Announcing Our First Federal Grant: The Volunteer Generation Fund

Spanish Debate volunteers pose in front of magnolia tree on Augsburg's campus

We hope this grant will help us recruit even more incredible judges like our Spanish Debate crew! | Photo Credit: Marina Que

MNUDL Earns First Federal Grant, $137,000 In Volunteer-Focused Funds

MNUDL recently earned its first federal grant, a 3-year award of $137,000 yearly through the AmeriCorps Volunteer Generation Fund. This grant is designed to help organizations build capacity to diversify their volunteer pool. Our programming tailors the debate format to meet the needs of students from all walks of life. We also recognize the value of having diverse mentors that can connect with our students on multiple levels. That’s why we are so excited to be able to fund new initiatives over the next three years, including:

  • A new full-time Volunteer Coordinator role, dedicated to establishing and maintaining relationships with student organizations, service clubs, faith organizations and more
  • Multiple Family Captain stipends, designed for committed debate parents/guardians to help spread the word about debate and recruit judges in the community
  • Outreach assistant roles for Augsburg University students to recruit local community members to serve as Spanish Debate League and East African Debate judges
  • Lyft rides for interested volunteers who need tournament transportation
  • Volunteer recruitment and recognition events

The core goal of this project is to recruit diverse volunteers! Is that you? Let us know if you’re interested in future volunteer opportunities by signing up here.

AmeriCorps is the federal agency connecting individuals and organizations through service and volunteering to tackle the nation’s most pressing challenges. Volunteer Generation Fund grants will be used to develop and/or support community-based entities to recruit, manage, and support volunteers. AmeriCorps seeks to fund effective approaches that expand volunteering, strengthen the capacity of volunteer connector organizations to recruit and retain skill-based volunteers, and develop strategies to use volunteers effectively to solve problems.

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