National Service Training Purpose
The purpose of National Service Training is to support and guide national service leaders in growing their resources, tending to their specific needs, building their capacities, and creating a space for inspiration. 2025 National Service Training will provide practical tools, while facilitating thoughtful discussions for the primary audiences.
2025 National Service Training will encompass one in-person event and one virtual event.
Proposal submission deadline: Monday, October 7, 2024 at midnight Eastern
The purpose of National Service Training is to support and guide national service leaders in growing their resources, tending to their specific needs, building their capacities, and creating a space for inspiration. 2025 National Service Training will provide practical tools, while facilitating thoughtful discussions for the primary audiences.
2025 National Service Training will encompass one in-person event and one virtual event.
- Atlanta, GA — April 8-10, 2025
- Virtual — April 29 - May 1, 2025
Proposal submission deadline: Monday, October 7, 2024 at midnight Eastern
Expected Audience
The primary audiences for these trainings are:
While not a primary audience, other streams of national service are welcome to attend, including AmeriCorps VISTA, AmeriCorps Seniors, Volunteer Generation Fund, volunteer engagement, and disaster services staff.
Expected attendance for the trainings is anticipated to be approximately 1,400 people in-person and 400 people joining virtually. All workshop rooms, both online and in-person, will have a maximum capacity of 100 people.
National Service Training Outcomes
During the trainings, we hope to accomplish the following.
During the trainings, we hope our participants leave with:
Session Format
All sessions will be presented in a live format during a 75-minute session block.
For the in-person event, presenters are required to present in-person in Atlanta.
For the virtual event, presenters will present live (not pre-recorded) to a virtual audience. Presenters during the virtual event should be prepared for their session to include two-way interaction with virtual participants. This can include chat and breakout rooms.
Successful Presenters
ASC welcomes a variety of individuals to submit a workshop proposal. There are two categories of presenters: peer presenters and partner presenters. Peer presenters include any staff member of an organization currently managing an AmeriCorps grant including commission staff, AmeriCorps program staff, AmeriCorps Seniors staff, and AmeriCorps agency staff. Partner presenters include trainers and consultants that do not work at a state/territorial service commission, the federal AmeriCorps agency, or an AmeriCorps program.
We strongly encourage presenters of all experience levels from our network to submit workshops. To encourage workshops from individuals with a diversity of experience serving as a presenter, ASC will be holding a webinar to review the call for proposal process and what to expect when presenting.
Successful presenters are those who are knowledgeable in a specific area of national service or related programming, and able to present to an audience of up to 100. Presentation sessions should present information and build specific skills by giving session participants an opportunity to practice the concepts presented.
Presenters may consider including a hands-on component for participants to practice what they are learning in some interactive way: individual, small group, or large group activities; discussion; games; reflection; worksheets; panel discussion; etc.
We encourage presenters to allow time for audience questions.
Target Audience
Presenters must understand that the participants who attend these trainings have varied levels of experience. Proposals that address experienced and advanced levels are strongly encouraged. Proposals should specifically identify the targeted Level of Instruction for the audience.
Prioritized Session Topics
Proposals that address additional topics will be considered; however, during the selection process, priority will be given to proposals that address the below list of topics. Regardless of the topic, all presentations should focus on providing practical tools and information that attendees can act on and implement in their own programs/organizations.
Proposal Submission
Proposals must be submitted via Whova. You will have until the submission deadline on Monday, October 7th to make any edits to your workshop proposal. You may submit up to three proposals. If you have any questions or concerns about the submission form, please contact Elisa Gleeson.
The primary audiences for these trainings are:
- AmeriCorps State, AmeriCorps National, and AmeriCorps Native Nations program and/or fiscal staff
- State and territorial service commission staff and commissioners
While not a primary audience, other streams of national service are welcome to attend, including AmeriCorps VISTA, AmeriCorps Seniors, Volunteer Generation Fund, volunteer engagement, and disaster services staff.
Expected attendance for the trainings is anticipated to be approximately 1,400 people in-person and 400 people joining virtually. All workshop rooms, both online and in-person, will have a maximum capacity of 100 people.
National Service Training Outcomes
During the trainings, we hope to accomplish the following.
- Expose participants to new ideas to support their work.
- Meet the needs of all experience and stakeholder levels.
- Explore strategies that strengthen and sustain member, volunteer, and participant opportunities and experience.
- Build participant knowledge base in program, fiscal, and grants management.
- Enhance evidence base and performance management understanding and implementation.
- Strengthen and expand national service connections and cross stream partnerships.
- Provide opportunities for professional development on areas outside of program, fiscal, and grants management.
- Facilitate best practice sharing and discussion on pressing challenges facing the field.
During the trainings, we hope our participants leave with:
- Questions answered
- Solutions to problems they face
- New resources and connections
- A plan for specific improvements in grants, fiscal, performance, and/or program management
- A renewed spirit for service and strategies to sustain that spirit
Session Format
All sessions will be presented in a live format during a 75-minute session block.
For the in-person event, presenters are required to present in-person in Atlanta.
For the virtual event, presenters will present live (not pre-recorded) to a virtual audience. Presenters during the virtual event should be prepared for their session to include two-way interaction with virtual participants. This can include chat and breakout rooms.
Successful Presenters
ASC welcomes a variety of individuals to submit a workshop proposal. There are two categories of presenters: peer presenters and partner presenters. Peer presenters include any staff member of an organization currently managing an AmeriCorps grant including commission staff, AmeriCorps program staff, AmeriCorps Seniors staff, and AmeriCorps agency staff. Partner presenters include trainers and consultants that do not work at a state/territorial service commission, the federal AmeriCorps agency, or an AmeriCorps program.
We strongly encourage presenters of all experience levels from our network to submit workshops. To encourage workshops from individuals with a diversity of experience serving as a presenter, ASC will be holding a webinar to review the call for proposal process and what to expect when presenting.
Successful presenters are those who are knowledgeable in a specific area of national service or related programming, and able to present to an audience of up to 100. Presentation sessions should present information and build specific skills by giving session participants an opportunity to practice the concepts presented.
Presenters may consider including a hands-on component for participants to practice what they are learning in some interactive way: individual, small group, or large group activities; discussion; games; reflection; worksheets; panel discussion; etc.
We encourage presenters to allow time for audience questions.
Target Audience
Presenters must understand that the participants who attend these trainings have varied levels of experience. Proposals that address experienced and advanced levels are strongly encouraged. Proposals should specifically identify the targeted Level of Instruction for the audience.
- Introductory (101): Staff with less than two years of experience on this topic
- Experienced (201): Staff with three to five years of experience on this topic
- Advanced (301): Staff with more than five years of experience on this topic
- General Audience (GA): Mixed audience with various levels of experience
Prioritized Session Topics
Proposals that address additional topics will be considered; however, during the selection process, priority will be given to proposals that address the below list of topics. Regardless of the topic, all presentations should focus on providing practical tools and information that attendees can act on and implement in their own programs/organizations.
- AmeriCorps member recruitment, management, and retention
- Data collection, data evaluation, and data-driven decision-making
- Developing talent and alum workforce and career pathways
- Engaging philanthropy, corporations, and donors to diversify funding
- Justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion
- Leadership development for experienced AmeriCorps program staff
- Leadership development for experienced state/territorial service commission staff or commissioners
- Supporting AmeriCorps members (e.g., mental health, utilizing benefits, budgeting, housing, Education Awards, etc.)
- Training, orientation, and support tips and best practices
- Uniform Grant Guidance and related fiscal grant management
- Volunteer management, disaster services, and community engagement strategies
- AmeriCorps Seniors program management
Proposal Submission
Proposals must be submitted via Whova. You will have until the submission deadline on Monday, October 7th to make any edits to your workshop proposal. You may submit up to three proposals. If you have any questions or concerns about the submission form, please contact Elisa Gleeson.
Proposal Selection
Proposals will be reviewed by the ASC Agenda Development Committee and selected based on the following criteria.
Presenters will be notified via email by Friday, December 13, 2024 if they have been selected.
All information will be emailed to the lead presenter, who is responsible for sharing with any co-presenters, if applicable.
Presenter Materials
Presenters will be required to submit presentation materials for posting online 14 calendar days in advance of the event.
All presenters must submit the following, as applicable.
Presenter Honorarium
ASC will offer an honorarium of $1,250 for each selected in-person workshop submitted by a partner presenter. An additional $750 will be provided for each workshop that is presented a second time during the event. This honorarium will be provided per workshop to partner-presented workshops only. For example, if the workshop “AmeriCorps Is Great” has one presenter, $1,250 will be given. If the workshop “How to Enroll AmeriCorps Members” has five presenters, $1,250 will be given. If the workshop “How to Enroll AmeriCorps Members” is offered a second time on the agenda, an additional $750 will be given.
ASC will offer an honorarium of $750 for each selected virtual workshop submitted by a partner presenter. This honorarium will be provided per workshop, not per presenter.
When partner presenters submit a workshop proposal you will be asked to indicate whether you will be accepting the honorarium or declining the honorarium.
Payments will be made to presenters via the Certify system. To receive payment, an invoice must be submitted to ASC via Certify or email to Naejla Walton. Payments are not automatically generated.
Peer presenters are not eligible to receive the presenter honorarium.
Registration
All presenters will be required to register for National Service Training regardless of how long you plan to attend the event. All workshops will be given one discount code which will bring the registration cost to $0 for one presenter. Any additional presenters beyond the one waived registration will need to pay the full registration fee.
Presenters will have an opportunity to register using the main event registration link once it becomes available. Presenters should not register until they have received directions from ASC.
Please contact Nailah Metwally-Ibrahim, ASC Membership Coordinator, with any questions regarding event registration.
Important Dates
Informational Session
On Thursday, September 12, ASC hosted an informational session for interested presenters. If you missed it, you can watch the call for proposals session recording or view the call for proposals session slides.
Proposals will be reviewed by the ASC Agenda Development Committee and selected based on the following criteria.
- Relevance to the training purpose and outcomes
- Ability to address timely, relevant topics (see above topic list)
- Building of participants’ skills/knowledge
- Presenter’s training experience, skills, and style
- Presenter’s reference and, if applicable, previous event workshop feedback
- Topic, content, and methodology
- Clear outcomes for increasing participant skills and knowledge
- Cost and budget availability
Presenters will be notified via email by Friday, December 13, 2024 if they have been selected.
All information will be emailed to the lead presenter, who is responsible for sharing with any co-presenters, if applicable.
Presenter Materials
Presenters will be required to submit presentation materials for posting online 14 calendar days in advance of the event.
All presenters must submit the following, as applicable.
- PowerPoint (PPT) version of the workshop presentation — A Google link will be provided to all presenters to share their presentation. This link and the PPT version of materials will not be shared with any attendees. This is solely for the purpose of preloading workshops on to presentation room computers.
- PDF version of the workshop presentation — If the version of the presentation that you would like to share with registered attendees differs from the version that you will be presenting from, please provide a separate PDF version. Otherwise, ASC will PDF the submitted PPT version and share that with attendees.
- Handouts — If you have any handouts or resources that you would like to share with attendees, you may submit them in advance for attendees to access virtually. ASC will not be making any printed copies of any workshop materials.
Presenter Honorarium
ASC will offer an honorarium of $1,250 for each selected in-person workshop submitted by a partner presenter. An additional $750 will be provided for each workshop that is presented a second time during the event. This honorarium will be provided per workshop to partner-presented workshops only. For example, if the workshop “AmeriCorps Is Great” has one presenter, $1,250 will be given. If the workshop “How to Enroll AmeriCorps Members” has five presenters, $1,250 will be given. If the workshop “How to Enroll AmeriCorps Members” is offered a second time on the agenda, an additional $750 will be given.
ASC will offer an honorarium of $750 for each selected virtual workshop submitted by a partner presenter. This honorarium will be provided per workshop, not per presenter.
When partner presenters submit a workshop proposal you will be asked to indicate whether you will be accepting the honorarium or declining the honorarium.
Payments will be made to presenters via the Certify system. To receive payment, an invoice must be submitted to ASC via Certify or email to Naejla Walton. Payments are not automatically generated.
Peer presenters are not eligible to receive the presenter honorarium.
Registration
All presenters will be required to register for National Service Training regardless of how long you plan to attend the event. All workshops will be given one discount code which will bring the registration cost to $0 for one presenter. Any additional presenters beyond the one waived registration will need to pay the full registration fee.
Presenters will have an opportunity to register using the main event registration link once it becomes available. Presenters should not register until they have received directions from ASC.
Please contact Nailah Metwally-Ibrahim, ASC Membership Coordinator, with any questions regarding event registration.
Important Dates
- Monday, July 22, 2024 | Call for Workshop Proposals released
- Thursday, September 12, 2024 at 2pm Eastern | Call for Proposals Informational Session
- Monday, October 7, 2024 | Workshop proposals due
- Friday, December 13, 2024 | Presenter selection notification
- Tuesday, March 18, 2025 at 3pm Eastern | Presenter Informational Session — In Person
- Tuesday, March 25, 2025 | Materials due for in-person NST
- Thursday, April 3, 2025 at 3pm Eastern | Presenter Informational Session — Virtual
- Tuesday, April 8 – Thursday, April 10, 2025 | in-person NST in Atlanta, GA
- Tuesday, April 15, 2025 | Materials due for virtual NST
- Tuesday, April 29 – Thursday, May 1, 2025 | virtual NST
Informational Session
On Thursday, September 12, ASC hosted an informational session for interested presenters. If you missed it, you can watch the call for proposals session recording or view the call for proposals session slides.
Sponsorship
If you are interested in supporting ASC's mission and vision and promoting your organization through sponsorship and exhibiting, please view our sponsorship opportunities page. Thank you in advance for your support of ASC! We look forward to partnering with you in 2025.
Contact
For questions related to the National Service Training Call for Proposals, please contact Elisa Gleeson, ASC Membership and Training Manager.
