Framework for VISTA Programming

CDR as a sponsor of the VISTA program, focuses on Capacity Building with an emphasis on developing Economic Opportunities for individuals and organizations in low-income communities, providing Financial Literacy Education and assisting individuals with their Employment search needs.

Core Principles

Projects must be developed in accordance with AmeriCorps VISTA's core principles:

Anti-poverty focus- Community Empowerment- Sustainable Solutions- Capacity Building

Anti-poverty Focus

The statutory purpose of AmeriCorps VISTA is to strengthen and support efforts to eliminate and alleviate poverty and poverty-related problems in the United States.

The organizations that are supported with VISTA resources, address poverty in many ways- some with projects that work with social determinants of health and well-being (such as helping improve education or access to health care, etc.), some others with an approach targeted directly at increasing a household's income and assets (housing, financial savings and asset development), and some even attempt to address larger regional systemic barriers to community development.

All VISTA service activities must be designed to support one or more specific anti-poverty projects at a site, and applications must clearly define these initiatives being created or enhanced by the organization (as opposed to focusing solely on capacity building).

The Anti-poverty initiative described in the Application Narrative must carry through to the Performance Measures and to the VISTA Assignment Description(s) created by approved sponsors as part of the recruitment process.

Community Empowerment

Prospective and current AmeriCorps VISTA project sponsors must engage people of the communities affected by the project in planning, developing, implementing, and evaluating said project. Each one of these projects must be responsive and relevant to the lives of community residents, and must tap into inherent assets, strengths and resources in it.

Sustainable Solutions

AmeriCorps VISTA members serve as short-term resources to build the long-term sustainability of anti-poverty efforts. VISTA projects make a lasting difference through the commitment, energy and initiative that these members bring to the community. The involvement of the sponsoring agency is in supervising the project, supporting the VISTA members, and assessing the progress towards meeting the project's goals; participation of the project's beneficiaries in all phases of its development and implementation; and making sure of the continued involvement of community members, that provide needed resources such as volunteers, material and financial resources; and in offering their expertise.

Projects must be developed with a goal to phase out their need for VISTAs, and continue without VISTA resources.

Capacity Building

VISTAs create systems that remain, long after their term of services end. VISTA projects expand the scale, impact and resource-leveraging ability of specific anti-poverty initiatives. VISTA members strengthen sponsors' efforts by expanding community partnerships, securing long-term resources, and addressing specific local needs, with all activities focused on creating pathways out of poverty for low-income communities. VISTA members must focus on building the capacity of specific anti-poverty programs and interventions, and not on general capacity building for the sponsor or its sites.

While the VISTAs focus on capacity-building activities, they may on occasion perform limited direct service activities when deemed necessary to complete their overall assignment. These incidental activities should be written into the VISTA Assignment Description (VAD) if known at the beginning of their service.

VISTAs are not staff members or employees of the sponsoring organizations to which they are assigned. They may not engage in activities at the sponsoring organization that would displace or supplant paid staff, contractors, or existing volunteers. These prohibitions against displacement and supplantation include activities related to the application and management of other CNCS grants and programs.