Franklin College has created Indiana’s first countywide, nonprofit resource center with headquarters on a college campus. Grants from the Ball Foundation Venture Fund and the Corporation for National and Community Service through AmeriCorps are providing financial support.

The Nonprofit Resource Center is aimed at helping in areas of nonprofit practice that are highly affected by the current economic crisis while providing real-world learning experiences for students.

“Nonprofit agencies have traditionally struggled with the professionalization of their communication tools, public relations strategies, grant proposals, volunteer programs and Web sites,” said Jann Johnson, director of AmeriCorps and professional development at the college.

The projects are not typically assigned to one staff person and are visited only when urgently needed or as time allows, she explained.

“As agencies examine their tightening budgets, they choose direct services to clients as their focus, and other projects start to slide further behind immediate service needs. The Nonprofit Resource Center will allow Franklin College to help agencies continue to develop and professionalize in these areas, even during this tough economic climate.”

Unemployment reached 9.9 percent in Indiana and 7.6 percent in Johnson County in January 2009. Johnson County was further impacted economically in 2008 by a devastating flood that caused more than $200 million in damage. The human service system in the area continues to see an increased need for services from nonprofit agencies as a result of the flood, and the increase in local need rises more as jobs are lost and the economic situation worsens.

Most, if not all, of Indiana’s countywide volunteer centers are operated by local United Ways. The Nonprofit Resource Center is unique in that it moves the rich tradition of community service at Franklin College into a leadership role and helps relieve the burden for volunteer leadership from an already overwhelmed system. The center also is differentiated from those operating in other counties in that it offers assistance to organizations centered on the arts, parks and recreation, environmental issues, animal welfare, health and education; such organizations are not traditionally served by United Way.

Franklin College students serving as AmeriCorps members have been recruited to staff the Nonprofit Resource Center. In June, they underwent training and orientation to learn more about the Johnson County community and area nonprofit organizations. The students also chose additional training in specialty areas to prepare them for the roles in which they’re serving at the center (Web development, grant research/coaching, volunteer management, communications, etc.)

The center gives students valuable opportunities to build competency and transferrable skills that can enhance their marketability as they look for future internships and jobs, said Johnson. She added that students are required to create portfolios to document the processes and deliverables of at least three projects in which they participate. The students also will have the chance to complete self-evaluations through which they can share requests for additional professional development and training as well as their level of satisfaction with the service experience.

The students’ work at the center focuses on two main areas, managing an online database for the Johnson County volunteer sector and providing individualized services for Johnson County nonprofit leaders. Services are provided for a fee or in-kind/service exchange.

Christopher Nunn, who the college hired to provide day-to-day supervision, support and training, has more than 20 years of nonprofit experience. He describes the database, Johnson County Volunteer Connections, as an online shopping site for nonprofit groups to find volunteers.

“Every nonprofit needs volunteers, and in every community there are individuals interested in serving, who don’t know where to go. The database will help match the two,” said Nunn. “One of the challenges in recruiting volunteers is that once the connection is made the nonprofit often lacks the resources to offer volunteer training, and the volunteer grows frustrated by the lack of direction. One of the services we’ll offer to nonprofit leaders is training on how to better manage volunteers.”

According to Nunn, the center’s goal during its first year of operation is to engage 30 nonprofit partners as clients and to register 300 community volunteers into the database. In the second year, the goal is to have 1,000 registered volunteers. The center is operating as a two-year pilot program. Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer in Johnson County or in finding volunteers to help a nonprofit organization should go to www.helpjohnsoncounty.org.

Founded in 1834, Franklin College is a residential four-year undergraduate liberal arts institution 20 minutes from downtown Indianapolis. The college prepares men and women for significant careers through the liberal arts, offering its 1,018 students 29 majors including biology, business, education, and journalism. In 1842, the college began admitting women, becoming the first coeducational institution in Indiana and the seventh in the nation. Franklin College maintains a voluntary association with the American Baptist Churches USA.