What are Program Empowerment Projects?
Our long-term sustainability relies on a series of initiatives to further empower our program. Program empowerment projects will expand our recruitment capacity, further our equity and inclusion initiatives, provide support and training for Quaker Meeting partners, enhance our program offerings for Fellows to deepen the QVS experience, upgrade communication systems, and support expansion to new cities.
Target Funding Goal
Goals-
1. Expand Recruitment Capacity
Our program offers young adults a doorway into Quakerism at a time when they are asking questions of meaning, purpose, and identity. The experience is compelling for active Quakers, Friends who grew up Quaker but are less engaged with the Religious Society of Friends as young adults, and for young people who seek a path and community that is open and affirming and engaged in social justice work. An investment in outreach and recruitment would help us reach more young adult seekers.
2. Further Equity & Inclusion Initiatives
We are committed to building a multi-racial and culturally inclusive organization. We seek funding to support anti-oppression trainings, provide staff support for Fellows of color, and offer funds to ensure the QVS experience is accessible to and supportive of young adults across class and racial backgrounds.
3. Provide Support & Training for Quaker Meeting Partners
As we grow and expand, we recognize the importance of creating best practices for Local Support Committees and Spiritual Nurturers and sharing these practices across our national network. The ultimate goal of this initiative is to deepen the spiritual life of local meetings and churches and the collective practice of the Quaker faith, including growing in the ability to welcome and engage young adults and other newcomers.
4. Enhance Program Offerings
The QVS experience is a unique opportunity for personal growth which positions our Fellows well for the rest of their lives as they discover who they are and who they want to be in in the world. To enhance their experience we seek increased support for health and wellness, more consistent programming across cities, expansion of our second year fellowship, and programming for our robust alumni network. A better program will also help us continue to recruit more outstanding applicants.
5. Upgrade Communications, Outreach, & Technology
We need to grow our overall communications capabilities, recruit more participants, and connect more deeply with our Quaker partners in order to successfully transition out of our start-up years. With already procured funds, we have upgraded our website. Additional plans include adding to our collection of Quaker service testimonies, streamlining our outreach systems, and expanding our ability to reach young adults.
6. Support Expansion to New Cities
Interest in QVS continues to grow amongst Quaker meetings who increasingly understand the importance of keeping our young people engaged and attracting more vibrant young adults into our meetings. We have expanded from one city in 2012 to five cities in 2018, and we want to ensure any future expansion maintains the key tenets of our program and strengthens our organization.
Claire Hannapel
Contact Claire, our Development Coordinator, for more information about making a campaign gift to one or more Program Empowerment Project: 404-600-1128 or [email protected].
“Given the state of our world today… the importance of the work we do as parts of QVS seems to have been inflated. We are participating in a program that offers us the space to reflect critically about our positions in communities, ranging from the micro-scale of our house communities, to networks of peers in a variety of social-justice-oriented nonprofits, to the deeply connected Quaker communities that have welcomed us.”