Motion passed.
Items approved by the motion were minutes of the Commission meeting on May 21, 2021, and the reports of the Executive Committee meeting for June 8, 2021, Grant Selection and Performance Task Force meeting for June 11, 2021 be accepted, and Communication Task Force meeting for June 9, 2021 be accepted.
Focus on Mission Responsibilities
A. Maine Volunteer Foundation: Briefing on current Foundation activities (Burney)
The chair invited Bill Burney, President of the Maine Volunteer Foundation board, to update the Commission on the Foundation’s goals and recent progress. Burney mentioned that MVF is still seeking potential board members to fill 3 vacant seats. Shorty asked what skills the MVF board might desire for its vacant seats, and Burney noted that a candidate in Aroostook County or western Maine with fundraising skills would be desirable, especially if the person could also work remotely for the board. Burney also highlighted a recent $27,000 donation from Central Maine Power for the Maine Service Fellows program. Shorty asked if the VMF board has a requirement for charitable giving, as most nonprofit and volunteer boards have such a requirement. Burney replied that though the VMF board does not have a charitable giving requirement, they are close to 100% board member giving.
B. Status of LD1010 (Chair Branham)
Chair Branham noted that LD1010: “An Act to Establish the Maine Service Fellows Program,” was passed by the Maine House of Representatives and the Maine State Senate; however, the Maine State Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs determined that the program will not be funded through state monies. She said that the Commissioners of Volunteer Maine will advocate for Maine Service Fellows to get basic funding from the committee and/or the Governor’s Office. Maryalice Crofton, Volunteer Maine’s Executive Director, noted that the only federal dollars possibly available for the program are American Rescue Plan funds. Since Maine Service Fellows exists as a statue, progress has been made and the next steps are getting it funding and attention from a legislative committee. Shorty noted that the Commission is recruiting a temporary person to study and track what is happening on the national level with climate policy.
Business Reports
A. Executive Committee
- Officer elections for 2-year term
Chair Branham thanked the Commission for intelligent consideration of issues, commitment, caring, advancing volunteerism in Maine, and mentioned that it was an honor to serve two terms as Chair.
A slate below was proposed in May and no other members have requested consideration but there have been changes due to withdrawal of one person. The final slate proposed is Jenifer Tilton-Flood as Chair, Luke Shorty as Chair-Elect, Pamela Proulx-Curry as Vice Chair. All three are to serve full 2-year terms. MOVED by L’Italien to accept the slate of officers. Seconded by Shorty.
Vote on the motion of the slate of officers: In favor – Barrett, Haines, L’Italien, Maher, Meinders, Nixon, Proulx-Curry, Rowley, Rudy, Shorty, Tilton-Flood. Opposed – none. Motion approved.
Chair Tilton-Flood said that the Commission is a wonderful team and that its new leadership will empower Volunteer Maine to advance its goals.
- Proposed dates for annual board retreat
Commissioners used Zoom’s chat feature to list which potential dates in September worked with their schedules.
B. Grant Selection and Performance (Barrett)
Barrett said that the Grant Selection and Performance Task Force recently discussed the selection process modifications used in the AmeriCorps formula competition. It added interviews for applicants from rural programs. These proved useful and may be added to the standard formula process. Modifications are still under discussion. Another issue before the task force is forecasting the amount of funds available for new competitions after continuations are deducted. Funds had diminished by the time the task force had finished reviewing applicants before the rural applicants, and it could not adequately meet the needs of all the rural agencies applying.
Shorty asked if there could be an opportunity for more agencies to apply if there were several smaller grants. Barrett stated that federal funding is based off population, so smaller grants would not work. Proulx-Curry noted that programs try to get as many people as they can manage. Barrett stated that rural programs were funded and allowed to recompete in the recent grant competition round, and that a large number of strong proposals caused more grantees to need funding even though the financial resources allocated to the Commission had not increased.
C. National Public Policy Committees of States (Crofton)
Crofton announced that a bill that would make AmeriCorps Education Awards nontaxable was just introduced and has not yet reached a Congressional committee. She encouraged the Commission to reflect on the bill, as it might progress in Congress. Shorty asked if the bill specifies that federal taxes cannot be taken from Education Awards. Crofton said that while Education Awards would be exempt from federal taxation if this bill became law, states could still take income taxes from Education awards if they desire to do so. There was nothing to report for America’s Service Commissions or States for Service.
D. Communications and Public Policy (Roche)
Bryan Roche, Volunteer Maine’s Public Information Officer, said that he conducted a public relations audit in April 2021 to identify the most effective aspects of Volunteer Maine’s outreach efforts. He noted that narrative content and effective imagery are the best outreach tools. Roche will develop long-form content and take small images or clips from it for use in Volunteer Maine’s digital feeds, so that social media engagement will drive curious users towards more detailed information on AmeriCorps service in Maine. Roche also said that Volunteer Maine is still working with partners in traditional media, and that WABI has been receptive to press releases. Service PSAs from Volunteer Maine are currently airing on local television channels.
E. MCCS Staff
- Volunteer Generation Fund briefing
Kelsey Preecs, Volunteer Maine’s Program Officer, said that VGF monies support emergency management systems and encourage younger generations in Maine to volunteer. Preecs has been working on emergency management systems and recently received a grant from America’s Service Commissions to start training for service learning and community organizations; this initiative will get children civically involved. Additionally, Preecs will also soon start a networking community for volunteer managers in Maine.
- Staff thoughts on creating Maine Climate Corps
Crofton said that there will be a later meeting in which Commissioners develop further ideas for Maine Climate Corps
- Governor’s Service Awards
Governor Janet Mills will be involved with the GSA award ceremony on June 21, 2021. She will read aloud each individual awardee’s accomplishments.
Planning and Future Initiatives
A. Report of initial findings: Impact of 2020 and COVID on Maine's Volunteer Sector (Goan)
Goan presented survey data from 223 nonprofit organizations in Maine’s volunteer sector. 151 organizations began the survey, and 122 completed it. Goan found that 78% of respondents reported a decrease in volunteers between FY2019 and FY2020, with an average loss of 79-122 volunteers. A few outlying organizations dealing with food and hunger support services saw a moderate increase in volunteers. Though volunteerism in Maine declined during the pandemic, most organizations maintained some capacity for serving their communities, and 79% of respondents performed service work that responded to community problems caused by COVID. Goan concluded that organizations in Maine’s volunteer sector need support with bringing back former volunteers and recruiting new ones.
Meinders noted that the volunteer sector should be mindful of older volunteers as it rebounds from the pandemic, and that age restrictions on volunteer service (such as not allowing participants over 65) should not exist as default recruiting rules.
B. The Commission's Role in ensuring diversity, equity, and inclusion (Yaffe)
Ian Yaffe was invited to share thoughts with the Commissioners. Yaffe said that during grant competitions, Commissioners should always ask themselves if the funded pool of applicants is diverse, and if people with different backgrounds are being included. The grant competition process should not perpetuate inequities in communities that are underinvested due to marginalization. As a result, the Commission should prioritize applicants from marginalized communities instead of adopting a neutral stance towards applicants.
Crofton noted outreach efforts to Maine’s indigenous tribes have not been successful and wondered how future efforts to garner interest in AmeriCorps service projects in tribal territory might be improved. Yaffe said that he has heard concerns from tribal members that living allowances are too small, and that most AmeriCorps service members come from outside local communities. Crofton said the state commissions have advocated for larger Education Awards for some time, and though federal policy has increased the stipend size by $900, the award is still below the Maine poverty line.
Former Chair Branham asked how the Commission can best recruit more people of color to serve as Commissioners. Yaffe said a group of diverse applicants should be recruited at the same time to prevent tokenism, and that no one should ever be asked to represent their racial group in a meeting. Yaffe also mentioned that service on the Volunteer Maine Commission is unpaid (Crofton noted that federal statue mandates that Commissioners donate their time to state service commissions and cannot be paid) and that the economically vulnerable may not be able to serve as Commissioners. This issue could bar some individuals from becoming Commissioners and may be an impediment to a diverse board.
Business Wrap Up
Commissioners were reminded to complete a meeting evaluation after a link to the survey form is sent out to them on Monday. The next Commission meeting will be in September 2021. Haines added that she is happy to amplify Volunteer Maine’s publicity content on her social media feeds. There being no other business to address, Chair Tilton-Flood MOTIONED to end the meeting. Seconded Former Chair Branham.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:25 pm.